Where Do Ideas Come From?

[intim8]

My ideas come from the characters in my stories.

I try not to make them mad, or they'll stop talking to me, then I'm screwed.

 

[madelinemasoch]

Why? Sometimes a story is just a sweet little fantasy, that's all it is, but written as best you can write it.

This notion that everything must have some existential truth gets in the way of a little tale written about the attractive woman one sees at a gig, and one wonders why she's there by herself.

That is kind of cute. There is something adorable and appreciable about simplicity.

 

[Flybynite1892]

As a writer, I take myself seriously insofar as I do my best to figure out what the story actually wants to be (and wants to say) and then try stick to that. And I try to always just write the realest next sentence I can; like portray the world of the story in the truest way I can, given my experience in the real world.

That said, though, if the story actually just wants to be a simple fun fantasy, then trying to add in a bunch of commentary or trying to challenge readers isn't going to make that story better. It's just going to confuse people or piss them off.

Likewise, if the story really does have more to say about bigger topics, then shying away from those is also going to irritate readers because they'll really wish you dug into the deeper themes.

I think the real skill - and no, I'm not super good at it, but I try - is to know what kind of story you have on your hands. It's really similar to music, I think - are you writing a fun pop song, or are you writing a rock opera concept album? Both of those can be top tier pieces of music, but not if the musician is confused about what they're working with.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

How seriously do you take yourself as a writer?

I wrote a story about masturbating with a lollipop on Christmas day. Oh and I have another story where a magical butt plug turns the MC into a cat.

So yes... Quite.