It’s not WIP Wednesday, but I thought it might be fun to talk about what inspired and influenced my novel that’s coming out this fall, The Phoenix Codex, and ask you about your work in progress or recently finished work. Here are a few things that fed into the writing of the first book in my trilogy!
1. My main inspiration was a silly idea I had when I was young. Because of a few dramatic coincidences, I believed bad things happened to anyone who was mean to me. Even as an adult, I’ve seen a few more coincidences like that, though I don’t seriously believe it’s true.
This led me to the character of Cassie Rios. When she gets really mad at someone — not just annoyed, but furious — wild animals soon attack that person. This was the germ of the story, and the whole mythology about a secret society came later.
2. When I was a kid, my parents had a coffee table book called The Art of Walt Disney. I was entranced by the gorgeous illustrations, and one story line stood out to me.
I never saw the original Disney Snow White movie as a kid (or as an adult, for that matter.) The book featured a couple of stills from the movie (and I may not be pulling the exact ones here, because it was a long time ago and I don’t have the book in front of me.)
The Huntsman is ordered by the Queen to take Snow out to the forest and murder her, and he almost does it…
But he realizes she’s innocent, and he begs her forgiveness. (This image was definitely in the book.)
For whatever reason, this powerful switch from violent intentions to contrition really affected me as a kid, and it stayed with me.
My heroine in The Phoenix Codex, Cassie Rios, is no Snow White. She’s a divorced woman who swears a lot when she’s angry or scared. My hero, Jonathan West, has been sent to kill her because the secret society he belongs to thinks she’s a murderous witch.
Unlike the huntsman, Jonathan started out with an actual reason to believe the heroine needed killing. When he realizes she’s innocent, then like the huntsman, he’s overcome with remorse. He quickly switches from a would-be assassin to someone who wants to protect her.
3. I’ve talked a lot on this blog about making a recovery from suicidal depression, and my experience feeds one scene in the book. That’s as much as I’ll say, or it will be too much of a spoiler. A few of my beta readers have told me this scene really worked for them and resonated with them.
I want to share one other inspiration, but it would be a complete spoiler! I’ll wait until after the book’s been out for a while.
I always make a playlist for a novel, and I listened to “E-Pro” by Beck a lot. My story is set in the Southwest, and to me “E-Pro” had a Western and supernatural vibe. The other theme song was “Butterflies and Hurricanes” by Muse, which to me really spoke to the changes and choices Cassie faces in the story.
Any story we write is a mix of hundreds of experiences and influences, and maybe some divine inspiration as well. I think it’s kind of cool how our brains will mix different things together and come up with a brand new cocktail.
What stories or experiences inspired you in your work? Do you have music that you turn to again and again when you’re writing it? I’d love to hear! Happy Friday, and thanks for reading!
Since I’ve been writing more of that fanfiction story I posted on WIP Wednesday than on my original work, I’ll tell what inspires me while writing that story. Because it’s a pirate story, partly, I always listen to a playlist with all the soundtracks of Pirates of the Caribbean, on YouTube. Furthermore, since the webcomic Homestuck I write the fanfiction for has a lot (really a lot) of music, I listen to the tracks that are allocated to the characters I write about. A favorite of mine is the song called Cobalt Corsair. Since my musical knowledge is good enough to compose, I write some music for specific scenes or characters sometimes, to which I also listen during writing. This is one of the songs for the story: https://musescore.com/user/4989536/scores/3702891
Just a note: I’m not trying to advertise my music, it’s just an example 🙂
Kiete — OH MY GOSH. I had no idea you were a composer!! I am so impressed that it made me tear up a little… I know, I’m a weirdo. But it’s so good! What a cool site that is… I love being able to see the score as I listen! Anyway, wow, that is sooo cool. Share any time!!
Thanks a lot! It’s not unusual to tear up, given what music tends to evoke in people. Funny thing: I spend only four hours composing this song, while it sometimes takes weeks to make something not as good.
Do you play an instrument? I’m curious.
Sometimes a song gives me a plot, sometimes it just gives the mood for some details in the story. Sometimes a character has it stuck in his head because it matches, for him, partially a situation he is confronted with (just like in life).
I get inspiration from people around me, from stories I have heard from relatives that happened decades ago, from people whose name I just heard, from movies and books and songs (through association of ideas)… practically from everywhere.
Hi, Marina! I never really think about family stories as inspiration, and that makes total sense. I’m like you… I can really associate songs with characters sometimes. It’s true, inspiration can come from just about anywhere. 🙂 Thanks so much for commenting!
