Where does the inspiration come from?

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

Perhaps its the desire to both continue advancing and at the same time return to some of the best or at least more exciting 'perceived' times of yester-years gone past?

For me, personally, making the future recapitulate the past to that precise degree of specificity kind of breaks my suspension of disbelief in a future. 

[Sully]

I regard him as the proof that there is no setting, no universe, and no genre that a sufficiently determined author can't fold, spindle, and mutilate enough to force it to have Napoleonic-type sea battles or their exact equvalent in.

Why anyone who really wants to write Napoleonic sea battles would not just straightforwardly write Napoleonic naval novels is completely beyond me (well, except for the fact that the standard for comparison for those is Patrick O'Brian, and that would be terrifying because Patrick O'Brian was a genius.)

I just get upset at the clumsy foreshadowing(Rob S. Pierre?  COME ON).  Also, I'm completely unattached to any characters at this point.

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they're all going to suffer.  Every single one of them.  And probably die.

  But I'm so many thousands of pages of reading inertia I still read him.

I probably won't if I ever trim this 90 minute commute though.

That and I have to roll my eyes at the revolutionary technology stuff.

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multi drive missiles?  Come on, we've been doing that since 1960 or something

I still want a treecat though.  Along with an Alaspanian Mini-Drag and Pernese Dragon.

And for Weber to stop using his books as political/economy soapboxes.

[The Deposed King]

For me, personally, making the future recapitulate the past to that precise degree of specificity kind of breaks my suspension of disbelief in a future.

By drawing on the past you 'can' add to the ability to suspend disbelief.  However I do agree with some of the comments here.  Weber's gone too far on his scio-political-economical dissertations.  Also basically using historical figure's names and plopping them into characters essentially like their name sake does and would ruin a story for me.

I think something we as writers who are looking to entertain (meaning we're not writing history books) need to keep in mind as the exact wrong way to look at things is actually something Weber once said.  He said to paraphrase:  I've finally become successful enough to write my books the way 'I' have always wanted them to be.  As we can see with his last few books....  so if you think his last three-to-five books in the honorverse are better than his first three-to-five.  Then by all means follow all of your pet peeves without the humility of submitting yourself to outside adjustment.  Otherwise....




The Deposed King

[the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh]

By drawing on the past you 'can' add to the ability to suspend disbelief.  However I do agree with some of the comments here.  Weber's gone too far on his scio-political-economical dissertations.  Also basically using historical figure's names and plopping them into characters essentially like their name sake does and would ruin a story for me.

That last would work for me if the characters were deliberately modelling themselves after people they admired.  (Kaisers and Tsars are both taking the name of Caesar, for example.) I have a historical figure in TIWTBWO's setting who does this.

[Paynesgrey]

General reminder... criticizing works based on disapproval of their political themes is a No-Go.  Touchy Topics are every bit as verbotten lieb as they were in the past.  That hasn't changed, it's no different from complaining that a genre or book has too many/too few gays/straights/republicratiarianologists.  Socio-political aspects are still not acceptable in this forum.  It's fine to criticize things on craftsmanship, originality, technique, creativity and such is pretty much talking politics.  For example, the criticism of works that are sci-fi re-enactments of historical periods or incidents is fine... but leave the politics at the door.

[Paynesgrey]

I would LOVE to write a story, whether a full length novel or a short story. But I have NO INSPIRATION whatsoever.

Which is kind of okay, thankfully I earn money by doing very boring professional services stuff for clients.  A lot of my time is spent writing, reports and letters for the most part for clients, though I'm currently working on a book about tax (I know, tax, yawn!).

Thing is that I really enjoy the process of writing.  When I have an idea in my head, I love to write it down and see how it looks. Of course it's easy when it's about something like tax.  The subject itself is very dry but I'm on a mission to explain the subject to people in a more accessible manner, lots of practical examples and how it applies to different businesses.  So when I come up with a new idea for explaining something difficult in easier terms, I actually get quite excited!

Oh I need to get out more....

But anyway brings me back to my question: where do fiction writers get their ideas from?  I'm a middle aged woman and have never had an original idea in my life!  I've been reading the posts on the Author Craft board on and off for hte last few months and I'm amazed by the ideas people come up with and their fantastic ideas for plots and characters, but I just can't EVER come up with stuff like this for myself.  I really admire Jim and all the wonderful story writers out there for their wonderful creations.

Anyway I'd love some suggestions or even just a bit of that magic to help me get started. And for all of you who post here, I'm sort of in awe at your creativity.

Inspiration can occur any time you watch or read something and say "What if?"  What if they'd lost/won?  What if that plan/treaty/cure worked or didn't work?  Look at some basic concept, conflict, or dilemma that caught your attention, that you found evocative, and just noodle on alternate outcomes.

[The Deposed King]

General reminder... criticizing works based on disapproval of their political themes is a No-Go.  Touchy Topics are every bit as verbotten lieb as they were in the past.  That hasn't changed, it's no different from complaining that a genre or book has too many/too few gays/straights/republicratiarianologists.  Socio-political aspects are still not acceptable in this forum.  It's fine to criticize things on craftsmanship, originality, technique, creativity and such is pretty much talking politics.  For example, the criticism of works that are sci-fi re-enactments of historical periods or incidents is fine... but leave the politics at the door.

Personally I have no issue with most of his -Deleted-.  Which is why I thought it was okay to comment on what I thought was ruining his story.  et - too much lecture and not enough cool rock'in story.  Sadly I guess I can't because the lectures that are ruining the crafting of his good stories are touchy and unapproved for this forum.  Sigh.

You see its not that I care 'what' he's lecturing about.  I only care about the amount of lecture in his story, period end statement.

What I (and others) want and what he did so well in his earlier books and I will add what has been unacceptably minimized in his later works (in our opinions), are the rock-em sock-em thundering space cannons!



The Deposed King

[The Deposed King]

Inspiration can occur any time you watch or read something and say "What if?"  What if they'd lost/won?  What if that plan/treaty/cure worked or didn't work?  Look at some basic concept, conflict, or dilemma that caught your attention, that you found evocative, and just noodle on alternate outcomes.

Personally its like with anything I watch or read.  If I'm watching say, Battle Star Galactica, and I say this would have been the best story ever if only they hadn't done x, y or z.  Or if on the other hand they had only done this! (x,y or z) then this would have been the best, most coolest or simply a better story.  Then you sit back and say how can I write this story as it should have been without plagarizing this other author's work.

Change the names, change the races, change the characters, change the space or fantasy empires but keep that stomach gripping emotional struggle or epic battles 'how they should have been' or 'I am your father twist (in a world without jedi)' or whatever.

Make it yours, make it unique, yet go for that thing that always irked you about star trek/B5/Star Gate/GSG etc and make it cool instead of sucky.  et - I don't want static characters or I don't like how they always seem to be about to have epic battles but always gimik their way out of them, lets have some thunder and destruction people!  or if only they didn't fight all the time and just made peace and wild naked monkey love in the streets of their nudist colony with all those super interesting blue skinned, telepathic and oh so-so sensitive aliens, instead of trying to gun them down with blaster pistols in the streets all the time or 'whatever' your pet peeve was.  It will become cool.  All you have to do is stay true to yourself and try to save that.....?  and you will inevitably be forced to write something new and unique and most of all cool!  Because I guarantee that if you love it, you're readers are going to love it a lot more than if you are uninspired.





The Deposed King