# How do others get there inspiration for writing



## sebv2 (Jun 15, 2016)

Hi Guys, I want to write some more ideas and plots for some webcomic ideas i have in the works, have lots of characters planned, plus quite a few random scenes. But what do you do when you want to write, but no idea what? I've been using some plot generators, and thats been helping a little, maybe hearing what other people do will help me out as well.


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## ShamonCornell (Jun 15, 2016)

I find music helps.  Get a good set of tunes going, put on some earphones, lock yourself in a basement or outside, and just let the mind wander.


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## reptile logic (Jun 15, 2016)

For fiction, I start putting my ideas to words; they don't have to be well written. Now the ideas can be looked at. Those ideas that link together, begin to to form a story line. Those that don't get set aside, and some eventually are put into later chapters or other works. The story line builds as new ideas come about and character traits begin to form. Those character traits and personalities can then guide the plot further. Dialog feeds the process as well. A real story has now shown itself. Flesh out the details, edit ... edit ... Wow, another idea for a chapter has popped up, edit ...
Keep editing. This has worked for me for writing novels, etc. Maybe some of it can help you.

Good luck.


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## Sforzie (Jun 16, 2016)

If I want to make something but don't know what, I'll usually just doodle something related to something I've already done work on. I've found that trying to force an idea out doesn't always help. A lot of my ideas will come from music, or just a random silly line that pops into my head.
For example: 
I'm in the works to start writing a somewhat silly western AU story in July. Where did that come from?; I have almost zero experience with the genre. Well, a few weeks ago I was visiting my alma mater, and at the school's museum they have a Civil War related exhibit. (I'm in Georgia, of course there is.) While viewing the exhibit I saw an old rifle, and thought of one of my gf's rp characters. I snapped a pic and texted her, saying 'no, brain, I'm not going to write a civil war AU' featuring xx'. She texted back, saying 'no, he would have been out west during the civil war'. And it just went on from there. Within an hour we had hashed out the bare bones of the story, and now I have to write it.

I would say it's better to extrapolate from ideas that you already have, rather than try to shoehorn in something new.


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## quoting_mungo (Jan 4, 2017)

Try not to be a slave to your inspiration, if you aspire to write "seriously" in any way. Teaching yourself to write even when you're not feeling inspired is a very useful skill to have.

It's okay to write things out of order, or without knowing quite where they will go, though. If I want to write but don't have a specific idea in mind, I generally just throw a situation at one of my characters and see what happens. "What if" is a very powerful idea-generation tool.


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## Xaroin (Jan 4, 2017)

Important scenes and a lot of filler with symbolism


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## PlusThirtyOne (Jan 4, 2017)

quoting_mungo said:


> It's okay to write things out of order, or without knowing quite where they will go


^ This!

Keep a document on your phone or a notepad so you can jot down ideas as they come to you. Later, when you have the time, fill in the blanks.
One of the literary tips i learned was to simply write a _basic_ outline for the stories you want to write. Start with the END. Think about how the final chapter of your story will wrap up after you get a basic idea going, then write hour your characters will get into their situation(s). Then fill in all the gaps inbetween. This of course only really applies to linear comics. Depending on the kind of story you want to tell, a start or beginning might not even apply but at the very least, try to establish your main characters at the start of your comic. Also consider that...

...wait.

Woah! Even mods necro threads! LOL They ARE human!! :V


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## quoting_mungo (Jan 4, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Woah! Even mods necro threads! LOL They ARE human!! :V


To be fair it was actually revived by a couple of spammers, who (obviously) got the usual spambot treatment. But yes, my mistake. XD


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## that_redneck_guy (Jan 5, 2017)

sebv2 said:


> Hi Guys, I want to write some more ideas and plots for some webcomic ideas i have in the works, have lots of characters planned, plus quite a few random scenes. But what do you do when you want to write, but no idea what? I've been using some plot generators, and thats been helping a little, maybe hearing what other people do will help me out as well.



To be honest I chat with friends, check in on other group chats, but most helpful is usually reading other books or listening to audio books.


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## zeroslash (Jan 6, 2017)

Read.

Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read!

Not just genres you already know about but also genres you've never read. Also age and experience are both major factors. Pull people and events from your real life and use them as a source for your story. Writing what you already know often leads to intelligent writing.


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## Sarachaga (Jan 6, 2017)

zeroslash said:


> Read.
> 
> Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read!
> 
> Not just genres you already know about but also genres you've never read. Also age and experience are both major factors. Pull people and events from your real life and use them as a source for your story. Writing what you already know often leads to intelligent writing.



I totally agree, reading a lot allows you to see the structures of a story and to experience different writing styles that you can take inspiration from. Also, it might help you when you're done writing and you need perspective on you story.


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## Lupus Pistris (Jan 8, 2017)

For me, the best thing to have is interests in other things, and turn them into a furry story, not trying to make a furry story and forcing it into a plot.  Like the novel I published, The Escape Pod, or any of my stories at FA, I take something I'm already interested in and make a story from that.  So, I'm interested in military combat and survival tactics, so I incorporate those into my story, and then I just add the furry element in.  It feels more natural, because instead of starting with a furry story and trying to come up with a plot, I make a plot which would be completely natural if it were solely with humans, and just incorporate the story in from there.   So, find something you already know and love, and expand upon it.  Do research, try to actually live your experiences if you can (I mean, within reason.  If you're doing a time-travel story, that's kind of hard to replicate, but you can certainly immerse yourself in other aspects of what the character does.)


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## Narri (Apr 29, 2017)

I tend to do a few different things, from getting out of my comfort zone and going someplace new or places you have rarely been to get ideas, the metro station for instance.Heading into nature is a great tool to gain inspiration, there is so much to see and experience.


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