Finding Inspiration - Look at What's Out There

In fact, it is extremely possible that I have helped myself promiscuously but at present cannot remember from whose stories I have stolen.
Very sincerely, Rudyard Kipling

There is a lot of chatter about the discovery that Rudyard Kipling found inspiration for the Jungle Book in other works.

Which raises the age old question for writers and creative minds alike, where do we get our inspiration. As some talkback comments have called Kipling a thief, others explain the matter as having "executed a work on a similar subject under the same title to much greater effect in a different style."

Namely we can dip into the existing works for creative inspiration, where our project will be wholly unique, with a specific voice we call our own.

As I continue to develop my narrative style, I am looking into what others share about where they get their inspiration, and find the key to the creative voice and stories that we have locked inside.

Infographic: The Hero's Journey

Hero's Journey: Beat by Beat

Here is the underlyng structure to most narrative.

1. Hero knows what he/she wants but not what he/she needs
2. Embarrassing incident that brings a dangerous opportunity
3. Hero commits and makes progress by doing it the easy way
4. The easy way leads to a big disaster and loss of safety
5. The hero tries the hard way, dealing with real consequences
6. The hero faces a spiritual crisis as a result of those consequences
7. The strengthened hero deals with the problem once and for all.

This is described in full by Matt Bird over at Cockeyed Caravan in the Hero Project.

Subtext

It isn't what your characters say; it's what they really mean. "Subtext"--what characters are saying between the lines. The subtext is all the underlying drives and meanings that are not apparent to the character, but that are apparent to the audience or reader.

Paraphrased from Subtext: The Delicate Art of Doublespeak

Subtext is a fascinating and intellectually stimulating tool in the prose arsenal. This raises the narrative from mere telling what happened, to asking the reader to think about what is being presented and look deeper into the meaning of the words and actions.

Here is a scene with subtext.

Subtext Dramatized

Man puts a log on the fire. His wife says that she wasn't cold, that there is no need to stoke the fire further. He responds that he puts a log on the fire every night, that the house will grow cold otherwise.
"Then put on a blanket," she shoots back, "or a sweater. Why do you need to fiddle with the fireplace."
"It's just a moment, the fire is already burning. Another log doesn't take any preparation."
"You've got to clean the fireplace. Don't you even think before you put on the log!"
"It's just a damn log. Fine I'll take it off, if that will make you happy."

The focus of the argument is about handling the fire in the fireplace, but the subtext is a deeper tension between the wife and her husband.

Story Triggers

This looks cool! 27 story triggers to get the creative juices flowing. No more writer's block. No more excuses.

Out Of Ideas? 27 INT/EXT     STORY TRIGGERS     DAY

Hemingway’s “Iceberg Theory”

The Iceberg Theory from kbmorris

Ernest Hemingway from handat

Infographic: Trial by Writing