by Naomi L. | September 17, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Welcome to the September round of Writers Reveal! This month’s topic was sent to us by Becky Fyfe of Imagine! Create! Write! Her prompt for us is “dreams”, so I decided to take advantage of the idea to write about a topic I’ve been meaning to share for a while: dreams as a source of creative inspiration. Thanks for the prompt, Becky!
The Stories Hidden in the Subconscious
We’re all well familiar with dreams, those little “films” that play out in our heads while we’re asleep. Some people easily remember their dreams after waking up, while others recall them only once in a while. There are nights when we seem to have several and nights when we barely seem to have one. Dreams have been associated with prophecies, divine messages, our deepest desires and a strange combination of the things that happened to us the day before. But one thing they apparently have in common is that they’re a way for the subconscious to tell stories.
Dreams are a subject that I’ve always found intriguing. It’s one of the reasons Inception is on my list of favorite science fiction movies. I almost always remember my dreams when I wake up, and because of that, I’ve found plenty of inspiration for stories hidden in them. More than once, I’ve written a story based on an idea taken directly from a dream. Many of my dreams tell romantic stories, while others are full of action and adventure. I’ve had nightmares that inspired horror stories and euphoric dreams from which I was sad to wake up. My favorites even include some element of fantasy such as flying or breathing underwater. Yes, my dreams can get pretty bizarre, but I like to think they’re a reflection of my active writer’s imagination!
Harvesting Ideas from Dreams
So how can you get the most use out of your dreams? It’s simple. If you’re lucky enough to remember your dreams after you wake up, I highly recommend writing them down. Dreams can be invaluable sources of story ideas, even if (and sometimes especially if) they’re confusing and surreal. If you tend to remember your dreams from almost every night, it may be good practice to keep a dream diary. Much like a regular journal, it can help you hold on to inspiration and can serve as a reference for ideas you didn’t even know you had!
So writers, don’t take your dreams for granted. Embrace them, write them down, try to understand them (however incomprehensible they may be) and extract as many ideas from them as you can. There may just be a goldmine of creative inspiration in your own subconscious!
Do your dreams inspire you? What stories have you written based on an idea that came from a dream?
This has been a special topic post for Writers Reveal, a monthly blog swap among several talented writers. Be sure to check out the other blogs participating in the event. Thanks for reading!
Other bloggers in Writers Reveal
Melissa Khalinsky: Melissa Writes
Becky Fyfe: Imagine! Create! Write!
Ashley Howland: Ghostnapped
Emily Hawker: You Learn Something New Every Day
Lee-Anne Walker: Is it just me?
We’re looking for more bloggers to join our circle! If you’re interested in participating in this monthly roundup, be sure to contact Emily Hawker so she can include you in our email list. Thank you!
by Naomi L. | September 15, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: gratuitous
Pronunciation: grə-T(Y)OO-i-təs
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition:
- uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted
- given or done free of charge
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Like other words I find interesting, “gratuitous” has two almost completely different meanings. I tend to see one definition more often than the other, though, probably due to the substantial amount of time I spend surfing through TV Tropes. You may be familiar with such “gratuitous” devices as foreign languages and violence, and if you encounter them all the time, you understand exactly what earned them this infamous label.
Things or actions deemed “gratuitous” are those which are provided freely and/or without good reason. The word comes from the Latin adjective gratuitus, meaning “given freely” or “spontaneous”. This adjective in turn stems from the noun gratia, which means “favor” or “thanks”.
For fiction writers, it’s practically mandatory to know what “gratuitous” means. We need to have a clear understanding of whether certain details in our work really are essential to the plot or if we simply threw them in for the sake of coloring the story (usually in an attempt to please the audience). In the latter case, it’s probably best to discard such unnecessary details. Set those “gratuitous” tropes aside and you’ll be able to tell a good clean story! Good luck!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
by Naomi L. | September 12, 2014 | J.C. Wolfe's Writing, Poetry |
The autumn leaves outside my window fall
To dress the earth in hues of red and gold.
Amid the trees, I hear the dawn birds call,
Their songs imbued with tales from days of old.
I walk outside into the chilling air
And smile at leaves that fall like golden rain,
For never does the world look quite so fair
As when the treetops weep and shed their pain.
