Media Influence

Writers are very subjective beings. If you find one that isn't, I'll be shocked. A lot of our ideas can come to us from anything we see/hear/experience. Sometimes, I've had ideas come to me from a single word or phrase I heard. Every song I listen to, I'm pondering lyrics and wondering which book playlist I can put it on (if any). Even movies force us to consider the tension, dialogue, and especially the vibe that we're going for in each story. Media influence is definitely something not to be underestimated.

For me (and probably most writers), music is my favorite form of entertainment while actively writing. If you get the right kind of playlist together for the tale you're telling, it's all vibes from there. Some chapters have a specific theme song. Other songs encompass a single character. Or couples. Oh my goodness, have I assigned so many songs to certain couples.

For example, Perfect by Ed Sheeran absolutely is my song for Nathan and Lex in Avens.

This Kiss by Faith Hill inspired Lex's first kiss in Oleander.

Fortunate by Bellabeth is on so many of my books' playlists because the vibes are on point.

Also, all of the Gloria Regali album by Tommee Proffitt is perfect for those who write royalty-core fantasy.

As with most writing, the form of entertainment you choose is typically dependent on the mood you're in or the mood of the scene you're writing. As a visual person, I will always pay attention more to what I'm seeing rather than what I'm listening to, so when I'm writing, the music is typically background noise.

When it comes to coming off of writer's block, that's when I turn to movies. Either old favorites, such as the original Lord of the Rings trilogy or something a little more whimsical or action packed. Depending on what kind of mood I'm trying to enter into, that's what I try to find in a movie in order to get me back into the writing stream.

The other fun thing about movies is that there can always be something that immediately derails my brain and allows me to come up with whole new ideas/scenes/stories. For example, I was doing the dishes one day (many, many moons ago) while also watching The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. When the scene with the gryphon dropping Edmund off on the tower of a castle came on, it sparked an entire narrative about gryphon riders. This eventually led to the "short" story, Xzaryth. Another example is, way back in 2015, when my boyfriend and I were watching Troy, I made the remark, “I could respect Helen so much more if she did it on purpose.” Which then led to a Wiki deep-dive and the creation of an outline of a novel that I will never write. (So, if anyone wants to write a historical novel about Helen of Sparta, I have a full outline I'm totally willing to give away.)

The proof of the outline that shouldn't exist.

Along with this, pictures are a huge form of inspiration for me. (As anyone with an obsession with gorgeous book covers can attest to.) I wrote a four-book series (currently amidst rewrites) based off of two images I came across on Facebook. It took me time to track down the source, but I finally found the images on Deviantart. They are Rebirth on fire and On fire by ElenaDudina. (Out of respect for their art, I will not be sharing the images here without permission. I've provided the links necessary to view the items as well as the artist's page.) It took a single glance at these images for two characters and a storyline to appear in my head and they've sparked one of the best, most intriguing stories I've ever written. When I publish it, book one will be dedicated to the artist, because without her work, mine would not exist.

This post has gone into great detail about what forms of media (other than books) inspire writers, but what about those we sink into for sheer joy? Well, all of the above still count. Books count more, lol. But what I've been really invested in lately is video games. A good story-based video game that combines dramatic music and stunning visuals will capture my heart any day. Add in a game that can be played by someone with hand-eye coordination as bad as mine, and it's a perfect way to spend an evening. Which is what I'm going to go do now. Enjoy!