Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Seven pieces of inspiration behind my latest project

I'm baaaack!  Last week was crazy, and since something had to give, it was my weekly blog post.  I think that was my first time missing a post since starting this blog, and so I apologize to anyone who actually looks forward to them *stifles laughter as crickets chirp*.

Anyhoo, moving on.  Last week, the sweet and talented Cherie gave me an award.  Ain't it purdy?


As usual, there's the "seven things about me" rule, but since I've done that (a couple of times), I'm going to switch it around and tell you seven things that inspired my latest project. 

1) The short-lived television show "The Gates" that aired last summer (of '10).  This show was about a gated community where the residents were of the supernatural persuasion (werewolves, vampires, witches, etc.).  One of the residents was a teenage succubus.  At the time, I had no idea what a succubus was, so I did a little research, and the wheels started turning.  I loved the idea of having a protagonists with the ability to bring men to their knees--literally.  So often it's the other way around, i.e. lonely girl meets incredibly gorgeous *insert mythological creature here* and instant falls in love and decides she would DO ANYTHING for him. 

My novel takes a  more sinister different approach from the story portrayed on the TV show, but that is where my idea was conceived.

2) The over-zealous, religous freak of a mother in Stephen King's "Carrie" (the movie).  That woman scared the sh*t out of me as a child.

I love how religion and faith can be a beautiful thing, but how it can turn into something warped and scary when taken to the extremes.  I don't want to give anything away, but this was something I definitely wanted to explore in my manuscript. 


3) The character "Katherine" on the televison show "The Vampire Diaries."  I love this character.  She's a master at seduction and ruthless as hell.  BUT, every now and again, she shows her vulnerability.  She was the inspiration behind my main character's sister, Jade. 





4) Grunge music.  This was the stuff that was "in" when I was a teenager, and I found listening to it helped take me back to those days and all the emotions--loneliness, angst, sadness, anger--I felt being a teenager who was just trying to get through each day.

5) Tori Amos.  I LOVE her, especially her CD titled "Little Earthquakes," which contains the most perfect angry-female-coming-of-age music.  When I needed to write a scene where my MC stands up to the b*tchy snob-mob, I blasted the song "Precious Things." Talk about instant inspiration :o)

6) The relationship between Anna and Etienne (I hope I didn't just butcher his name) in "Anna and the French Kiss."  I loved how the author, Stephanie Perkins, was able to create this really cute and playful friendship between the two of them and how she gradually had it lead up to something more.  In my ms, the relationship between my MC and her love interest is definitely different than the one Perkins created, but I tried to infuse a little bit of that carefree playfulness into it.


7)  All those Law and Order/CSI-ish type TV shows.  I really wanted an element of mystery and suspense in my novel.  I love how a lot of these shows will lead you in one direction and then totally switch gears and leave you with your jaw dropped at the end.  That's what I wanted to do.  Time will tell if I was successful at it ;o) 

This was kind of fun!  It's interesting when you sit and think about how every-day experiences--the shows we watch, the books we read, the music we listen to--affect our writing. 

So now I'm supposed to hand the award off to five other people, but for the sake of not wanting anyone to feel left out, I'm going to skip this step.  Yeah, that's right.  That's how I roll ;-)  Hope everyone  has a great week!

8 comments:

  1. That was a really good take on the 'seven things' meme. Really enjoyed reading about your inspiration! :)

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  2. ah, grunge music. I miss you. If only the look would come back... it was sooo easy getting ready to go out back then.

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  3. Haha! You rebel! I'm a Tori Amos fan, too. SWEET. And just like you, SPLINTERED was inspired by something visual (a movie). This was a great post! I'm so proud of how you spun the seven around a bit. ;)

    It's always interesting to see how someone gets those inner wheels turning.

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  4. @Christine--thank you! I had to do something different, because really, I don't think I could come up with 7 more INTERESTING things about myself ;o)

    @Mindy--Haha! I have to admit, I so miss flannels and baggy jeans . . .lol

    @Anita--LOVE HER! Saw Tori in concert YEARS ago (very cool). I haven't listened to any of her recent stuff, but her older stuff rocks ;o)

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  5. Yay! I love your seven pieces of inspiration. What a great way to showcase how your novel was born. You are so creative.

    Ack! I <3 Tori Amos too, years ago, back when I was a teenager. LOL! Must check out her recent music ASAP.

    Btw, it's so fun coming here and getting to check out your different layouts. Are you sticking with this one, or still shopping around? ;)

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  6. Hi Cherie :o)

    Yes, I think every teenage girl should listen to Tori's stuff; some of it is very empowering ;o) Ah yes . . . the blog layout . . . well, this is the one I'm going to stick with for now. Trying to find the PERFECT picture/layout is just way too time consuming ;o)

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  8. Whoops--Rookie can't type today.

    I love CARRIE--and know exactly which character is modeled after her crazy, bible-thumping mother--it's a PERFECT fit!! L

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