It’s time for another Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) post! Every first Wednesday of the month we writers bring our writing challenges and problems out into the open to share with each other and try to come up with solutions. Plus, I have some Lightning News Flashes for you, including news on a new Edgar Allen Poe Funko Pop figure!
For this month’s IWSG, I’m going to start out by responding to the question of the month with a straight answer then respond with an inverted answer. You’ll see what I mean by the latter when we get to it. So, the question of the month: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it? My first answer: I often don’t write stories based on photo graphs or works of art. Normally when I write my fiction it's based on ideas that randomly come to my mind inspired by specific experiences I’ll encounter or that others have encountered. I’ll record these inspirations as notes in my journal first then write the stories whenever I feel enthused to.
My second and so inverted answer to the question: my stories inspire my art more than works of art or photos inspire my stories. Kind of. More specifically, I’ll draw out a character from a story that I’m already writing. I do this as a means of developing them and I mostly do it with aliens and monsters. This is especially the case when I’m not sure what physical characteristics to give them. Doing this helps me visualise the make-up of the race or species the character is from and why they look the way they do. It also helps me steer away from typifying or stereotyping their appearances and so helps make them more believable. (At least I hope!)
My most recent example of this is for an atompunk/interdimensional time travel story that I’ve been working on. While I want the non-human aliens in this story to resemble ones from 1950s and ‘60s science fiction, with such features as huge brain-like heads and cyclopean eyes, I want to make them look truly alien beyond readers’ expectations. So, I’ll add features of my own such as oratory elephantine appendages.
While this technique is very useful in science fiction and fantasy writing, it can also be done with other genres, particularly with human characters, such as when trying to come up with their bodily traits and ways of dress.
Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!
January saw several events related to one of the greatest horror authors of all time, Edgar Allen Poe! To begin with, his 211th birthday was the 19th of the month. He was born in 1809.
Poe House Declared a Literary Landmark: Poe’s birthday was celebrated in Baltimore, Maryland with a declaration of acknowledgement for the house he resided and wrote many of his works in. It was officially acknowledged as a literary landmark by the United Libraries National Registry For Literary Landmarks.
175th anniversary of Poe’s ‘The Raven’: The 29 January marked the 175th anniversary of Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven”. It was first published in the “New York Evening Mirror” in 1845. The narrative poem eventually became so famous in pop culture that even several movies have been based on it. Three of these movies are a 1935 one starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; one in 1963 that Karloff also starred in along with Vincent Price and screenplay written by “I Am Legend” author Richard Matheson; one in 2012 starring John Cusack.
New Poe Funko Pop Figure: On the 23 January Funko released a new Pop ™ figure of Poe. Pops are simplistic, cartoonish figures depicting famous characters and celebrities. This new Poe Pop is depicted holding a skull and joins two other versions released prior to it: Poe holding a raven and Poe holding a book. Although the new figure will not be distributed until the spring, pre-orders are being taken at Entertainment Earth and Amazon. This figure does not only join its earlier Pop “clones” just mentioned but also the pantheon of Funko Pop literary figures already out there such as that other of greatest horror authors, Stephen King, and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin.
Do you ever draw out characters to your story as part of your development of them? Have you read Poe’s “The Raven”? Do you collect Funko Pop figures of authors or of other pop culture personas? Feel free to leave your answers and other comments in the box below!
Until next time . . .
IWSG
My second and so inverted answer to the question: my stories inspire my art more than works of art or photos inspire my stories. Kind of. More specifically, I’ll draw out a character from a story that I’m already writing. I do this as a means of developing them and I mostly do it with aliens and monsters. This is especially the case when I’m not sure what physical characteristics to give them. Doing this helps me visualise the make-up of the race or species the character is from and why they look the way they do. It also helps me steer away from typifying or stereotyping their appearances and so helps make them more believable. (At least I hope!)
My most recent example of this is for an atompunk/interdimensional time travel story that I’ve been working on. While I want the non-human aliens in this story to resemble ones from 1950s and ‘60s science fiction, with such features as huge brain-like heads and cyclopean eyes, I want to make them look truly alien beyond readers’ expectations. So, I’ll add features of my own such as oratory elephantine appendages.
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| Credit: The blogger |
While this technique is very useful in science fiction and fantasy writing, it can also be done with other genres, particularly with human characters, such as when trying to come up with their bodily traits and ways of dress.
Today’s IWSG is brought to you by these super co-hosts: Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson! IWSG was founded by awesome author Alex Cavanaugh, writer of the Cassa Series of novels!
Lightning News Flashes
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| Credit: Wikimedia Commons |
Poe House Declared a Literary Landmark: Poe’s birthday was celebrated in Baltimore, Maryland with a declaration of acknowledgement for the house he resided and wrote many of his works in. It was officially acknowledged as a literary landmark by the United Libraries National Registry For Literary Landmarks.
175th anniversary of Poe’s ‘The Raven’: The 29 January marked the 175th anniversary of Poe’s most famous poem, “The Raven”. It was first published in the “New York Evening Mirror” in 1845. The narrative poem eventually became so famous in pop culture that even several movies have been based on it. Three of these movies are a 1935 one starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi; one in 1963 that Karloff also starred in along with Vincent Price and screenplay written by “I Am Legend” author Richard Matheson; one in 2012 starring John Cusack.
New Poe Funko Pop Figure: On the 23 January Funko released a new Pop ™ figure of Poe. Pops are simplistic, cartoonish figures depicting famous characters and celebrities. This new Poe Pop is depicted holding a skull and joins two other versions released prior to it: Poe holding a raven and Poe holding a book. Although the new figure will not be distributed until the spring, pre-orders are being taken at Entertainment Earth and Amazon. This figure does not only join its earlier Pop “clones” just mentioned but also the pantheon of Funko Pop literary figures already out there such as that other of greatest horror authors, Stephen King, and “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin.
Do you ever draw out characters to your story as part of your development of them? Have you read Poe’s “The Raven”? Do you collect Funko Pop figures of authors or of other pop culture personas? Feel free to leave your answers and other comments in the box below!
Until next time . . .
Drawing the aliens - now that's a good idea. Then you could really see if your idea is going to work or not.
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