Tag Archive for: inspiration

As individuals, we all consume media we enjoy. Sometimes, we incorporate those things we enjoy into ourselves; be it a character’s trait we find admirable and seek to emulate, or an event in a story that struck a chord with you so well that you will carry it in your heart for the rest of your life. And that’s not a bad thing. For authors, it’s good to wear your inspiration on your sleeve. It helps give a solid foundation for what you’re writing and what you’ll write in the future.

Don’t just restrict your inspiration to one medium though; go crazy. Be inspired by movies, by paintings, music; heck, even children’s television programs. To only take inspiration from books is pretty limiting. Some of the greatest creators took inspiration from works outside of their comfort zone. 

Take for example Norman Mailer, author of The Naked and the Dead. Norman Mailer took his inspirations from actors. Yes, that’s right, actors of film. He says that both authors and actors occupy the same work: embodying their characters to convey them to the audience. Specifically, he cites Warren Beatty as the one he admires the most.

And just like Norman, Livia Halteh took her inspiration from Harry Styles, serving as the basis for her character Isaac Hensick in Caffeine. Inspired by the films 10 Different Things, Clueless, and Flipped, Caffeine tells the tale of Aspen Haste, a teenager wrought with anxiety, insecurity, and insomnia from her medications. An uplifting story about an inadequate teen growing up to shed her old self: these were the common elements found by the movies above that Livia brought down to paper, along with a delicious serving Aspen’s favorite drink of soy latte with no sugar.

Similarly, Colson Whitehead for his book Zone One watched numerous zombie movies. He wanted to bring the zombie genre—which was thought that can only inhabit film—into printed works rather than the silver screen. He took what he loved in one medium and transferred it over to another medium that he loves. Perhaps he hoped that others would feel the attachment he had for the genre through the pages?

It doesn’t have to be from a medium reliant on moving pictures even! Brianna Fresquez saw this image of a tattoo online. 

This intrigued her greatly! She wanted a back story for it. So, she got to work and brought the story in her head down to paper and wrote After the Ink. An exciting story of a love triangle, shedding of the past, and how not everyone you meet is what they seem, all bloomed from an image of a tattoo online!

So, dear readers, explore! Explore not just books and literature of old, explore different mediums, different ways of telling stories. Listen to your grandparents or parents, watch movies that wowed you, or maybe find old works of art made by you when you were younger! What story did it tell? Perhaps it was an old drawing showcasing your love and admiration for your family? Maybe it was an old recording made by your parents of you running around the house and acting out an epic tale too big to be put down on paper?

The amount of inspiration to pull from are endless! And I, for one, look forward to reading how you put that inspiration down onto paper.

Your next great reads: Caffeine

By Livia Halteh

Aspen Haste struggles with things most teenagers have no problem dealing with. As a sixteen-year-old girl with crippling anxiety and currently on medication, her only solace is the same order she asks in Café de Fleur. This helps somewhat, but she still has to deal with the perils of teenage life, as well as her insomnia from the medication.
Well . . . there’s also Isaac Hensick, one of the “It Boys” of the school whose reputation precedes him. Nevertheless, Aspen is also aware of his other side, and that is the boy who draws on his sketchpad at the corner of Café de Fleur.
Maybe there is more to him than the school knows, but she didn’t think she would find out.
That’s what she thought. Now that she’s become the target of his attention, she’s going to need more than coffee to deal with the headaches.

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You can reach out to Livia Halteh at:

https://www.instagram.com/liviahalteh/

And After the Ink

By B.D. Fresquez

Betrayal races through Lacey’s head.
Grieving over her parents’s death, she found solace in her aunt, her best friend Casey Taylor, and her boyfriend of three years, Jacob.
That was before Jacob went on and cheated on her.
Now, with a new school year, she wants to wipe her boring old slate clean. Gone is the moping, weak Lacey of last year. In comes Confident Lacey: sanguine, bold, fun, and exactly the right match for Dylan Parker, the mysterious troublemaker and resident heartbreaker.
It seemed like nothing could go wrong until Jacob, feeling remorseful about what he did, tries desperately to win her affections back. And as it turns out, Dylan also has his own baggage that could very well drag her in.
Will Confident Lacey make it out of the school year intact?

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You can reach out to B.D. Fresquez at:

@__thatgirlbrianna (Instagram)

@BriFresquez (Twitter)

@The_Dreamer_10 (Twitter)