tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post2580188731541034057..comments2024-03-14T18:09:09.667-05:00Comments on Do Some Damage: InspirationUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-75677065872908863502009-08-12T19:29:26.059-05:002009-08-12T19:29:26.059-05:00The streets of Detroit, on the bus a lot, signs I ...The streets of Detroit, on the bus a lot, signs I see posted on poles, overheard conversations-- often on cell phones now, a line that might be a throwaway in someone else's work, my husband, my son's cases (prosecutor).pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-18106889357738034432009-08-12T14:25:10.551-05:002009-08-12T14:25:10.551-05:00I'm obsessed with listening.I store people up ...I'm obsessed with listening.I store people up and re-use them weeks or months later. It must be weird living with me sometimes, because half the time I'll be loud and talkative and engaged in the conversation...other times I'm sat there simply recording.<br /><br />I find the key to writing an accent is not to write phonetically overmuch, because it can look bad, but to recognise that different accents structure their sentances differently. I like to listen for that difference.<br /><br />I find bad movies great for the sort of 'writers block' i mentioned last week, when my brain needs to work. It's no so much inspiration, as seeing something done badly seems to help my brain figure out how to do something (hopefully) well.<br /><br />And friends. My friends and family have grown used to my weird ways. I have a friend who has recently started working as an undertaker. Most people ask him 'hows the job going?' or 'how are you coping?' Me? I ask 'What does a burned corpse smell like.'<br /><br />Recently he was in a car accident fresh from picking up 'cargo.' A normal friends first question would probably be 'how are you?' But my first question was 'so, do you have a special ID badge? I mean, if the Cops turn up at the crash and you've got a dead body in the back, do you have a card that lets them know it's SUPPOSED to be there?'Jay Stringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08764183157841848163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-30117816376686419182009-08-12T14:05:29.012-05:002009-08-12T14:05:29.012-05:00I carry around a Moleskine notebook that I've ...I carry around a Moleskine notebook that I've hacked to be a day planner. I leave plenty of room for notes and jot down ideas and snippets and 'sentences I hear in my head' all the time. When I'm driving around the city and can't jot down a note, I call and leave myself a message on my home or office voice mail. I get my inspiration from a variety of sources. Sometimes, it's music and the indescribable feeling a certain song conjures. This is most evident in electric Miles Davis or classic late-60s rock. Sometimes a word here or there triggers something. Other times, it's a new item or something I see on the web. Earlier this year, there was a story of a watchmaker who, in 1861 at the outset of the Civil War, engraved a message in Lincoln's pocket watch. That discovery only came to light this year and, for me, a major plot point in my railroad detective novel. I think the key for creative types like us writers is to be able to channel inspiration from any source into something that's complete and ready for the world. It's hard, sometimes, but other times it's so easy.Scott D. Parkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293540073601809197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-45344516985756347652009-08-12T11:16:37.231-05:002009-08-12T11:16:37.231-05:00I probably get most of my inspiration from books a...I probably get most of my inspiration from books and movies. Dialog, especially. I'll take good dialog apart to see what made it good, and will read bad dialog and think, "I can write better than that," which then require I actually make an effort to do so.<br /><br />I have also developed a gauge in my head for when plot gets out of control. The book I'm reading now has crossed that line; I can't say exactly where. It's like pornography: I know it when I see it. This helps me to keep my plots simpler and more plausible. The interest has to be made up in other aspects of the storyDana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-12618910835149513262009-08-12T10:36:19.032-05:002009-08-12T10:36:19.032-05:00I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I eaves...I'm glad to hear it's not just me. I eavesdrop conversations all the time. I think it is the best way to generate dialogue that is true to life. I also love to watch true crime police shows. The interviews with real criminals give up tons of slang I don't usually come in contact with and help to make what I write a bit more authentic.Mike Knowleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17833691996465287103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-16251451937425880502009-08-12T09:51:50.863-05:002009-08-12T09:51:50.863-05:00Interesting that you get your inspiration from bad...Interesting that you get your inspiration from bad movies and pop music. I get my inspiration from modern art and classical music. Why, just the other morning, Lord Fauntleroy and I were discussing the merits of Bach's cantatas and how they could be re-imagined to form a series of short stories. Just kidding. I get my inspiration from crap movies, too. Just doesn't sound as interesting.<br /><br />Books, too, and not just fiction. Sure, I'll read Dirty Sweet or The Good Son and think, "Hmmm, how would my characters have reacted?"<br />Non-fiction, as well, is a huge inspiration, particularly when you can read something about the location you're working with. For example, Jay has been hard at work researching backstory for his new work. And I've read gobs of stuff on the actual town that is the setting for my current work. I don't think you necessarily have to take a "real" event from the non-fiction piece. Rather, I think it helps create the tone and tenor of something you might be working with at the moment. <br /><br />Sounds stooopid to say that I get some writing inspiration from reading books, but, well, the other day the museum was closed and I'd misplaced my opera tickets, so I had to do something.Steve Weddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03876211586767139613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119990365479009764.post-17196054282353319652009-08-12T09:46:28.976-05:002009-08-12T09:46:28.976-05:00That was a very interesting story about being twel...That was a very interesting story about being twelve and viewing a court case. I wonder if you won't find forensics work their way into your books now that you've thought about that. <br /><br />Having attended a trial about a horrific crime myself recently, I think I would write about such things considerably differently than I would have before.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.com