Refueling Your Inspiration

Let’s be honest – we don’t have great ideas all the time. In fact, sometimes we don’t have any ideas. Other work gets in the way, with all those memos and meetings, or with the digging and polishing, the measuring and pouring. Then there are the dishes, the school concerts, the potlucks for the community soccer team, and the back of the fridge in need of cleaning. (Actually, there might be some great inspiration there for pandemic infections.) Sometimes the many demands of the real world can get in the way of imagining fresh ones.

Or sometimes, after writing several stories, we begin to think all our ideas are gone. Used up. Every time we put something on the page, it seems stupid or silly. It seems to have been said a million times already. We end up staring at the ceiling, which is as blank as the page on the screen.

What to do? Here are some answers from a few Inkies, as well as some story starters to help spark a few ideas.

To start with, when I need inspiration, I read fairy tales and folklore. Also, I read nonfiction books and articles, anything full of cultural details and individual stories. I especially like letter collections. I walk or run to clear my head. I amble around and take photographs.

William Alexander: “I have a very simple refueling trick. If my typing slows to a trickle, I turn off the computer and start scribbling in my notebook. If I run out of ink (metaphorically or literally), I switch back to the keyboard. Chocolate also helps.”

Lisa Gail Green: “The best fuel for me, when I seem to be writing stale, is reading a good book. It's really the best medicine and I find myself recharged and ready to go.”

P.J. Hoover: “I find that chatting about the story, even topically, with friends (not only writing friends), can really help kick start ideas. Also, simple brainstorming techniques like writing words that come to mind about a certain subject can really help get creativity going and help me avoid the clichés.”

Keely Parrack: “I find reading a huge help, preferably something really well written that has nothing to do with whatever I'm working on. I just read The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman and Her Fearful Symmetry (both of which let me escape into totally different worlds. And today I spent two hours working really productively on a pb while my kids went to the movies – another great refueling trick - coffee and limited time!

“Also just get out, go to a movie, visit an art gallery, walk in a cemetery - all opportunities to let your mind wonder and be inspired by new experiences. And if you can, travel is brilliant for helping you see everything with a fresh lens!”

Any ideas to add? What are some ways you refuel?

For those of you who could use a bit of a nudge this week, try some of the story starters below:

• I saw it sideways, out of the corner of my eye. But it couldn’t have been there. Impossible.

•   In the last two years, here’s what I’ve determined: lots of people in New York go to church on Sunday; lots sleep in. Mike and I found the perfect middle ground and meet for pizza. Sure, maybe both of us will end up in hell, but life will taste good until we get there. 

• The light was a shade of, blue? Green? It was gray, or maybe something without a name. I reached toward it. 

• The present he’d given her wasn’t entirely what she’d expected. In fact, it wasn’t what she’d expected at all.

• Spring didn’t come, nor did summer. Four feet of snow at the end of July.

• She opened up her mouth, and all that rose out of her was birdsong.

• She wasn’t a witch, exactly. At least, that’s what she told everyone.

• It had no power source: I was certain of that. Yet the metal form began to rise.

TOTW - Fresh Fairy Tales

Fairy tales – they’ve been told and retold, but maybe you’re drawn to tell one again. And you’d be in good company.

Even many of the versions of fairy tales we think of as “collected” were actually retold in ways that made them distinctive. A number of today’s popular fairy tales were invented by actual authors, often women, in the French salons of the 17th century. These salons were creative and intellectual outlets for women shut out of other intellectual institutions. (For more on the French Salons, read “Introduction: The Rise of the French Fairy Tale and the Decline of France” by Jack Zipes in Beauty and the Beast and Other Classic French Fairy Tales.) Later, in the nineteenth century, the Brothers Grimm made significant changes to tales they collected from their sources, most of which weren’t peasants in the German countryside but educated young women. (For more on this, read the introduction by Jack Zipes to The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm.) The Grimms also reshaped the tales for their intended audiences. Perhaps you would like to join such an august company of re-tellers.

But what more can be said with these stories? Bookshelves in YA and children’s libraries are full of fairy tale retellings. How might you craft fresh versions?

Perhaps the more appropriate question is this - Why do we still enjoy reading these tales? Why are many of us drawn to write them?

The simple answer is that they continue to have relevance for contemporary readers. What follows is a list of suggestions for finding unique relevance in old stories – the unexplored but rich terrain in fairy tales.

