– Ray Bradbury
(from the intro to The Ray Bradbury Theater)
Ray Bradbury is an example of American creativity. He has written over 500 works, many that are read and reread by millions. Age and a stroke could not slow the Master down as he continues to pen new worlds that will be long remembered in the minds of his dreaming fans.
“I get my ideas from everywhere and anywhere – from life in general. But I get most of my ideas from my family, my four friends who are very interesting. So anytime they say something funny I just write it down.”
– Eoin Colfer
(from a CBBC interview, 2003)
Eoin Colfer has been writing for a while but he only received recognition with Artemis Fowl, a fantasy novel that the author described as “Die Hard with fairies.”
The Artemis Fowl series have crossed into the graphic novel genre with the aptly titled Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel.
“They pretty much seep to the surface, whether I want them to or not.”
– Will Christopher Baer
(from the author’s FAQ)
Kiss Me, Judas was the first of Baer’s books I’ve read and after I turned the last page over, I walked away, not fully comprehending what I’ve just read and that’s okay. Baer’s work isn’t meant to be understood at first reading. It’s the re-reading and then comprehension dawns, like sunlight creeping in at minute intervals.
Phineas Poe, the (anti)hero of Judas would continue for two more novels – Penny Dreadful and Hell’s Half Acre.
“I get my ideas from everywhere. But what all of my ideas boil down to is seeing maybe one thing, but in a lot of cases it’s seeing two things and having them come together in some new and interesting way, and then adding the question ‘What if?’ ‘What if’ is always the key question.”
– Stephen King
(from the author’s FAQ)
This was one of the many answers to “where do you get your ideas?” My personal favorite is “a small, bloodthirsty elf who lives in a hole under my desk” from On Writing.
Everything said about King has been said already, nothing that I would write would add or take away from the man. What I know is he has been asked the ‘idea question’ so many times, I’m surprised he hasn’t stabbed a fan in the eye.
“I get most of my ideas by pushing things to the extreme. Take situation X, push it as far as it ca go, see whether it becomes sublime, ridiculous, or some combination of the two. Usually a combination. Continue reading ‘A.J. Jacobs’
“I have quite accurate memories of dreams. Also, I developed an ability to let my brain be permeable: if I see and image, it might remind of something else. Or I’ll get it confused with something else, because I don’t see it properly, and it becomes something new. So I decide I can use it. Like one afternoon, I was at this occupation center for bright children. They played a game where you put a painting on a turntable and spin it around, and it produces lots of great shapes. The problem, I thought, is that you don’t see the creating, because it’s moving too fast. I thought, wouldn’t it be funny if the camera shot at the same rate. Then you wouldn’t see the spinning, but you would see the shape being created. It’s how my brain works. Finding a solution to a problem is a very important process for me.“
– Michel Gondry
(from a Nerve interview with Michael Martin)
Michel Gondry’s signature style is the whimsical, the seemingly-impossible stuff from humanity’s dreamscape. The French auteur started directing music videos, which led him to film.
His most talked about work is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which won the 2005 Oscar for best screenplay.
“My ideas arise from a life-long habit of asking ‘what if?’ Ideas for my fiction are everywhere. For me it isn’t a mater of having to search for ideas, but more one of culling hundreds of “what ifs” for one or two that stand out. The more I watch and listen, the more questions my mind formulates. Ideas are everywhere. Deciding which ones are worth developing into a novel filled with characters you’ll spend months of your life creating, is the real challenge. I develop my characters from my life observations and experiences with real people. I think all writers cobble together their characters from bit and pieces of real people they’ve collected.”
– John Ramsey Miller
(from an e-mail)
The Mississippi-born John Ramsey Miller is the writer of several heart-stopping, roller coaster thriller, edge-of-seat gripping (and other clichés I can conjure up) books like The Last Family, Upside Down and Inside Out.
Miller is also one of the authors of The Chopin Manuscript distributed by Audible.
“Most of the time, it is not my own experiences that inspire me, but other music and musicians. I don’t really seek it out though.“
– Ingrid Michaelson
(from a Stage Hymns interview, 2006)
The New York native, Ingrid Michaelson has been dabbling in music since young. Her mellifluous songs are easy on the ears, just like her looks, though one’s appearance should not factor into music talent. I mean, look at Britney Spears. See how far that got her.
Ahem. Anyway…
The catchy single, The Way I Am can be heard on the new Old Navy commercial. It can also be heard, along with her other also catchy songs, on her second album, Girls and Boys.
“Well, you know, it’s a funny thing. It’s good luck in my life, it’s the one thing I can do. I was thrown out of school, I’m not a good student, I have no competence in any particular area. For some reason, since I was a kid, I could make up stories, I could make up funny jokes and I could always do it. To this day, when I’m walking down the street or having dinner, ideas will hit me, and I write them down on matchbooks or napkins and throw them in the draw. People ask me whether I think that one day I might wake up one morning and run dry, but I’ve had the opposite feeling – that I would die before I had time to write all the ideas in my drawer.
“When I used to write for television, many years ago, we used to go in on Monday morning, and on Saturday night there was a live television show, and we had to come up with ideas. There was no way out of it. I could sit in a room by myself and come up with ideas. It’s the one thing in life that I can do. I can’t question it, it’s like looking a gift horse in the mouth. I can just do it. They’re not titanic ideas – they’re not Shakespeare or Chekhov, but they’re enough to let me life a very nice living all my life.“
– Woody Allen
(from a Guardian Unlimited interview, 2001)
The nebbish kid from New York, Woody Allen sees life as satire, something that was often seen in many of his works.
He started writing gags and soon wrote for Sid Caesar. His neurosis was a major factor in his stand-up as he riffed about religion, women and other things.
His movie, What’s New Pussycat?, debut in 1965 and after that, Casino Royale, in 1967, a spoof on the James Bond movies. More movies followed but Annie Hall, cemented Allen’s directorial and writing genius.
He continues making movies and still lives and calls New York home.
“Usually it’s something visual that sparks an idea. For The Virgin Blue it was a color; for Girl with a Pearl Earring a painting; for Falling Angels a cemetery and its atmosphere; for The Lady and the Unicorn a set of medieval tapestries. When something strikes me it’s like a spark in my head that ignites, and I know immediately that there’s something there that can make a novel. Usually I don’t write the book immediately. I think of characters and use them to build a story around the spark, then let the spark sit and grow into a little fire, and then a bonfire, and then when the houses start burning I know I must write the book!”
– Tracy Chevalier
(taken from the author’s FAQ)
Termed as a historical novelist, Tracy Chevalier first entered the literary world with her novel, The Virgin Blue but it was Girl with a Pearl Earring that won her acclaim. The novel was also adapted into a film of the same name and starred Scarlett Johansson.
Where Do You Get Your Ideas? 