Where do you get your ideas?

[Cupcake]

I get ideas from a ton of random things. Yesterday I got a charecter because I saw a ship go across the sea and the I saw a crow. Weird huh? I normally get ideas from things myself or people say. They usally can't remember saying these things half an hour later as they are of no importance to anybody really, but they seem to spark ideas.

[Elliott]

From being a loser and searching random junk on the internet and randomly obsessing over things and then BAM a trail of looking up things on the internet results with an idea.

[Colby]

My teacher reading his poem aloud (he's an amazing author and poet) gave me the idea for the short novel I am writing at the moment.

[Elliott]

YAY!

[tesni]

Ever since it was a discussion with him about my ponderings on what happens to fictional characters when the person who created them dies, my father keeps claiming he came up with the idea for T2010NNWTCCT e_e

[Elliott]

Pssh. That was all you.

[tesni]

Of course it was.

[Cutter100]

Everywhere. I often smash together a favorite moment from Doctor Who or Harry Potter, roman history, a line from a poem, the antics of friends and family, or just a quick look out the window when coming up with plots and scenes.

[Emily]

I usually get ideas from the people I know or know of. My first true attempt of a book was triggered by someone I hardly knew. I threw them into a pretty interesting life.

The one I'm currently writing was inspired by different types of government, I guess. I'm not sure. I was thinking of anarchy one day and the idea just popped into my head. I'm no pyromaniac, but --- (if that's one way not to start a sentence, I don't know what is) --- one day I lit a match and just watched it burn. Fire is completely gorgeous, but it's dangerous all at the same time. Have you ever thought about how destructive it is? It's just completely unbelievable. So, fire and anarchy. Hmmm. This book is going to be interesting.

[Thalia]

Alright, I'm about to nerd it up in here.

A lot of my inspiration comes from books, yeah, blah blah. I'm sure a lot of people say that. But my real inspiration for creating something beautiful is heavily inspired by the games that I play.

Wait, what? Like video games?
Heck. Yes.

When I first decided I wanted to write and create something really beautiful, with a beautiful story and beautiful characters, I was in the third grade. (I'd been writing before then, but not like...with a dream.) It was just after I'd played Final Fantasy X; the only game I'd played on my own (aside from Legend of Zelda: OoT), and the ONLY game thus far in my short little life to make me cry because it was so wonderful.

(If you've played Final Fantasy X, you know where I'm coming from.)

Because that ending was so wonderful and bittersweet and beautiful, I wanted to be able to create that feeling for other people, too. Heartbreak, and laughter and love, all rolled into one thing. Games aren't any different from books, except that YOU help the characters reach their final destination (at least, with RPGs), and I feel like you better connect to them that way.

That was my initial spark to want to write.

The thing that keeps me going right now, is the game "Ico". It's so simple and sweet and...I'm going to tear up just talking about it. ;-;
The description on my video here might explain that better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO7uk...

Anywho, that also made me sob because it was so beautiful, which made me want to write MORE. Now, I'm helping to write a game script myself, and I've more willingness to write than I did before.

Aside from that, music inspires me too. *shot;;*

*end rant;;*

EDIT:
Maybe this is why I love not-so-happy endings. Final Fantasy X has basically anything BUT a happy ending for the main couple, so maybe I just developed a natural love for it..?

[Thalia]

Acacia wrote: "I have conversations between characters out loud. It's annoying because often it's just four or so lines that go around in loops, with me tweaking them just a little each time I say them to really ..."

And just to say, I do this ALL THE TIME.
In fact, I have to go over a scene in my head every night before I fall asleep; otherwise, I legitimately can't go to sleep. It's like my characters feel like I'm neglecting them.

Sleep is especially hard when I have someone spending the night, because I can't burst into a conversation with myself then. x)

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I got an idea while watching my uncles play a video game once ... this was like, 8 years ago so I don't remember what game it was or what it was really about. It was something involving a Chosen One and yada yada, and so I got this idea like, "What if the main character was just a normal person but his/her friend was some kind of 'Chosen One'?" Which seemed like such a brilliant idea to me at the time. Anyway. ACCKK that story. I rewrote it three times and I still never finished it. I think I still have it posted ... Oh, yes, I do: http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/1...

Heh, it's pretty awful. Plus there are no spaces between the paragraphs and ... I gave up on it at a really awkward point in the story. OH, WELL.

Anyway. I also love not-so-happy endings. I like it when the ending is relatively sad, but there is still hope that things could work out––so the reader can imagine it going either way. Because, you know, that's what life is like. ;)

[Baxter, butts butts butts]

Thalia wrote: "Alright, I'm about to nerd it up in here.

