Monday Musings is a weekly event hosted by Jen Hayley, Shana Silver, and Chandler Craig that highlights some aspect of the writing life. Short on blog topics? Everyone is welcome to participate. All we ask is that you link to one of our posts and leave your link in the comments. We’ll provide the following week’s topic at the end of each Monday’s post.
Today’s Topic: Where do you go (tv, movies, books) for inspiration?
1. Joss Whedon. Buffy, Firefly, Astonishing X-Men, Doctor Horrible. You name it. I probably sound like a broken record, but I am in complete awe of his writing talent. From dialogue, to character building, to plotting to the successful use of comedy even in the bleakest times up until the moment when the whole thing shifts into serious, dramatic mode. Something about this comedy/serious balancing act makes the impact of those serious moments so much more. So, when I’m feeling a little creatively dry, I sit down for a marathon of a Joss Whedon show and refill the well. Works every time.
2. There are a lot of things I keep going back to at one time or another for inspiration. I’ll reread Stray by Rachel Vincent because I love the writing and the voice. I’ll reread Uglies by Scott Westerfeld because the voice, the characters and the adventure. I’ll rewatch Veronica Mars because of the dialogue and the fun detective skills she uses.
3. And last, Harry Potter. I have a long, separate post on this planned for Thursday, so I’ll try to keep it short. I just think there’s so much about Harry Potter I can get inspiration from. Can you talk about incredible world-building? I mean, so so so many details are developed in this world. And then there’s the characters we’ve all grown to know and love. Not to mention Severus Snape and the way Rowling revealed who is really is deep down and how it explains everything he’s done so well, I couldn’t believe I’d never guessed it myself. It’s so easy to find inspiration in these books (and even the movies).
