It's a word that is often used by all people creative or innovative, but ask anyone what it is and you will get as many different answers as there were people to ask the question to. The most poetic interpretations can go so far as to say that inspiration is the rain drop that falls perfectly spherical from the heavens and lands in our mortal plain as though a sweet and welcomed interruption. For some it is as simple as waking up every morning to find out that they are still alive.
It's a fickle bitch, this inspiration. In my years as an aspiring musician and hopeful writer, all I can say is that it's not there nearly as often as I'd like it to be. Whether when trying to figure out a piece of music to fill in a blank spot in a new song, or whether to just log into Blogger and start writing a new post. That's the main reason why I even started the suggestion thing. I usually get my inspiration from just sitting around and seeing people walking around. Sounds a little creepy, but I'll try to explain it in a simple and non-creepy manner.
I spent years trying to step out of my life and immerse myself in stories. After a few years of self-indulgence and wasting time, I noticed that the best stories are the real life ones. I have one hell of a personal one, but instead of dwelling in mine, I began to realise that I'm not the only one. By watching other people go about their daily lives -in a non-stalkery way- I was able to think about and piece together their stories. What better inspiration can there be other than real life? Or rather, that's the way I can find mine.
In fact, I often find myself writing in the canteen at my University in the morning after spending half an hour or so in random people's company. Listening to snippets of conversation here and there which leads me to think about the speakers' upbringing, background, home, history, etc. Whether they are genuine or just a mask to hide reality, I can't begin to judge. It is however always inspiring to try.
I love stories and I always have loved them. The most interesting stories I think are the taboo ones that show the true nature of humanity, even if they are fiction. The thing is that, even all the horrible serial murder and psychopathy stories have a foundation in real life. If a human can imagine such things, then, by extension, the human mind is capable of comprehending them. An extreme interpretation would be saying that the story-teller is indeed capable of such acts.
Who could come up with a story of a sociopath if they can't conceive of the notion of the sociopathic mind? Scary isn't it? Therein lies my inspiration - the human mind and all its capabilities for story-telling.
The best stories are not the real life ones. Some true stories are even more incredible because they are hardly believable and yet they have taken place. I know what you mean though. Inspiration has to come through as a real happening that took place around you, but the story can be far from real and far from possible and yet it would still carry the real life sentiments that burden us everyday.
ReplyDeleteTake Lord of the Rings as an example. Hobbits, elves, orcs, the one ring and its power may not exist but they represent real phenomena and their inspiration is quite clear. Whether Tolkien saw the war (the real life situation) and was inspired by it is a question that remains unanswered but the everyday circumstances around him MUST have inspired him unconsciously to create a masterpiece.
Of course there are epic fantasy stories all around us in literature but, personally, just knowing that a story actually happened just give it a little extra edge. It's all a matter of taste in the end.
ReplyDeleteWhich goes back to my original point that, even though it is a fantastic epic, he was inspired by real life because he was obviously alive while writing it. So there are mirrored images of his thoughts within the fantasy itself.
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