A lot of my inspiration comes from books, yeah, blah blah. I'm sure a lot of people say that. But my real inspiration for creating something beautiful is ..."

I like you because you like Ico, which is one of my favorite games ever. Have you played Shadow of the Colossus? Because DAT ending. Oh dang, I may or may not have shed a tear....which means I did.

[Thalia]

Brigid: It sounds like your uncle was playing Kingdom Hearts, hahha. That's full of the Chosen One junk; but there are lots of games like that, so. :p And movies. And books. You had a good thing going with the best friend thing, hahah!

Baxter: Oh my GOODNESS, another Ico fan. *sheds tears;;* I've officially met all of two people who've played Ico now! You, and this girl on YouTube who got me into it in the first place.

I have NOT played SotC, but I have the whole soundtrack. ;-; I'm waiting for the super cool, PS3-HD Ico bundle pack, with Ico, SotC, and the new one, The Last Guardian.
But it needs to come out, like, now, before I explode.

*oh well, at least I'll order the Ico novel...because I really am a dork*

EDIT:
Also, I can't play Ico after sunset. There is no definition for the way my heart starts pounding whenever I leave Yorda alone for even a SECOND, and I get so paranoid that the Spirits are going to take her, I just have to turn the game off. I feel like they're real when there aren't any lights on. ;-;

[Baxter, butts butts butts]

Truuuue story. I like Ico a bit more than SotC (though the latter is, I'll totes admit, more fun) just because the relationship with Yorda. It's friggin brilliant. I've never played anything that has made me care so much for a character in it, especially in a game with hardly any dialogue.

I completely forgot about the HD pack too! I don't want to buy it because I already have both of the games, but I already know I will when it comes out. I love the Ico team waaaay too much not to.

[Thalia]

I was just like, "Wait, they're making a sequel to Ico? adkighgnjadgh MUST OWN." So I'll end up having them all. x)

Yeah, that's what I loved so much about Ico, and what inspired me the most. There was like, NO dialogue, and even when they're was, you know Ico can't understand a word Yorda says, and you have no idea if Yorda can understand him. And I guess it gets me so freaked out because of how REAL it feels. There aren't items. There isn't any "equipment". There aren't random enemy encounters. You don't worry about anything, but getting out of that dang castle, just like if you were actually stuck there! It's the most beautiful game I've ever played. ;-;

I want to read the Ico novel SO BADLY because I want to give my books the same sense of attachment. If they can put the beauty that is Ico into words, I have confidence that if I work hard enough, then someday I'll be able to do the same thing with my characters. (This paragraph for the benefit of the thread topic, hahaha.)

And working on a game script/designing game characters is definitely different from writing a story. I have come to realize that, since now I'm doing both. OTL

[Baxter, butts butts butts]

Exaaactly. You could really call Ico a minimalist game; by using the bare minimum mechanics it makes it more powerful than it would be otherwise. It has defo been a big influence on my ideas too. Also, DAT WATERMELON.

Didn't know there was an Ico novel though. I need to hardcore check this out. Could be mad interesting.

Ah, you trying game script writing? That's really interesting! I've always been interested in giving something like that a go.

[Thalia]

http://www.amazon.com/ICO-Castle-Mist...

I'm so excited the decided to relase it in English. <333

Yeah, I've been working on this game for...six months? Maybe a little more? Someone on deviantArt was like, "Heard you like to write, look at this new group." So I hopped on as a character designer/scrip writer/story planner person, and I've actually made quite a few new friends. And since I was the only one who knew how to make a forum, I was bumped up to an organizer; so who knows? Maybe someday my little pen name will be on the ending credits of a game. (:

if our programmer ever does anything, that is.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

That's really cool, Thalia! I don't think I've ever met someone who wanted to be a game script writer ... Seems like it'd be a cool job. But ya know, anything involving writing is. ;)

[Thalia]

We decided to release this game for free, and not hassle ourselves with trying to make money or anything. But most of us are about 14-25-ish years old; so really anybody could write a game if they really wanted to!

I'm really bad at script, though. I just kinda...develop characters and backstory and help plan out what will happen next. I leave actual dialogue to everyone else. XD

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Haha, well that's still cool. XD
I'd like to do some kind of script-writing someday. Like screenwriting/playwriting. But for now I'm sticking to novels ...

