Joely Sue Burkhart

Thursday Thirteen (TT#28)

Thirteen Ways I Get Story Ideas
One of the writing lists I’m on had a weekly talk prompt today about where we get our ideas. Since there’s so many, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for TT!

1. Other really good or unique books. No plagerism–don’t get me wrong–but inspiration. Wow, I never thought of what it would be like for vampires and shapeshifters to exist in modern day St. Louis with a main character known as The Executioner. (Laurell K. Hamilton) This includes myths and fairy tales. I LOVE mythology of all kinds.

2. Other really bad books. You know, the “I can’t believe this got published! I can write waaaaay better than that!”

3. Really good movies. Just watching Jane Eyre gives me goose bumps and I want to whip out a historical RIGHT NOW.

4. Really bad movies. Underworld. I created vamps and shifters the “right” way (in my not so humble opinion!) in Beautiful Death as a result.

5. Music. Certain lyrics, or the music itself. Every story I write ends up with a theme song. Sometimes the song comes first.

6. Overheard imaginary conversation. Sounds weird, but I get snippets of dialogue in my head and they will not go away. I don’t know who’s speaking, and the voices aren’t speaking to me (or I’d be really worried about my sanity).

7. Overheard real conversation, whether TV or at a restaurant, etc. Once I was watching Judge Judy and this older lady was mad at a landscaper because her yard was “nothing but weeds and crabgrass.” That inspired a story idea where all the characters had the personality of plants, in particular crab grass, thistles, stink weed. It would have been really fun, but it’s still in my “ideas” folder in my brain.

8. Dreams. I dreamed the My Beloved world (Survive My Fire, Blood Rose) for YEARS before I ever tried to write it down. I would prime a scene in my mind, fall asleep, and dream it. Lovely. Now with three monsters, I rarely get enough sleep and those “dreaming” sessions are long gone.

9. Pictures. There’s a certain picture I stumbled across that IS Gregar (picture in the sidebar yowsa!) the Shadowed Blood, of the My Beloved world. I see that picture and I’m so deep into his mind that I wonder if I’ll ever come out.

10. Submission calls. My overachieving perfectionist brain sees an “assignment” and gallops ahead at full speed!

11. News. Remember the horrible pictures of people stranded in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina? That still haunts me, touching the people locked out of New Olympia in Beautiful Death as well as a gothic I want to write next month.

12. The monsters. Sometimes it’s just their unique, crazy, sweet personalities, especially MM. She is a mix of contradictions. One minute fearless; the next afraid. I really try to blend complexities into my characters as a result.

13. Church. Okay, you might think this is a stretch. But especially in the My Beloved world, one of the underlying themes is that everything happens according to the gods’ will, even the bad stuff. That horrible events can be used for good; that even the worst creature of Shadow can be redeemed. And of course, the blood of salvation. I think a lot of my blood/sacrifice themes can be traced back to my background as a Christian.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007 at 9:29 pm and is filed under Writing, Thursday Thirteen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

30 Responses to “Thursday Thirteen (TT#28)”

Ann Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Hey, great list. Maybe I should do that next week, it’ll probably take me that long to get it written *g*. Happy TT.
P.S. I finished the Harlequin, have you read it yet? If so, what did you think?
MamaLee Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Thanks for sharing your inspirations with us!
Joely Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Ann, no, I haven’t read it yet. I keep telling myself to be strong, that I refuse to buy LKH in hardcover any longer, but….. I really wanna read it! And then I’ll be all disgusted at myself for reading it straight through in one sitting like an addict.
Crimson Wife Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Interesting food for thought! So often when reading fiction I wonder that exact thing (particularly when I read SF and fantasy novels).

