People often ask me where I get my ideas from and I find that it’s sometimes difficult to put across exactly how the mad stuff enters my head. You see I’m one of those folk who get bored easily, so start daydreaming and musing about stuff and then will see something that seems to send a lightbulb off in my head. I then reach for my ideas book, which I try and carry with me at all times (having lost lots of ideas in the past due to forgetting them), and jot the idea down. That’s mainly how I do it. Ideas that have come to me through this process (if you can call it that) include:
– the Klapp demons…I was walking around Glasgow one day, near to where the M8 disects the city, and was watching the cars whizzing by when it suddenly occurred to me that maybe there could be creatures that could cling on to the underside of the cars. These creatures, Klapp demons (their names just popped into my head and stuck), would of course be stinky and scraggy (well, there’s a lot of dirt and wet and mud on the roads for starters, but they are generally very wary of water) and would need long limbs and strong fingers and toes for hanging on.
– Shona the dragon…I used to go down to Irvine Beach in Ayrshire and there, overlooking, the lovely beach is a huge stone dragon. I often fantasised about her coming alive and wondered what her story would be.
– I have an idea for another story that involves a disused gate I’ve seen and a path. I will say no more. The story continues to form in my brain, maybe one day I will get it down.
If you are stuck for inspiration, here’s few ideas of where to look:
– be inspired by song lyrics, lines from books, other people’s stories (a la Wicked and Bridget Jones’ Diary for instance)
– stories from newspapers, televisions, magazines
– things people, including children, say and overheard conversations
– places you’ve visited
– pictures, photographs, artwork
– animals
– toys (I always loved the idea of toys coming alive at night and having their own little secret lives)
– words formed by car number plates (very good for unusual names of characters)
– dreams and daydreaming (which I love to do when I have the time or energy)
– a lie you’ve made up (ie write something down like ‘I can fly’ and take your story from there)
– be inspired by famous quotes
And if you find yourself stuck for something to write, just write down any old thing just to get you started. You can edit it later!!
Right, enough lecturing on writing for today. So what’s been happening in my life lately? There are a few things… I finally finished my curtains and then discovered they were not wide enough to fit the study window. Sigh. The reason for this is that, having never made curtains before, I followed the book to a tee…it has omitted to talk about the material width, a mistake I think. Anyway, have hung the curtains up in the top hall window and I think they look nice, but hubby doesn’t. I think I will have to find a new home for them. Should have used the material for a funky 60s inspired dress like I was going to!!
Also went to see Love & Money in concert last Sunday night. They were excellent. I was really really tired, but still enjoyed the concert. Well done to James Grant and crew for a brilliant night out!! I’ve seen James as a solo artist many times (his music is fantastic), so this was the first time I’d seen him front his former band. I can’t say enough how good they are!! Here’s the band doing Jocelyn Square (one of hubby’s faves). My favourites is You’re Beautiful, but as I can’t find that on UTube, here’s You’re Not the Only One, another lovely song.
Right, I’ve wittered on enough when I’m supposed to be writing. Oh before I go, found another lovely blog I like to dip into. I think the artwork is lovely and the music soothing. It’s Moonlight and Hares…enjoy!
Dawn xx
