I’ve been to a few writer’s festivals. I’ve sat in on author Q and A sessions. I’ve even helped host a few online chats between Matthew Reilly and his fans. Throughout all this, one question is by far the most asked – particularly by budding authors of their idols: Where do you get your inspiration?
It seems like an entirely fair question from the outside. These writers all have the most amazing characters, locations and plots (this is true no matter what genre you love) so they must be getting their information from somewhere, right? For an author, though, facing this question can be tough. You’ve either developed a winning formula and don’t want to reveal it, or (more likely) you just brainstorm ideas until you’ve got a coherent book. There may be other options, but the second one is what I’m most familiar with. It sounds random and wasteful, but it isn’t. It sounds like it would be hard to develop something new, but it’s not.
The wo/man who knew to little
For any author (or any creative professional) you can never have too much reference. You can’t expect a great artist to paint a new masterpiece from memory, and the same goes for authors. To write, you have to know as much about your intended world as possible. For a historical fiction writer, you’ll need to research your time period extensively. For a fantasy novelist, you’ll want to read a lot of fantasy novels. If you’re more of an action/comedy type of guy – read and watch action and comedy books and movies!
Being aware of what others are doing gives you marvellous frames of reference for adding to your own work. It would take us lifetimes to create a compelling genre-novel in a vacuum. Unless you’ve actually lived through that grand space war, how can you write about it without some reference?
Inspiration vs Influence
I know a couple of authors who are very wary of reading other people’s work because they are scared of accidentally using an idea at a later date, forgetting they first read it in another little story from some random passer-by. There is wisdom here, for there have been lawsuits for far less when it comes to copying, emulating or just being similar to someone else (whether you knew or not seems irrelevant in some cases!)
But I think the trick is to know as much as possible. For instance, if you’re a lyricist, you’re going to want to know the words to thousands of popular songs so you can be sure not to step on the toes of those who have gone before you. Likewise, for an author, it is much better to KNOW where your inspiration or idea has come from so you can adequately change it to be unique.
Your marvellous idea about breaking into a Nazi fortress during World War 2 sounds a lot like Where Eagles Dare, but once you throw in some occult Nazi research to the tune of Wolfenstein and perhaps make it necessary to smuggle in the War’s first hydrogen bomb prototype (thus delaying the Nagasaki detonation) and now you have the makings of a unique story that borrows from some great works but presents them in a new way that is memorable on its own merits. People may compare it to Where Eagles Dare, but not as an accusation.
The more you know, the more you can ensure you avoid being too similar. Ignorance is not a defence against a lawsuit if you accidentally write a knock-off of Bullitt just because you never watched the film.
Keep looking!
So, where do you get your inspiration? Everywhere. Newspapers, movies, books, computer games, comics – the more your know the more you can adapt your work to be unique from all the others and yet capitalise on their triumphs and mistakes. And if you’re ever in doubt about the source of an idea; remember you have the power to change it into something unique. It just takes a little brainstorming.