Inspiration

In my previous post I talked about Writer's Block and inspiration (or lack thereof). If you're like me and ever feel completely at a loss for inspiration, I have a few tried and true methods of finding our elusive muse and getting ideas. My favorite sources of inspiration when I'm in a slump? People, music, nature and other writers are the best sources of inspiration for me. 

People are fascinating inspirations and people-watching often provides me with the most inspiration. If you look at a person and wonder what their story is, you can get a lot. How a person dresses, the kind of jewelry they wear, how they hold themselves, how they speak, how they treat others, etc, is all very indicative of the kind of person they are or what they've been through. Looking at people and wondering where they've come from and what they've been through often inspires many of my characters. 

Music is another incredible inspiration because music can convey different emotions. For me, what I do is I close my eyes and use the music almost as a part of my story. For example, if I'm listening to piano music, I try to figure out the emotions behind the music and connect those emotions to a scene. Sometimes I also use music as "background music" in a scene and try to construct a scene or a back-story to fit the music. And any kind of music works.

Landscapes and nature are huge inspirations for settings, when I travel I always take along a notebook and when I find a certain landscape that speaks to me, I write out details of the landscape and try to envision in my head where I could use that landscape in my writing. Fantasy landscapes are often based off real life settings. (Avatar's Hallelujah Mountains are loosely based off of the Zhangjiajae Mountains in China). A tip to aspiring writers, always try to base your settings off realistic landscapes so you have a clear picture in your mind so you know exactly what you want the landscape to look like. 
Lastly, the best and probably most overlooked source of inspiration out there: other writers. (THIS DOES NOT MEAN PLAGIARISM). Other writer's styles are a huge inspiration when you write. Some writers focus on detail, some focus on plot, others on building ad developing their characters throughout the duration of the story. You do not have to mimic what they do (and certainly not their content), but incorporating their ideas and styles into your own writing gives your writing a unique power and identity. So this being said, the best way to get inspiration when you feel completely at a loss is to read other writer's work. You often find yourself using some metaphors, ideas and plot lines in your own work. This is fine, just do not plagiarize :)
Well this is my freakishly long spiel today (so sorry >.<) but I hope you liked it :) Anyway, as usual, like, dislike, agree, disagree, let me know! I love to get feedback :)