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One source of inspiration (followed by several examples)
Like most writers I have certain inspiration go-to's when I'm writing. I have quotes from stories, poems, essays and, in one case, an advice column. There's the requisite fanmixes and playlists that everyone works with. Scenes from movies that run the gamut from romance to drama to action.
I think it's this last category that I wind up getting the most mileage out of. For the written inspiration, I use a quote or passage as a means of centering the story around a particular theme. Occasionally I'll try to ape a particular style for a short story, but that doesn't apply itself well to long form fiction. (E.g., Motivation was inspired by a famous John Updike short story.) Music probably gets used the most, as it's easy to just put on a character/ship-specific playlist depending on who and what I'm writing. It helps me get in the zone but, more importantly, keeps me there. But the last category - the scenes from movies and TV shows - are generally the best at getting me into the mindset of what I'm trying to convey in a certain scene.
In some cases it's an easy cheat for me. If I want to write an action scene, I watch a cool action scene. I pay attention to the way people move and try to figure out a way to describe it. (Side note: old Hong Kong films and anime are my best inspo for this. Western-shot stuff has so many cuts in it that it's difficult to track the movement, and besides that the reason there's so many cuts is because the actors don't move that well to begin with. (Notable exception: John Wick, since it was actually directed by people with a background in stuntwork.)) I try to pay attention to things the camera does to draw the eye. Great example from John Wick, in fact: In this shot the camera deliberately pans down to get your eye to focus on the bottom of the shot, and has someone walking across to pull your eye as well. It keeps the scene interesting and I try to keep those details in mind when I'm writing. That sort of thing doesn't necessarily translate well to writing, but the theoretical aspect of it does get me thinking about how to keep a scene interesting.
In other cases - romantic and dramatic scenes, specifically - I'm coming at it from an emotional standpoint. Films are deliberately made to elicit certain reactions, and every element in a scene is intended to convey and support that emotion. So when I'm feeling stuck, I watch a movie. When I have a certain type of scene I want to write, I watch a scene that matches the emotion I'm going for and try to make note of every little thing it's doing to make me feel A Way. There's the obvious things to ask - what the actors are doing, what the lines are, but also: What's the camera doing? What's in the shot? How is it composed? How long do we hold on the shot? How is it lit? Is there color? What are the actors/characters doing with their hands? What are the background characters doing? Etc., etc..
Again, some of those questions are more easily translatable to writing. Others don't translate at all. But they do get me thinking about every little thing I can do while I'm writing to get the reaction I want out of whoever's reading.
If you've read this far and are curious, here's a good handful of my favorite scenes for emotion & drama.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MOST OF THESE FILMS, so if that matters to you, maybe avoid some of them.
Drive - The infamous elevator scene. WARNING for violence, gore.
Under the Skin - ScarJo's first victim. WARNING for full frontal male nudity. If it looks familiar, that's because Stranger Things totally copped this imagery for Eleven's isolation tank scenes.
Satoshi Kon's Paprika - Opening Credits. Kon is one of my favorite directors of all time. Fuck Christopher Nolan, Paprika is a REAL movie about dreams.
The Guest - The bar fight. WARNING for sexism and violence. No real spoilers.
Legion - Lenny Busker's victory dance. WARNING for a reference to suicide in one shot. Possible spoilers if you're currently watching.
Wolf Children - Fixing the house. No spoilers.
The Good, the Bad, and the Weird - Long shot in the train. No spoilers.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - The ending. MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS. This is The One, the scene I come back to over and over and over again. It makes me cry every time. If you haven't seen this movie, I can't recommend it enough.
Bonus: This beautifully animated running/crying scene from Sound! Euphonium. I haven't actually watched this series, so no idea about spoilers?
I think it's this last category that I wind up getting the most mileage out of. For the written inspiration, I use a quote or passage as a means of centering the story around a particular theme. Occasionally I'll try to ape a particular style for a short story, but that doesn't apply itself well to long form fiction. (E.g., Motivation was inspired by a famous John Updike short story.) Music probably gets used the most, as it's easy to just put on a character/ship-specific playlist depending on who and what I'm writing. It helps me get in the zone but, more importantly, keeps me there. But the last category - the scenes from movies and TV shows - are generally the best at getting me into the mindset of what I'm trying to convey in a certain scene.
In some cases it's an easy cheat for me. If I want to write an action scene, I watch a cool action scene. I pay attention to the way people move and try to figure out a way to describe it. (Side note: old Hong Kong films and anime are my best inspo for this. Western-shot stuff has so many cuts in it that it's difficult to track the movement, and besides that the reason there's so many cuts is because the actors don't move that well to begin with. (Notable exception: John Wick, since it was actually directed by people with a background in stuntwork.)) I try to pay attention to things the camera does to draw the eye. Great example from John Wick, in fact: In this shot the camera deliberately pans down to get your eye to focus on the bottom of the shot, and has someone walking across to pull your eye as well. It keeps the scene interesting and I try to keep those details in mind when I'm writing. That sort of thing doesn't necessarily translate well to writing, but the theoretical aspect of it does get me thinking about how to keep a scene interesting.
In other cases - romantic and dramatic scenes, specifically - I'm coming at it from an emotional standpoint. Films are deliberately made to elicit certain reactions, and every element in a scene is intended to convey and support that emotion. So when I'm feeling stuck, I watch a movie. When I have a certain type of scene I want to write, I watch a scene that matches the emotion I'm going for and try to make note of every little thing it's doing to make me feel A Way. There's the obvious things to ask - what the actors are doing, what the lines are, but also: What's the camera doing? What's in the shot? How is it composed? How long do we hold on the shot? How is it lit? Is there color? What are the actors/characters doing with their hands? What are the background characters doing? Etc., etc..
Again, some of those questions are more easily translatable to writing. Others don't translate at all. But they do get me thinking about every little thing I can do while I'm writing to get the reaction I want out of whoever's reading.
If you've read this far and are curious, here's a good handful of my favorite scenes for emotion & drama.
MAJOR SPOILERS FOR MOST OF THESE FILMS, so if that matters to you, maybe avoid some of them.
Drive - The infamous elevator scene. WARNING for violence, gore.
Under the Skin - ScarJo's first victim. WARNING for full frontal male nudity. If it looks familiar, that's because Stranger Things totally copped this imagery for Eleven's isolation tank scenes.
Satoshi Kon's Paprika - Opening Credits. Kon is one of my favorite directors of all time. Fuck Christopher Nolan, Paprika is a REAL movie about dreams.
The Guest - The bar fight. WARNING for sexism and violence. No real spoilers.
Legion - Lenny Busker's victory dance. WARNING for a reference to suicide in one shot. Possible spoilers if you're currently watching.
Wolf Children - Fixing the house. No spoilers.
The Good, the Bad, and the Weird - Long shot in the train. No spoilers.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - The ending. MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. MAJOR FUCKING SPOILERS. This is The One, the scene I come back to over and over and over again. It makes me cry every time. If you haven't seen this movie, I can't recommend it enough.
Bonus: This beautifully animated running/crying scene from Sound! Euphonium. I haven't actually watched this series, so no idea about spoilers?
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