Consider the Historical Parallels or Significance. What are the connections one might make to tales and historical events? How might a tale represent what happened in the past? Jane Yolen, for example, used “Sleeping Beauty” to tell a sophisticated story of the Holocaust in Briar Rose. An alternative would be to consider contemporary parallels or significance, as Alex Flinn has done in a number of her novels. 

Draw a Cultural Picture. What stories are too little told? How might they depict cultures and peoples misrepresented or underrepresented in literature? Grace Lin used Chinese folk and fairy tales to inspire the wonderful MG fantasy Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. However, those of us considering writing outside our cultures should think carefully on the if’s, when’s, and how’s of such a decision. 

Find Logic in the Illogical. Often, the things that occur in fairy tales don’t entirely make sense. Why doesn’t Red Riding Hood notice that her grandmother has a hairy face? Why is Cinderella so obedient as she’s robbed of her position and possessions? Gail Carson Levine’s Ella Enchanted offers an answer to this last question that’s both humorous and emotionally resonant. Great stories can come from making sense out of nonsense. 

Tell the Tale from Another Side. Every character has his or her own story: the prince, the witch, the servant girl who walks into the tale briefly and then walks out. Try seeing the story from all sides, and writing it from an alternative perspective. To read an example of this kind of story, track down Donna Jo Napoli’s Zel or The Magic Circle, both of which offer the perspectives of witches. 

Kindle the Emotional Heat. Fairy tales might be about magic and once-upon-a-time, but they’re also about fathers who abandon children, lovers who must see past the ugly outward appearance of a beloved to the sweetness beneath, girls who make the wrong choices and must try to save themselves. These stories are, at their cores, about situations people continue to face every day. When we’re drawn to a particular tale, we might ask, why? What truths are we finding in it? The answers to these questions led me to write a version of “Hansel and Gretel”. Robin McKinley provided two sets of answers in two novels that retell the story of “Beauty and the Beast”, Beauty and Rose’s Daughter. 

I’m sure I’ve overlooked some ways of approaching old and yet compelling stories. How do you create unique stories from already-told tales? 

Belated Shamelessness

I was supposed to post this last week.  Lest you think that's becoming rather a broken record response with dear bubble-headed Gretchen, I have a decent excuse this time.

I got engaged last weekend.

:D

The authors in today's post have been very understanding of having to wait an extra week for me to toot their horns.  They deserve a round of applause!

First off, a cover reveal!  This is AIRE by Lena Goldfinch, designed by her and another talented Inkie, Lisa Amowitz!!!

AIRE is available now!

Dawn Metcalf has ARCS of INDELIBLE and she's giving them away!  Trust me, you want to win one. Look for them on Goodreads, Netgalley, at BEA and contests at www.dawnmetcalf.com!

Speaking of new works, Laura Williams McCaffrey has a new fantasy short story out on YA Literature Network's site, which pretty much looks totally and utterly amazing.

There's an Inkie out there getting mad love from Kirkus!  Yes, Kirkus!!!!  A BOX OF GARGOYLES, the sequel to Anne Nesbet's much ballyhooed THE CABINET OF EARTHS, earned a starred review in this month's issue! This is my favorite line:

"A flavorful mille-feuille with equally tasty layers of dark magic, light comedy, and salty determination." 

A BOX OF GARGOYLES hits shelves May 14th.

And last but not least, there's a new First Five Pages Workshop this week, run by our own Martina Boone.  Check it out!

That's it for me this week.  I'll just be over here in the corner, staring at my shiny ring!

Day Late and a Dollar Shameless

I apologize.

Last week, I completely forgot the Shameless Saturday post.  This week, I'm a day late.  Ugh.  My brain is leaking like a sieve these days!

But it's okay.  I'm here.  Now.  And I've got some awesome news to share!!!

Starting off with books that are new on the shelves, the amazing Nancy Holder has a new book in stores. VANQUISHED, the third book in her YA dark fantasy Crusade series, is on sale now!

I love that we get to do cover releases here on the Inkpot and Amy Butler Greenfield is thrilled to finally be able to share the cover for CHANTRESS (McElderry, May 2013). Seriously, people, this cover is freaking GORGEOUS! Cannot wait to get my hands on it!!!

We've got two three set of Inkie appearances coming up.  Laura McCaffrey will be joining Tanya Lee Stone, Sarah Aronson, and Laurie Halse Anderson as faculty for the Children's Writing Intensive at Stone Spirit Farm, offered through The Learning Collaborative of Bethany, CT, on Oct 18-22, 2012.