Thanks for sharing…
maiylah Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
i love mythology, too, though am not an expert.
thanks for sharing!
Wylie Kinson Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
I COMPLETELY relate to #6. Here’s a snippet from my head that popped up two days ago and now I’m waiting for a story to gel around it:
“But I don’t love you with my eyes. I love you with my heart.”
Don’t know what it means (yet) or who’s saying it (yet) but I do know it’s a tragic love story.
Christine Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Thanks for sharing the sources of your inspiration with us. I really enjoyed this post. I too get lots of my story ideas in church - so number 13 resonated with me.

I’ve got 13 cool writing tips from Jack Kerouac posted for this week’s TT - do stop by!
Michelle M Pillow Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Great list!
Raven Paranormal Blog Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Happy T13!
JHS Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
I don’t think getting ideas in church is weird at all . . .

My list is posted! Stop by for a laugh.
Thomma Lyn Says:
June 13th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
What a neat list! I get my ideas from many of the sources you described, and I would add, also, poems. One of my novels was inspired by Tennyson’s poem “The Lady of Shalott.”

Happy TT, and thanks for visiting mine!
Dorothy Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 5:02 am
I like your inspiration list. #6 and #7 is what I do a lot. Use imaginary and real conversations, carry them around with me till I get them written down.
N.J. Walters Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 5:33 am
Interesting list. Inspiration really does come from all around us. Magazines can be useful too.
Imogen Howson Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Fabulous list! And with you all the way with Underworld. Way to take a brilliant high-concept idea and turn it into a big old mess. *sigh* Looking forward to Beautiful Death instead!
Babe Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 6:00 am
Yep. I agree. I’ve been inspired by most of the same things.
Christine d'Abo Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 6:27 am
I get a lot of my ideas from dreams and pictures. Music plays a big part too, but not so much these days with my little ones around. And sometimes I like to just sit and think, usually on my way home from work.

Great list!
Susan Helene Gottfried Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Your ability to break things down to their elements amazes me, Joely. Me, I’d have to say that my inspiration is music, but that’s not entirely true. The roadie poem from earlier this week came from a memory of watching roadies on the stage at shows and wishing I was one of them (I learned the error of my ways quickly on THAT one! Stage crew is a hard life).

Happy TT, babe.
Ann(ie) Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 7:53 am
I got an idea reading a blog yesterday.
Tempest Knight Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Great TTs! Sometimes it amazes me how other authors come up with their ideas for their stories. The only way I get mine is when the Muses smack me in the head with one. *LOL*
May Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 8:45 am
I use 6 and 11 a lot.
Lori Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Ive always wondered that…..thanks for sharing.
Lorelei James Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 10:44 am
I have more inspirations than time…a standard writer’s trait I’m sure, but I’m always interested in learning what inspires others. Great list.
Jess Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Great list! Number 8 would be my favorite if I could remember then. They’re SO vivid and the conflict is rich; I’ve got whole plots in there, but the details always fade too soon. I can usually remember a really good premise or character, but not enough of everything else to want to write it.
Lesley Speller Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
What a great list! I can totally relate to the internal conversations. I shock and horrify my husband on occasion when some of the conversation finds its way out of my mouth. hehehe He thinks I’m nuts.
PJ Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
Great list, overheard conversations are always so fascinating.
Amy Ruttan Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Yep, Yep Yep to all those! great list, and that’s how I get my inspiration too. And Jane Eyre, whoa, that is one great book and movie!!!

Happy TT!
Nancy Bond Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
A very intriguing list, Joely. Most of my ideas are daydreams, I think. And some come from places inside I didn’t even know existed.
spyscribbler Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
What a great list! You know, every time I read a LKH novel, I have this influx of ideas. She’ll mention one little thing, and my imagination will start firing off all these ideas.

Happy TT!
Joely Says:
June 14th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Thank you, everyone, for stopping by! I hope you left with a little inspiration!
Joely Sue Burkhart » Blog Archive » Thursday Thirteen (TT#30) Says:
July 4th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
[…] 3. Mine: Story Ideas […]

Thursday Thirteen (TT#28)

30 Responses to “Thursday Thirteen (TT#28)”

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