[♫Huneeya♥]

I get my ideas from loads of random places. A lot of times, I get inspired by a really good book. Like if it leaves me thinking, I'm like, " Hey, I want to be able to write like that too!" But otherwise, they just kinda come outta nowhere. Sometimes if I overhear tidbits from stranger's conversations. I once got a really cool idea from looking at a house. Or sometimes I exaggerate my own life and get something cool out of that...


Also, Thalia, that sounds super awesome! I've never met a game script writer before..

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Sounds pretty much like how I get my ideas. Eavesdropping ... seeing/hearing random things ...

[Elliott]

Thaaaalia, have I ever mentioned that I love you? *creeper smile*

[Elliott]

I have no idea where all my ideas are coming from, but I really need them to GO AWAY. I would enjoy actually finishing a novel for once.

[Jo]

From somewhere...>:)

[Elliott]

Well, obviously. xD

[Jo]

Wait a sec...

I want to be a psychiatrist.

[Elliott]

Hm?

[Jo]

Your title is [I hate the psychiatrist].
I want to be a psychiatrist.

[tesni]

Bosie wrote: "Mostly from history. But also things I'm interested in (human and animal rights, equality, sociology, etc), or historical people I'm interested in (Oscar Wilde, William Wilberforce, etc), or my sur..."

I think various historical events have quite a large effect on some of the stuff I write as well. T2010NNWTCCT is set in some kind of alternate England during the mid-to-late 17th century, and I guess the conflict in the book is pretty similar to the Civil War, so.

[tesni]

Follow The Spiders wrote: "I seeeee.
I believe she named her 2010 nanowrimo that. It's something like: The 2010 Na No With The Constantly Changing Title
or alike things..."

Yeah, that's what it stands for. :-)

[tesni]

Bosie wrote: "T e s n i wrote: "Bosie wrote: "Mostly from history. But also things I'm interested in (human and animal rights, equality, sociology, etc), or historical people I'm interested in (Oscar Wilde, Wil..."

Yeah, it's not actually, like, directly set in that point in time. It's actually set in someone else's subconscious, but the person whose mind it's all in is actually...sort of...in that world as well O.o
Ignore me if it makes things easier.

[tesni]

Follow The Spiders wrote: "Whoop Whoop! I got it right!
HIYA! *NINJA SPASM*"

Ohai! :D

[vasiliki]

um i guess it comes unexpectedly..i could be watching the news,or reading a book,or during my art class when out of the blue there's this idea in my suboncious bugging me..n' i know that's going to be the base of my next novel!:]

[Picture]

I usually get my ideas from random tangents in my head. Sometimes I'm inspired by art or poetry.

Once I got an idea from watching a contemporary dance. It was wicked amazing.

[Regina]

Jo wrote: "Your title is [I hate the psychiatrist].
I want to be a psychiatrist."

Because of your conversation, I got this idea for a story that involves a kid psychiatrist, and this crazy dude.

[Elliott]

Jo wrote: "Your title is [I hate the psychiatrist].
I want to be a psychiatrist."

I can't believe this is still my name... I changed it to that after becoming obsessed with the Peter You Suck song from forgetting Sarah Marshall... xD I think I'm going to change it now.

[Isaac]

Where do I get my ideas?

FROM FREAKING CLASSICAL MUSIC AND FILM SCORES, YO'.

[Isaac]

ME TOO.

But then I forget them.

[Regina]

I sign up for virtual worlds and get character inspriation from the avatars.

I get ideas from dreams
Random thought
What people say

[Jo]

Regina wrote: "Jo wrote: "Your title is [I hate the psychiatrist].
I want to be a psychiatrist."

Because of your conversation, I got this idea for a story that involves a kid psychiatrist, and this crazy dude."

HOLY MOTHER that's great!

[Regina]

Thank you.

[B.R]

dreams or my dad's family. They usually remind me of villians

[Natasha (ar y ffin)]

My latest story idea, which I'll post here on Goodreads soon, came from a dream that I had one night. It stuck really well in my brain when I woke up, so I wrote the idea down. In fact, it's a scene in one of the later chapters.

[Kevin]

Mostly from dreams...
but also in school, if I hear a cool fact a story about it wraps around in my head and so it begins

OH AND MUSIC.

[Autumn]

I get my ideas in the shower. I also make life decisions there.

[Colby]

SO I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES MY BEST THINKING IN THE SHOWER?

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

Colby wrote: "SO I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES MY BEST THINKING IN THE SHOWER?"

Nope. I do all my thinking in the shower, too. I take loooong showers.

[Regina]

Same, but i sing in the shower and daydream. My thinking time is when I try to go to sleep.