An Evening With Me and My Muse (& Her 2x4)
So I'm sitting here in front of my rotten piece of ju... er, computer... taking a break from my latest fanfic. Having gotten sick of Solitaire after 5,000 hands, I've decided to live up to my title as RangerBlog Columnist and write another column. I'm going with a lighter subject this time: what goes through the mind of a writer when he (or she; I'm not biased) is writing? I've had a few people ask me "what were you thinking when you came up with that", so I guess this is what they meant... *innocent look*
Ahem, anyway...
The one thing that holds true for the creative process of every writer is this: no one thing holds true for the creative process of every writer. Different people have different ways of approaching a story. Some may come up with a rough idea and flesh it out, while others may come up with one or two (or more) detailed scenes and expand on them. A perfect example of the latter in my own case is "Challenge of the Heart", which was originally only meant to consist of the first scene (back when a few fanfic writers were challenging each other on the Acorn Cafe Story Board) and turned into a full story (mostly one long flashback explaining the first scene) by request. Most often, the same writer will use different approaches to different stories, depending on the idea that sparked it in the first place.
So where do these great (and sometimes not-so-great) ideas come from? I can't really give you a definitive answer on that, either; I can only use myself as an example. Now and then, while I'm watching TV or a movie or doing something else (in the case of song parodies, listening to a song), an idea will just pop in there. To use my standard metaphor, my muse gets out her 2x4 and whacks me in the back of the head. Sometimes, the idea will fade after a time; others, it'll keep bouncing around in my head until I sit down with my word processor and play with it. It's this latter case that fanfics (as well as some other things I've written) are born from.
As always, these are my opinions; take 'em as you will... oh, and if a faerie appears on your shoulder brandishing a 2x4, let her swing; who knows what may come of it?
Neal Wolf
Ahem, anyway...
The one thing that holds true for the creative process of every writer is this: no one thing holds true for the creative process of every writer. Different people have different ways of approaching a story. Some may come up with a rough idea and flesh it out, while others may come up with one or two (or more) detailed scenes and expand on them. A perfect example of the latter in my own case is "Challenge of the Heart", which was originally only meant to consist of the first scene (back when a few fanfic writers were challenging each other on the Acorn Cafe Story Board) and turned into a full story (mostly one long flashback explaining the first scene) by request. Most often, the same writer will use different approaches to different stories, depending on the idea that sparked it in the first place.
So where do these great (and sometimes not-so-great) ideas come from? I can't really give you a definitive answer on that, either; I can only use myself as an example. Now and then, while I'm watching TV or a movie or doing something else (in the case of song parodies, listening to a song), an idea will just pop in there. To use my standard metaphor, my muse gets out her 2x4 and whacks me in the back of the head. Sometimes, the idea will fade after a time; others, it'll keep bouncing around in my head until I sit down with my word processor and play with it. It's this latter case that fanfics (as well as some other things I've written) are born from.
As always, these are my opinions; take 'em as you will... oh, and if a faerie appears on your shoulder brandishing a 2x4, let her swing; who knows what may come of it?
Neal Wolf
posted by RRHQ Columnist @ 2:23 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Faerie on your shoulder! I usually have pirates or mice on mine...
If there's a fairy on my shoulder, I believe she has watched way too many movies lately, for that's where a large part of my inspiration comes from.
Besides, she's way too eager even for my taste. I've got enough ideas for a year or one and a half of straight writing, and way too many ideas for this year.
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