It's a good thing the first Wednesday in May is on the 3rd instead of the 4th, so I don't have to make this post about Star Wars instead of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Learn more about them on their website and Facebook page.Our hosts this month are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Diane Burton, Victoria Marie Lees, and M. Louise Barbour.
Here's our question for May: When you are working on a story, what inspires you?
Since every story is inspired by something different, there's no simple answer. Some stories are inspired by my desire to read a story with an element that doesn't seem to be done very often, like a cozy mystery with a multiracial heroine. The Beatles inspired both my science fiction Catalyst Chronicles series (the rock musician being cloned is based on John Lennon) and my fantasy Season Avatars series (a quartet of characters whose joint work is stronger than their individual efforts). Other stories may be inspired by a theme for an anthology or by a combination of things. (My first published short story, "A Reptile at the Reunion," was inspired by an invitation to a college reunion and the question, "Say...Aren't You Dead?" which was the inspiration for the issue of a magazine I briefly subscribed to back in the late 90s/early 00s.) Ultimately, every story inspiration comes out of something personal, which is part of the reason I have no interest in using AI in my writing.
What inspires you? Feel free to share in the comments.
You don't need AI - you have plenty of ideas on your own.
ReplyDeleteInspiration isn't an issue here :-)
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for IWSG day Joining the Creator Economy
You draw upon a lot of inspiration.
ReplyDeleteI think that's pretty neat that the one science fiction series of yours was inspired by the Beatles! (One of my all-time favourite bands!)
ReplyDeleteNeither would I use AI to write my stories; it would robbed them of my own voice as well as their individual personalities.