Bay Area residents, be sure to check out the SF in SF reading with Malinda Lo and Cindy Pon next Saturday, September 15 at 7pm at The Variety Preview Room 582 Market Street at Montgomery (1st Floor of the Hobart Building). Malinda will ready from her latest YA Sci Fi Thriller ADAPTATION and Cindy will read from SILVER PHOENIX and FURY OF THE PHOENIX. Signing following.

I'll also be in SF, in my first official signing for TEN, at Books Inc. Opera Plaza Friday, September 21st at 7pm.  I'll be joining by Michelle Gagnon (DON'T TURN AROUND) and Jessica Shirvington (ENTICE.)  The next day, Saturday, September 22nd, I'll be on a contemporary YA panel at the Sonoma Book Festival with Corrine Jackson (IF I LIE) and Dana Einhardt (THE SUMMER I LEARNED TO FLY) and 11:30am.  Then on Sunday, September 23rd I have my Los Angeles launch event for TEN at 2:30pm at Mysterious Galaxy, Redondo Beach.  Yeah, I'm a slacker.  :D

You can check out these and all my fall appearances on my blog.

Grace Lin is back with a new book.  Her October release STARRY RIVER OF THE SKY has gotten not one, not two but three starred reviews! Check them out on her blog.

In foreign rights news, Korean rights have sold for Jennifer Nielsen's THE FALSE PRINCE, making it the eighth language licensed. THE FALSE PRINCE was also named as one of the Best Books of 2012 on both the Middle Grade and the Young Adult lists at TheBestBooksOf.com.

And last, er, I always get embarrassed talking about my own news.  But I'm finally able to share the book trailer for TEN (Balzer + Bray, September 18.)  Warning: it's creepy.

See? I WARNED YOU!!!!

In addition, I just launched my guerrilla street team The Army of Ten, where you can sign up and win some amazing prizes, including books, swag and a meet and greet with me!  :)

Short Story Love

Often we discuss novels here at Enchanted Inkpot, so I thought we might take some space to talk about short stories we love.

I confess the short stories I like tend to be odd. One of my favorites is “Sweet Pippet” in Margo Lanagan’s Black Juice. It’s a love story, told from the perspective of elephants. I adore the way Lanagan explains almost nothing. We simply have to puzzle out whom the elephants love and why.

Another of my favorite collections is Kelly Link’s Pretty Monsters. Like Black Juice, this collection has odd stories, some surreal and some strange. “The Wrong Grave”, about a guy who decides to dig up poems he left in his girlfriend's grave, is funny in a dark, sad way. The collection also includes traditional tales with a twist, like “The Wizards of Perfil”, which features wizards, a tower, and lost children.

Steampunk! – edited by Kelly Link and Gavin Grant is a wonderful anthology that includes steampunk stories by Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, and M.T. Anderson, among others. If you’ve liked novels by these authors, you might enjoy their short stories.

When I'm looking for great fantasy stories, short and long, I frequently visit Endicott Studio's "Mythic Fiction for Young Adults" to see what's listed there. For short story collection recommendations, check out the 4th paragraph. 

Also, some recommendations from other Inkies:

William Alexander recommends Holly Black’s collection, The Poison Eaters. In a review for Magers and Quinn Booksellers (you can read the full review here), he says: “It's like very strong espresso, delicious to sip but powerful enough to keep you up all night wishing you could breathe comfortably with blankets pulled over your head.”

Leah Cypress wants to announce that she has short stories with YA appeal forthcoming and available, in the anthologies Sword and Sorceress 27 and Two and Twenty Dark Tales, as well as her own free collection Changelings and Other Stories. Take a look at her website for more information on these.


Amy Butler Greenfield says: "I don’t often read short stories, but I really enjoyed Willful Impropriety:  13 Tales of Society, Scandal and Romance (ed. Ekaterina Sedia).   Almost all the stories have a strong historical fantasy element; some are painful; many are funny.  Taken together they’re a fascinating and thought-provoking look at social norms and 'improper' behavior, with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure."

Dawn Metcalf recommends the Bordertown short stories, including the latest collection edited by Ellen Kushner and Holly Black. Dawn says, “These were the first stories I read as a teen that blended fantasy and technology on the border where our world and Faeland met along the Mad River; where bookstores came with magic locks, elves jonesed for a cup of coffee, and people rode motorcycles powered by spellboxes that (sometimes) worked. It was magic remade all over again and I loved it!”