I would love to share what influenced my current WiP, but almost anything I say about the influences would spoil the book. I can tell you the plot starts on page one and the ending is complete on its own, but this book turned into a minimum of 2 more books. Book of Nine, Book of Ennead, Padma.
Logline: Pulled by a force into the 14th century, Tommy is paired with Queen Joan of Navarre. The two walk a dangerous path to complete the ancient Book of Nine, which illustrates an advanced technology that may free mankind from the enslavement of the last 300,000 years.
My current work in progress is inspired partly by my own journey of self discovery in the last few years and a conversation about romantic comedies I had with a friend. In my WIP, Batter Days, Ally’s world gets turned upside down by a series of events that lead her to discover what she really wants and that she has the strength to make those dreams a reality. This is inspired by my own journey as a writer. I went from only ever journaling or writing things for myself, to posting some stories online, to finally working on my first novel.
During her journey, Ally discovers that the love of her life, Derek, has been there all along. My friends and I talked about how we loved the movies that showed friends realizing they were more. They already know the good, the bad, and the ugly about each other and accept it. We all agreed that this is the type of relationship we want in our own lives. So I decided to give my characters a chance at that.
The inspiration for my current WIP came from a dare. My wife challenged me to write a story set in a barbershop. At first, I scoffed at the idea. Though I’ve been to many barbershops, I didn’t think there was anything fascinating about it. But I wrote it anyway. I printed a copy for my wife to read and sent it to a writing friend. They both said the same thing. The story was good. It needed more structure. It was missing something. So I rewrote it, drawing on experiences from my times at the barbershop when I was little. I crafted a new story from that. As I wrote it, I began to enjoy writing it. It was something I knew. And it was something I could share with others. And as I wrote this latest draft, I thought of other characters. Other storylines. I think I want to make a series out of it.
Right now, I sent the latest draft to a couple of writing friends. One writer says it’s ready for posting on my blog, if I decide to go that route. I probably will. And I’m brainstorming ideas for new stories in what might be a potential series.
I love that Muse song.
My WIP right now is a poetry collection printed in blue ink, and it was “inspired” by the discovery of a risograph printing machine around the corner. I’ve been formatting books for years for CreateSpace and the like, so the thought of physically printing and binding something myself – even selecting the paper and spine tape – is fresh and new. I like the idea of minor idiosyncrasies in each copy, and a limited edition (probably 100). And blue. 🙂
The actual poems were written over the last 15 or so years (the teenage ones needed serious tweaking). Some were written simultaneously with my recently-published memoir and explore the same themes, so it’s almost a companion book. 🙂
Most of my stories were inspired by dreams. Yes, I write down my most interesting dreams while I can (not quite a dream-diary). Certainly my current and last 2 stories all came out of dreams. However, other inspirations have been music (esp dance music), art, depression, loneliness, the introvert in the extrovert world, my own quest for meaning in life.
I like your inspirations. I am glad to know that that I’m not the only one who got ideas from childhood. My main male character was inspired by a crush I had on my bus driver when I was in middle school. Of course, in my trilogy Ricky is much more than a bus driver, he’s the school counselor, whose father owns the bus company. He also has special powers, as does my female character, and many of the people she works for. I was very much into fairy tales as a child – not the Disney type, but more like those inspired by Celtic traditions, so there’s a bit of that in there. And since the area in which I live is heavily entrenched in superstition about witches, I had to put that in as well. Sci-Fi is also a huge thing for me, so there are elements of that in my book. Think brainwashing technology and using aliens as a cover for something sinister.
The song Something Just Like This by Coldplay and The Chainsmokers feels like an anthem for my current WIP. I made myself a playlist on Spotify of similar songs that I feel match the tone of the song including some from Megan Davies who I recently discovered.
The two inspirations for my WIP are a writing assignment from the 6th Grade and a dream I had. In 6th grade, we were instructed to create a monster and write a story about it. While other kids drew things with nine eyes or giant claws, I drew a black figure in a trench coat and hat. I named it the Shadow Stealer. The story crudely outlined a villain that stole a person’s shadow and if it was not found in three days, that person disappeared forever. This creature has become The Changlings in my current WIP. I draw off of the Celtic mythology of The Changlings as well as my original creation. The dream was of two sisters frantically searching for something in the attic of an ancient home. It has taken many years and many starts for this story to finally take on a life of it’s own. Now, I can’t keep the ideas from flowing and I am so excited. (Cue Jessie Spano)