The summer leaves behind its scarring burns.
The winter threatens darkness yet unknown.
And though the spring renews the seasons’ turns,
The autumn shines with grandeur of its own.
Such colors on the leaves make crystal clear
Why autumn is my favorite time of year.
by Naomi L. | September 10, 2014 | Blog, Creative Writing, Tropes |
You know when you’ve finished watching a movie/TV show or reading a novel, only to suddenly realize hours later that there was something odd about the plot? Well, what you experienced was a trope known as Fridge Logic, that peculiarity in a story that only hits you in a moment of idle thinking. It’s an interesting concept with which I’m becoming increasingly familiar, so today’s creative writing post briefly covers what it is and what it means for fiction writers. Enjoy!
Why a fridge?
Huh, empty. Like the hotel room in that– Wait a minute…
No, this trope doesn’t necessarily have to do with an actual refrigerator. According to TV Tropes, the term “fridge logic” can technically be traced back to Alfred Hitchcock, who once referred to a particular scene in his film Vertigo as an “icebox scene”. In the words of the director, it’s the kind of scene that “hits you after you’ve gone home and start pulling cold chicken out of the icebox”. Basically, Fridge Logic refers to a special kind of plot hole that you don’t notice at first because you were so caught up in the story that you didn’t bother to think about consistency at the time.
So what does this mean for you as a writer? It means that no matter how well you try to get away with a plot hole in your work, anyone anywhere at any time is bound to find it. Of course, how much that really matters is a subject for another time.
The Other Sides of Fridge Logic
That moment of clarity that hits you at the fridge doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes what you realize is the cleverness embedded in a certain story element. This is known as Fridge Brilliance. It usually refers to a part of a story that you didn’t care for at first, only to come to appreciate it after you’ve finally recognized the true meaning behind it. And that, in my opinion, is pretty darn cool.
Another form of Fridge Logic covers the other side of the spectrum, when something you didn’t really notice at first becomes terrifying in hindsight. This is referred to as Fridge Horror. As noted on its TV Tropes page, there are two kinds of Fridge Horror: the horrifying story elements that went over our heads as kids but that have become blatantly obvious to us as adults (Frozen-By-Time), and those that reveal themselves after we take the time to really think about their implications beyond the immediate story (Quickthaw). Look for these at your own risk: remember, anything awful you see in a beloved work of fiction cannot be unseen!
Fridge Logic has the obvious risk of slightly taking away from an otherwise good story, but you can’t deny that it can be tons of fun to discuss once you’ve experienced it. Plot holes should usually be avoided altogether, but if you absolutely must include some, try to hide them well enough that they only become clear in hindsight. At least then you’ll be giving your readers something extra to discuss after your story is over! Good luck!
Have you ever experienced Fridge Logic before? What sorts of plot holes have you found in your favorite works of fiction?
by Naomi L. | September 8, 2014 | Blog, Word of the Week |
Word: irascible
Pronunciation: i-RA-sə-bəl
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: having or showing a tendency to be easily angered
Source: Oxford Dictionaries
Today’s vocabulary post features one of those words that I need to look up almost every time I see them, because I just don’t come across them often enough to memorize their definitions. The last time I came across the word “irascible” was in this lovely tribute from the Walt Disney Company to the late Robin Williams. The sweetness of the statement (and my sadness over his passing) aside, the word “irascible” caught my eye for two reasons: first, I wasn’t sure I remembered exactly what it meant; and second, if it meant what I thought it did, I wasn’t sure it really applied to the Genie from Aladdin. It may be a while since I’ve watched the movie, but I don’t remember him being the irritable type…
An “irascible” person is someone who is easily irritated or angered. The word comes from the Latin adjective irascibilis, which contains the root verb irasci, meaning “to become angry”. These words stem from the noun ira, which means “anger” or “rage”.
In my opinion, “irascible” reads as a poetic synonym for “irritable”. I have yet to work it into my own writing, but I could definitely have used it in my past stories to describe some of my more short-tempered characters. If your characters have a tendency to snap at any given moment, you may want to consider using this word in your stories. If nothing else, describing them as “irascible” may be the most poetic way to define their bad tempers!
What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?
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