Let’s add to this list. What short stories, and short story writers, do you love and why? 

To Trope or Not To Trope: That is the Question

Readers come to the fantasy shelves looking for a specific kind of reading experience. They want to enter other worlds, or they want to enter worlds like this one and yet different, strange, magical. Maybe without realizing, they long for a specific set of tropes: characters, worlds, situations, or magic that resemble those in other fantasy stories they’ve read and loved.

But who wants to read the same story, with a few names changed, over and over? No one.

Writers sometimes have to perform a tricky balancing act. They have to serve up a story that can provide the pleasure readers are anticipating, while also offering something new, something surprising and unique.

To find some answers on ways writers might do this, I asked other Inkies to chime in.
Pippa Bayliss:
Using tropes is related as much to our individual style as our premise and characters are, so it's not easily buttonholed. In my experience my use of them developed as part of my world building.

Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series comes to mind as a brilliant example of using language and all forms of literary trope to enhance and create a unique world.

In my own writing, my MC uses unusual turns of phrase because that's who she is (and she's powered by my particularly unusual imagination). I try to keep her metaphors, idioms and comparisons appropriate to her age and life experience - and possibly more importantly, her nationality.

I love the rhythm of words and coming up with original ways of capturing and communicating the emotion evoked by my MC's situation, so those are my 'trope creating' moments. Sometimes they're right there and other times I lose sleep coming up with the best way to avoid cliche. Synonyms are my absolute favorite way of brainstorming - and I confess I'm partial to alliteration (in moderation ... at least, I TRY to keep it to a minimum).
Hilari Bell: 
I think we all use tropes, almost unthinkingly. Unless you're going for some very unusual setting, it's hard to avoid them. However, there's almost nothing that works better than turning a trope on its head, and doing the reverse of what's expected. On the other hand, even reversing tropes is becoming something of a trope itself. I think a writer's only real hope is to tell a story you love the way you want to tell it, and let the chips fall where they may.
Kate Coombs:
In THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS and THE RUNAWAY DRAGON, I deliberately take tropes and give them a little twist to create humor. For example, the princess is supposed to be languishing in a tower while princes vie for her hand in marriage, but she gets her friends to sneak her out, leaving the royal guards vigilantly watching over an empty tower. And the wicked witch in the woods wants to be left in peace to read romance novels, but when princes keep coming around bothering her, she rolls her eyes and rather reluctantly turns them into frogs so they'll leave her alone. I've had fun reinventing tropes!

Another way to keep tropes from making your work predictable is by creating rich characters--then even when you use tropes, the focus is on these characters who feel so real that readers love and cheer for them despite their flaws. Surprises are great, but they need to work with the logic of the storytelling and of characters' personalities. Besides, even if readers CAN predict, say, the ending of a book (um, the hero/heroine triumphs?), the road to get there can twist and turn in wonderful ways.


Some great answers here. For myself, I too like twists. In ALIA WAKING, Alia wants very much to become a warrior, but she starts to question her goals when she sees the reality that exists along with the warriors’ ideals. Margot, in WATER SHAPER, begins as the classic romantic heroine, but her wants and needs as in individual complicate the romance she stumbles into. In my current WIPs, I find myself twisting tropes in a variety of ways, but mostly in regard to perspective. For example, is that guy really a bad boy with a heart of gold, or is he just a bad boy? And what do either of those things mean, anyway?

I did want to mention some great resources for those interested in thinking on tropes and how one might, or might not, want to use them. Try THE TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND by Diana Wynne Jones and the many resources linked in “Beyond Orcs and Elvs,” an Omnivoracious interview with Stacy Whitman on writing cross-culturally.

Now, to get to some discussion. What about you? What tropes do you play with, and how do you play with them? Why do you play with them in the way you do?

Post author bio: Laura Williams McCaffrey is a full time writer and writing teacher. Her third young-adult speculative fiction novel is forthcoming from Clarion Books. She’s the author of two other young-adult speculative fiction novels: Water Shaper, selected for the 2007 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age list; and Alia Waking, named an International Reading Association Notable Book. Alia Waking was also a nominee for the annual Teens’ Top Ten Books list and for Vermont’s Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award. Laura is a faculty member at Solstice, a low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program at Pine Manor College, and she teaches writing and literature at Pacem Learning Community, a learning center for homeschoolers. You can visit her website at: http://www.laurawilliamsmccaffrey.com/.