Inspiration

The art of creation is a fascinating thing. I think every artist will tell you that they have a certain creative "method" that works best for them, and I also think it's possible that each and every one of those methods is different from all of the others. There are some common themes, of course, but at the end of the day, we all have our very own, very unique ways of designing and executing our creative visions.

I have personally always been inspired by music. It's been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember, whether I've been the one making it (I've played the oboe since I was 11, and honestly believe it's one of the most beautiful instruments on the entire planet), listening to it live as a member of the audience or from the comfort of my own home. There's so much power to it - it's ability to evoke emotions of all kinds, to provide comfort, to somehow create an entirely intangible yet relatable entity to its listener. I have the utmost respect and admiration for songwriters and musicians.

There are several different types of music that I listen to when I sit down to write. It all depends on what's appropriate at the time, but I'm generally working on some sort of fantasy fiction. As a result, I tend to drift towards some "darker" genres/styles, but honestly that's mostly what I stick to in my every day music choices anyway. I love listening to scores from movies and video games and generally keep to those when I'm really on a roll because sometimes lyrics can be distracting. Other times, however, lyrics fit in perfectly with what I'm doing and I kind of let those songs become the "soundtrack" to a scene or chapter. It's not weird for me to hear a song playing when I'm out somewhere and instantly think about a character or scene that I've recently written. Again - music and it's power are truly awesome.

Nightfire, Forsaken and Phoenix (at least so far) have all been set to several different movie and video game scores, as well as songs by bands that I love. For example, Breaking Benjamin (one of my all-time favorite bands) always makes me think of Sam. There are so many songs by that band in particular that apply to Sam's character and the trials he has gone through/will go through, and I love listening to them while I'm writing his scenes. The scores to movies like Inception and games like Mass Effect have inspired the books as well. Hell, a song by Bullet For My Valentine actually sparked my original idea for the entire trilogy.

I honestly believe that music not only inspires me, but that it improves my writing, too. It allows me to get in touch with the emotions that I need to reach in order to accurately and realistically portray the actions, reactions, and thought processes of my characters. It helps me to develop a certain depth to my characters and to my stories, to make them more than just words printed on a piece of paper.

Tell me...what inspires you?

Until next time...