You know, if I were asked this question pre-hive, I would say I just like to get my thoughts out. And Post-hive, let’s say 6 months in, I would say because I like the feel of the keyboard, sharing thoughts with people who’d read and comment. Also, incentive. Those were all the inspirations I need. However, now things are different.
I used to write a lot of fiction, weekly. Sometimes twice. I could quickly cook up something and polish it until it was the spitting image of what I visualized. I have a few stories that I deem worthy of such trophies. However, these days, it is not that way anymore. I cannot just write when I feel like it. I feel drained most of the time daily. Navigating real life and online is not easy.
Still, there are things that I come across that touch and ignite a flame in my heart. My fingers itch and my mind buzzes. When it comes to fiction, I need a solid train of thought. Something must have caught my attention. When I wrote Bai Li Mei, I was enamored with historical Chinese fiction. I had this train of thought when reading a historical novel of Chinese setting, ‘what if the general was just another civilian of high status and what if the civilian used to be a royal consort? What would happen if roles were reversed?’
That train of thought sparked images in my head that were bright and lovely. I needed to know what the story was between these characters in a parallel universe and so I wrote about it. It was effortless because I had all the pictures, the dialogue and the colors. I saw the background.
For A FANTASY TALE: FRIEND BY MOONLIGHT., I was drawn to stories of werewolves and vampires. I was taken with a particular character in a novel that when I saw that prompt, my mind went… ‘Just how do I bring my own demi-human to life?’ ‘Who would she be and what would she encounter?’ When I picked up my phone and began to write, my insides quivered with so much excitement it was almost painful. They contracted when the face and form of my protagonist became so clear to me. Her hair and her guile. She felt real. Once again, writing that was effortless.
More often than not, I draw my inspirations from music as well. Listening to a particular song can spark a story line which I would have to work on for hours sometimes days. The process always begins from within. I must see the beginning to the end before I pick up my laptop or phone. This happened recently with my fiction ‘STAGE’. Listening to Beethoven’s Fur Elise made me wonder. Then I remembered a Ghanaian show I watched where a woman recounted how she married and had children with her son without knowing he was the boy she put up for adoption.
It first started with putting myself in her shoes. Trying to understand just what she would feel. Then it transcended to building a story around who this faceless character in my head was and where she came from. Beethoven helped to immerse me in the story line that for three days, I saw myself as Elise. I looked at the world as Elise and would ask myself, ‘what would Elise say?’ It is a short story and some would reason that I did not need to go the extra mile but I wanted to. I just had to know what being someone else would feel like.
Right now, I am still working on The Fae Princess. It has been on hold but I am working on fully grasping the picture I want to create. G.E.M’s Light Years Away is helping with that. I think my biggest issue is not being able to understand my characters and their motives. This is what I am trying so hard to study.
In a nutshell, I draw inspiration from stories and people around me. You might not believe it but I have a book where I have put down very weird imaginations to some Hive users. That book is heavily guarded. I go there sometimes if I want to draw something.
This is my entry to Day 27 of the INLEO daily prompt for the month of June. Join now by clicking this link to participate. Image is mine and edited with Canva Pro
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Wes & Grindan