A quick diversion if I may. What I think you will love about this series is that Tay, Ash and I are very different. We think differently. We were raised differently. We write in different genres. We live in different areas of the country. We have different likes and dislikes. We are not ALL female. (Hee hee.)
I know I’m babbling but, as you’ll see, I’m not big on movies so, I’m just trying to take up some space here.
My point is, that like our He Said She Said column, you’ll get totally different views on things. Yours, to pick and choose from. As with writing, you’ll find that there is no right or wrong. What’s right is what works for you. So, take our opinions, whole, or chop them up, and create your own. Your choice. No matter what you do, we’ll all be happy we could help you become a better writer.
Uh, what was the subject again? OH! Movies!
I will tell you right up front: I don’t get a lot of inspiration from movies. Why? Probably because I’m all over the place when it comes to movies. As examples: I think I am the only person on this planet that loved Ishtar! My wife, the Sci-Fi nut, never has understood why I keep confusing Star Wars with Star Trek. Or, why Larry and I went to the bar around the corner while she and her best friend Lynarie, stood in line for hours to see the first showing of each new movie release for both series. (I know, there’s no hope for me!)
Aside from Ishtar, which didn’t make any of my books, (But may. Some day.) several movies have provided some inspiration for my writing. But again, they are all over the place.
The idea for my romance trilogy, Horses of Tir Na Nog, came as we walked around our friend’s horse rescue ranch; aptly named Horses of Tir Na Nog. (Yes, I borrowed the name, with her permission.) As we walked through and she explained the heart-wrenching story of how each horse came to be there, and what had happened to them; “There has got to be a fantastic story here,” kept running through my mind.
Aside from the fact I knew next to nothing about horses, I spent the next year and a half building their story in my mind. Problem was, it ripped my heart out every time I added another paragraph and another abused, abandoned, and left for dead rescued horse. So, after a year and a half, I had the makings of the biggest downer of a story ever written. Which I was ready to burry in the back of my brain, never to be heard from again. (Only by me of course.)
Two months, and half a business book later, we watched the movie Taken.
Oh. My. God. I pulled the story of the horses back into my frontal lobes and added girls from the sex trade. (Don’t ask. It’s just the way my crazy mind works.) Great, now I’ve got two downers! Thrown away horses. Thrown away girls. But wait! Flip that around. The ranch rescues horses. Rescue the girls (or one at least) and contrast them against the horses. And off it went! My mind that is. (Hands on head, splay fingers and Poof!) Fantastic book idea pops out!
Two hours later, we passed a fire truck on the way back from the supermarket and “Bam!” Fireman rescues girl! Off my book, and life as I previously knew it, went.
Did the movie Taken inspire my book? Kinda. The idea was there roaming around but Taken brought it to reality. And, for me, that’s the way movies have added inspiration. They stir up what’s already there, foaming at the mouth to get out, and they cut the leash. They don’t create an idea, they complete it.
In my books, I’ve used: Young Frankenstein, Pretty Woman, The English Patient and Rocky Horror Picture Show. To name just a few. Each has been an inspiration for a paragraph, a chapter or a twist in my story line. Some are obvious, like Young Frankenstein, where CJ quotes lines from it because it’s her favorite movie. (And mine.) Others simply stirred up an idea that becomes a twisted version of a line or plot twist from the movie.
Movies, like everything else my ears, eyes, nose and fingers register, provide inspiration and ideas for what I write. They, however, are not a primary source for me. Could I live without them? Likely not. For they have an uncanny ability to pop up when I least expect them but when I need them most.
Go Ishtar!