The Source
In prior posts, I have hinted to the creative spark which ignites our senses and serves to help form a path towards bringing our visions to life. I remain in awe to this day at its unpredictability and aptitude to help us fashion a coherent expression. When you are walking down the street it can hit suddenly with a kaleidoscope of images or emotions, forcing you to pause to take notes. I can imagine it is similar to effects empaths or telepaths experience in our favorite science fiction works, where they are practically knocked on their asses from the sheer volume of information being pumped into their psyche.
The sources of our creative expressions are far too diverse for me to cover in a simple blog post. They can range from music, books, famous figures, movies, religion, those closest to us or looking skyward to marvel at the gift our universe saw fit to provide us; the list goes on. I have mentioned a few of mine in previous posts; Game of Thornes, The Vampire Diaries and The Walking Dead. They challenged my perspectives relating to how a story can be told. In doing so they inspired me to move out of my comfort zone and view content creation through a different lens. I am going to focus on a small portion of sources helping put the pep in my step when it comes to writing.
In many ways, the title of this post is a subtle nod towards one category of sources; books and the authors who craft them. After reading The Source, published in 1965, I was immediately drawn to its creator, James A. Michener. His breadth, thoroughness and attention to detail helped form my initial foundation on creative expression. When I watched the highly successful miniseries, Centennial, which aired in 1978, it led me to his book with the same title. I began to read others with similar approaches; Leon Uris and Herman Wouk. I also exposed myself to Jack London and Rudyard Kipling by ordering their works through a variety of book clubs. The depth of emotion, richness of characters and literary accuracy they articulated are the very things I observe in my own work.
One of the most potent sources is music. If I failed to mention it in this writing there are enthusiasts in my life who would probably smack me over the head. In my particular case, I am referring to musical scores of motion pictures and certain video games. The one who inspires me most is John Williams, whose orchestration of the Star Wars movies cleaned out my ears, creating a greater respect for our ability to capture motion and emotion without saying a word. Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner did outstanding work on some of the Star Trek movies focusing on the original crew of the starship Enterprise. Michael Giacchino’s, Main Theme and Enterprising Young Men themes for the Star Trek reboot helped form a visualization in my mind of how the Sy’Arrians utilize Akasha, making it much easier to put into written word. Danny Elfman’s main title theme for the 2001 version of Planet of the Apes has assisted in building the appropriate mood for the second book in my series, The Fury of Ages. Inon Zur composed an excellent piece for the video game, Fallout 4, which I have played several times over. His introductory score elicited enough emotion inside me to create, what I hope to be a very poignant moment in one of the early chapters for my second book.
Last but not least are those who are closest to us. Let me be clear regarding one facet of my personality. I am not one of those hierarchy types of thinkers where some arbitrary element is labeled more important than another simply based on who is interpreting it at a given moment. In my personal opinion, when we begin placing our beliefs in a laundry list beginning with the most important and eventually leading to the least important, we begin to tread very dangerously down a path towards fanaticism. Trust me, fanaticism can be found in many aspects of our lives and we often do not recognize it until everyone around us looks at us like we just drank the special Kool-aide. Hmm…a topic for another time.
Not to contradict what I just mentioned but I cannot emphasize the value of non-biased and intellectually honest people in our lives. As a content creator who wants to not only be successful but also respect his craft, the observations and input garnered from those closest to me has been invaluable.
I mentioned him before in the About section of my blog and I will do it again here. I would probably not be here writing this post nor have my first book in the hands of a publisher if my husband of almost 18 years had not pushed the complacency right out of me. Years ago, after going on about what the Sy’Arrians could do with their abilities and what it could look like if brought to life on the big screen, he said, “Well no one is ever going to know if you do not get off your ass and write it.” The rest is history.
Inspiration is boundless. It cannot be suppressed or oppressed; attempting to do so only makes it a stronger force. If a proper balance between it and reality can be maintained, then all things are possible.
Feel free to post your questions, comments or concerns. I will respond, if need be, when I able.
Michael Giacchhino: http://michaelgiacchino.com/
Rudyard Kipling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudyard_Kipling
Jack London: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_London
James A. Michener: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Michener
Leon Uris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Uris
Herman Wouk: http://www.hermanwouk.com/
Danny Elfmam: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Elfman
John Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams
James Horner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Horner
Inon Zur: http://www.inonzur.com/
