Writing fantasy fiction is a tough mental exercise (and editing the whole manuscript is tough work too). But it’s already a tough process from the start: thinking of what story to write about, what theme or plot device to use, how to describe the characters and setting, how to end the story, and the like.
Do you know what the most challenging part of all? It’s how to keep writing when demotivation or writer’s block kick in. Writing fantasy fiction entails countless hours of reading and brainstorming. It requires lots of creativity and intuition – and inspiration, lots of it.
There are many different ways to get inspired when writing fantasy as there are many writers and stories.
There are many different ways to get inspired when writing fiction as there are many writers and stories. How a writer could inspire or motivate themselves may depend on the surroundings, mood, or opportunities that are present. In some cases, all they need is just time for rest and sleep.
The things I do to inspire myself include:
- Listening to music (any genre will do for me)
- Watching (fantasy) movies
- Going to new places or revisiting familiar spots from my childhood
- Meeting new people
- Experiencing new smells, sights, and sounds
- Taking pictures
- Watching a sunrise or sunset
It takes to observe and experience the surroundings to gain inspiration for a story. It’s like what I did when I was still writing Daughters of Twilight. And I would like to extol the importance of people as a source of literary inspiration. Furthermore, the inspiration you get – and should get – may depend on how deep your fantasy fiction will be.
People who love your book and leave good reviews help fuel your drive to keep writing. Knowing that there are people who will read your book should inspire you to follow up with a new material.
The people that you meet during the writing or brainstorming process help keep the flame alive. I found that talking to older people and listening to their stories or past experiences (such as the different wars they were in or working in a factory for 40 years, only to have it shut down weeks before their retirement), women who worked and raised a family without a husband before federal assistance programs came along, and children can be very inspiring. They look at the world as an adventure that never ends. Their innocence and honesty can guide you to magic gardens, help you create unbeatable heroes, live out countless days and nights…the list goes on.
I’d like to share a trivia: Daughters of Twilight was by many things, among them were rain and an old saying of my grandmother (“When it rains, angels are crying.)”
There are so any different things around us that could inspire us to write and recreational opportunities that will help spark the writing bug. When it comes to writing fantasy, for me it’s almost like dreaming and turning that dream into something that you can touch and share.
There is a part of your mind that is almost in written form, and you just have to write it down – find the right words, get the right people and bring them to an appropriate place. The idea that you could form in your mind, you can convert it into written words on a sheet of paper. The idea later becomes a story, which you share to your readers as form of an ‘experience’, which is then shaped by the quality and quantity of inspiration you receive.
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