People
often ask about, how authors come up with their crazy ideas. The
answer is imagination, but to most that word is a synonym, for magic.
It seems like we pull things out of thin air, but I know that's far
from the truth. You should think of the creative part of your brain,
as an engine, and the fuel it uses, is simply information.
Classic
Movie Trailers – Hook (1991)
Information
is the clay that writers use, to sculpt fiction. The practice of
expanding upon prior knowledge, is essential for the research, that
serves as a foundation for what you create; it's also just as
important, to your own general creativity. Throughout our lives, we
are bombarded with a wealth of facts to choose from; the only
difference between us, as human beings, is the various ways our
brains react and respond to them.
I
don't know, what J.M. Barrie's influences were. I haven't found the
books, that shaped his sense of fantasy, or adventure, or comedy. I
imagine that his decision to use pirates, might have been in
response, to Robert Louis Stevenson's, “Treasure Island”. His take
on the character of children, might have been similarly lifted from
other stories, or from his own life. I only know one thing for
certain: artists can't create in a vacuum.
Imagine
for a moment, that your best friend is an English professor. As a
favor, you agree to act as a substitute for a few days, and lead the
Creative Writing class. On the first day, you give the students a
list of words, which they need to use in their creation, of a new
intellectual property. Those words are: firearms, spirituality,
flying, racing and swords.
Personally,
I'd be anxiously anticipating the results. While grading the
homework, you might become privy to the beginning, of a billion
dollar franchise. However, if one of your students pitches a world
like “Star Wars”, you'll know that you have a cheater. The
stories we create, are an extension of our individuality; given the
same ingredients, the meals we prepare, are going to be wildly
different.
I
can't write what you can write. Similarly, you won't be able to
provide, what I can provide as a storyteller, and neither of us,
could have created Peter Pan. That's the most amazing thing, about
fiction. Every time we experience the work of a new author, we get to
see the world through very different eyes.
So,
if we wish to create art, we need to experience art, and plenty of
it. Read as much as you can. Watch as many movies, as you have time
for. Try things you may have never considered, like comic books or
manga, animated films, or genres you're not familiar with.
After
all of that material is digested by your brain, it will
subconsciously combine and rearrange things, in ways that no one else
in the world can duplicate. Just remember, that your imagination
engine needs oil, and that oil is your own belief. When you create,
you have to put yourself in a state of mind, to where you nearly
believe that your creation is real. Actors do this, all of the time.
As
comical as “Hook” is, it's dependent on Robin Williams' belief in
his character. Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts and the rest of the
cast, had to act out lives they've never lived, and remember events
that didn't actually happen. Without belief, and an almost childish
ability to pretend, the magic doesn't work.
@ChannelSeals
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Watch
“Hook” on Netflix!
Rest
in Peace, Robin Williams (1951-2014)
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