Inspirations & Motivations

A writer friend of mine recently asked two questions: 

1. Where do you get your inspiration and your motivation from?

2. What do you do with bits of inspired writing not long enough for a story? 

Inspiration and motivation can be found all around us. Movies for instance. 

Dr. Zhivago

Dr. Zhivago, a story of Russia in the days of the Revolution, wrapped around a love story. But it starts off so dark. In the opening scene of Dr. Zhivago, one of the characters says, "There were children in those days who lived off human flesh, did you know that?" 

Who would write a love story that starts off like that? A guy named Boris Pasternak, who was awarded the Nobel Prize but couldn't go get it. His life was something else, worthy of its own read. For example, the Russian government threw his girlfriend in the gulag for three years because they didn't like what he was doing.

Writer Stuff:

Inspiration and motivation can even come from simple knowledge. Like the following: 

MacGuffin: (n) An object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot. I recently watched another classic: The Maltese Falcon. The statue at the heart of the plot is a perfect example of a MacGuffin. The whole movie revolves around this statue. Definitely inspirational. The Lord of the Rings anyone? Another series set around a MacGuffin. You can do it too!

Obvious State: A website with some excellent literary quotes and fantastic accompanying pictures. One of my favorite, which I was unaware of, was this gem: [Exit, pursued by a bear]. That's a stage direction from William Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale. I won't get any money if you follow the link, I just think it's a good site for motivation. Writers should want their writing to be good enough to be turned into a work of 'art art' to mirror the work of 'word art' it truly is.

French Opera

I absolutely enjoy having friends from all corners of the globe. It exposes me to so many things I would never come across. Like this: a small snippet of song, from one of my writer friends overseas (Howdy AJ Jon!). I reviewed a piece of work by him and some others and they inserted the following lyrics at the beginning of their story, which was about a girl who loved the opera. 

passons nos jours dans ces vergers, 

loin des amours et des bergers,

passons nos jours, 

passons nos jours, 

loin des amours et des bergers

[translated from the French]

Let's spend our days in these orchards, 

far from loves and shepherds, 

let's spend our days, 

let's spend our days, 

far from loves and shepherds

So simple, so powerful. Though I am a little confused on why the shepherds need to be distanced from, lol. The lyrics are from Pomone, considered to be the first truly French opera. Composed by Robert Cambert, Pomone premiered in 1671 during the reign of Louis XIV. You can get some more information and hear the song here. I guess the lesson here is to cultivate friends from far afield, and with different interests than yours, besides writing of course.

That'll do Pig. That'll do.

And lastly, one of the most powerful motivators comes a job well done. The following is a missive from one of my recent editing jobs (slightly edited for anonymity): 

"I started reading the first six chapters. I cannot believe how you have transformed my book. It is so much better! It just tells me how much I have to learn. I will finish reading it this week.

I would just like to say thank you so much. If the rest [of the book edits] are as good as the first six chapters, I am going to be a very happy man. 

I really can’t thank you enough. Let me know when you want the final payment and I shall send it to you. I look forward to working with you on my future books.

A very grateful [Author]

I am grateful to be able to work with such wonderful authors. He is a huge motivation for me to do my best! 

Now go forth and write!

Music

30APR17: To close out this month of April, here's a little bit about music. I listen to all sorts and I will date myself with some of the tunes I bang my head to, lol. 

First off, if I searched my soul for my fondest music memory, it would be listening to the Supertramp Live in Paris double album at my Dad's house in Inglewood. My dad had this sweet setup back in the day with huge speakers and a dual turntable that would automatically play the second record when the first one was done. 

*For the youngins in the audience, a record is a big rough black piece of plastic about the size of a dinner plate. Has a bunch of grooves in it and you had to place a little needle on the outer edge of the record in order to start the music. 

I would lie on the carpeted floor, close my eyes and be transported to the center of a roaring Parisian crowd.

Supertramp

That was my first taste of Supertramp and it soured their studio albums for me. I wanted a more organic feel than studio perfection. I did see them in concert later in life, which was a great experience! 

So that is at my soul's core. Right next door though are some strange neighbors. Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies (thanks to my Dad, who had the first ST album I listened to, and shout out to anyone else from SoCal out there!) and Nine Inch Nails (NIN) are near and dear to my heart too. Pretty Hate Machine is one of the best albums out there, in my opinion, but then so is a lot of Trent's later stuff too. System of a Down and other bands like that, I can listen to them all day long. My wife calls it my Angry Beaver Music, lol.

After that I have my alternative/L.A. tastes. Rooted in my exposure growing up with the non-genre that is the Los Angeles melting pot music scene, I also had a bunkmate during my first few years in the Navy who was alternative to the core and re-ignited in me a love of the odd, out there, and definitely non-mainstream. Old Depeche Mode, Art of Noise, The Cure, the Smiths, Morrissey when he went solo, Concrete Blonde, Tori Amos, Sublime, Violent Femmes of course, can't forget them,... All great stuff.

Old-fashioned rock and roll and oldies makes up a lot of my playlists too. Thanks Uncle Joey and Uncle Santos. "Just take that old record off the shelf..."

So what can you expect from my playlist? Wow, well nothing typical and nothing easily predicted/expected. Here's a rundown of the last ten songs or so I listened to:

1.  Metallica - Master of Puppets
2. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird (how did I never notice they used only y's in their band name?)
3. Santana - Do You Like the Way
4. James - Laid
5. The Bravery - The Bad Sun (Sun Version)
6. Seal - Killer
7. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
8. Rammstein - Du Hast
9. Rolling Stones - Paint it Black
10. Matisyahu - King Without a Crown

No NIN or Supertramp in there, but a pretty good sample of what I jam out to. When writing, I will sometimes listen to music to inspire me, other times I will set it to play my favorites and take inspiration as it comes. 

I'm totally interested it what sounds you hear when you search your soul and find your fondest music memory. What makes your heart dance and sing? What makes your tail wag?

Picture for today is the cover to the Supertramp in Paris album.