Inspiration

When we're traveling, about half the trip I stare outside. You might see trees and flowers.
     But what I see is a world beyond our own, full of elves, princesses, assassins, talking animals, and most importantly, magic.
     I've never gotten any story idea just from the top of my head. It's the inspiration from something.
     For me, mostly inspiration comes from our woods. We own a five-acre lot and most of it's woods surrounding us. You can't even see a little bit of our house from the street.
     My sister enjoys taking walks in the woods while she talks.
     My brother and I? We enjoy fighting the Nazis, being ninjas in the trees, warding off monsters, and dealing with annoying pixies who follow us around. It's not hard to get my sisters outside with us, but I think my brother and I have the most adventures because we're more outdoorsy.
      Inspiration is an interesting thing. What can you see when you look at a mushroom? I see a fairy stool, where fairies come out at night and dance around it.
      What about the lost knife sitting by the road? Surely someone was ambushed and fought for his life, losing his knife in the process.
      It's fun to observe people who are currently unaware of everything but what they see in their world. I've sat in a tree and watched as someone was deep in a battle zone. He was calling out things like, "INTO THE FOXHOLE!"
      "...are they gone, over?"
      "Coast clear, over."
      Then commenced the series of combat rolls and shooting with his Tommy gun.
      It was neat to watch what he did, and he didn't even know I saw him. Okay...it was my brother. But it was neat to watch him engage in a world I'd never dreamed about.

Here are some pictures that I love to bits because I can see so much happening there. If only I could be there too...
(excuse the various sizes...)



 


So...the comments on the last post was a little unexpected. 'Solving the Little Mysteries'.

click to enlarge

Hannah said: Say, that's a good drawing. I'm especially impressed by the shading and curve of the wall. Great job!
 Okay! I'll take it! I was only posting the picture so I could conjure up the post; but thank you!
Clara said: Great post, Molly! Now I want you to answer the questions you asked about that incredibly mysterious picture you drew...I'm especially curious to know who's hand she's holding, and what is that bag in her hand?!
and last but not least,
Lydia said: If your goal was to get us stirred up about a your mysterious picture you have succeeded. It is all VERY mysterious! The mountain background- the bag- the Other person, won't you write us a Short story at least?....Please!!! 

     Firstly, I did want to say: I'm mostly thankful that y'all recognized the bag in her hand. My brother thought it was a chicken drumstick.
      Secondly; I came up with an idea. Y'all wanted me to answer the questions I asked about the girl, maybe in a short story? Whew. I don't know.
     And that's the queue for the idea. What if y'all submitted short stories to my blog? It has to do something with the scene; but the rest is all up to you!
     Watcha think? If I get at least four yeses, then I'll post the rules and a better picture of the scene for you.
    
     That aside, what gives you the most inspiration? (you can also paste a link to an inspiring picture; I'll check it out!)
     Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

-The Writer

Solving the Little Mysteries

Yesterday I was randomly writing, when I thought, “I’ll draw something instead."
     I like to draw characters with the wind howling around them, leaves spraying here and there, and soon, I had drawn a scene.
      Not any particular scene, but you could make a story out of it. You can make a story out of anything, really.
     But the thing about the picture is that there are so many unsolved mysteries in it.

Who is the girl?

What is she doing?

What is she holding?

Why does she give that look?

Whose arm is that? What is it doing?

Where is she?

What is the place she is in?

What’s happening?


How do we solve these mysteries?
     The answer: Ask yourself questions and answer them.
     In stories, the reader needs to know what’s happening. It can’t just happen, even though you understand; the reader doesn’t!
     Who is your character? What is her goal?
     What does she hold that is dear to her?

     What are is the turmoil inside of her? How does she feel about whoever she’s with, what’s happening right now?
      What is your obstacle character, your antagonist? What are they doing to be who they are?
      All this is good to know. But, we do like a look at the scenery. Not too descriptive; you’ll bore the reader.
      What is happening right now? Why does the protagonist find themselves in this situation?
      Don’t skip over a mystery, you need to solve it or the reader might not understand. You don’t want your reader asking all these questions, because they don’t have the answer. You do. It’s your book.

     You don’t want to be overly detailed, either. Seriously, no one wants to know that the backpack that carries the map has intricate figurines stitched on the side, and a pocket in the front with a double zipper carrying the key to the chest. Also, a latch for the light brown, leather cover so the map doesn’t spill out.
     That’s just not going to cut it.
     Also, don't mention something particular if you're not going to use it later on; it could be a mystery you solve later on. It might even be the character just looking around.
     'She glanced down and saw he was holding an object of a curious size. She tried to figure out what it was, but nothing came to her mind. It was a small, glowing object with little indentations.'
     Either I'm going to use this object later in the story, or the character is avoiding something and putting her mind on other things. I'm not just randomly throwing it in there. (actually I am for the post, but that's not important)
     
     You get what I'm saying? These are things I'm trying to work on; not being overly detailed and mentioning things I'm not going to use. I do this quite often and my sister is constantly telling me, "Seriously, what is up with that?"

     My brother came up with the question thing. When you get stuck in one part, ask yourself all sorts of questions, answer them, and use that to help you along. It's worked for me once, and I'm sure it could work again.

     Anyhow, I hope y'all enjoyed the last Wednesday Wonder! I got a lot of delightful comments, and Clara has replied to every one of them, so if you commented check back for a reply! We had quite a bit of fun. :)

Savo'lass a lalaith,

-The Writer