It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
June 3 question - Do most of your story ideas come from one place (the news, dreams, etc.) or do they hit from all over the place?
99% of my story ideas come from dreams. I will dream a scene, and if it is powerful and emotional enough, I will expand upon it during the day. Once I have a solid idea, I write it down. Some become stories, some are just too convoluted. (It took me several tries to make The Alien make sense, but I did!) But every published fiction books/story from me originated from a dream.
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Life notes...
My father-in-law was in the hospital last month and my husband spent a week in Arkansas with him. It’s just very frustrating. Hospitals and doctors suck. Their view of the elderly is “You are old and going to die soon so we don’t really care.”
On a more positive note, my garden is growing great.
And…I smashed my 5k time! 32:06. When I ran the Senior Game 5k on April 10th, I was at 36:06. Four minutes off in just six weeks! I am now in an elite group for my age. My ultimate goal is to do it in thirty minutes. (And the guys I ran against in the Senior Game 5k – I would’ve smoked them like a Christmas turkey as their time was over 33:00!!)
Where do your story ideas come from?
31 comments:
Wow, I'm kind of jealous that your dreams are so productive. I think I can count on one hand the number of decent ideas I've had from them! Hope your father-in-law is doing okay. Great job on your 5k.
I wrote one story based on a sentence that came to me during that in between asleep and awake time. It would be great if I could remember my dreams long enough to write about them.
I can't remember my dreams, so I'm a little jealous like Nick. Congrats on your senior 5k run.
Well done on the run! And yeah, doctors suck...
I wish I had dreams like that!
Hope your father-in-law is better soon. That just stinks.
That's amazing that most of your ideas come from dreams! I've had a few but it's definitely rare.
Sorry to hear your FIL is ill.
I've always wished I could run, but I was born with a faulty ticker. A half a block in, I'm sucking wind. LOL
I'm with you on dreams! There's nothing quite so powerful, eh?
Sending love for your father in law. I get it. My dad and grandpa were doctors and there's very much a different approach to medical care these days than in their time. But there are still good doctors who care, they're just harder to find.
Congrats on your 5K time! That is totally awesome! How interesting that your inspiration comes from dreams. I can barely remember mine! :)
Some good news and some not so good. Sorry about your father-in-law. I hope your husband can be there for him and advocate for what he needs. Dreams are a great resource for ideas, so you're lucky to tap into those!
Congrats on a great garden and beating your time. I'd pat you on the back if my arms were long enough. :-)
Congrats on the improved 5K times! I'm envious that you can still run--I injure myself. Every. Time. And I loved it in my 30s and early 40s. I'm kind of envious of your dreams, too. Mine seldom make enough sense to work with, and when they do--they just scare the poop out of me and I only want to forget them.
Lucky you. Most of nmy dreams disappear when I wake up.
I'm so impressed with getting ideas from dreams! Occasionally, a dream might inspire a new direction in a story, but I've never gotten a full story from one. So sorry that your dad has been in the hospital.
Dreams - what a wonderful source for fiction. I almost never remember my dreams, but when I do, it is just pointless running around, trying to escape some unknown dread. Not my theme in fiction at all.
Hi, Diane! I hope your father-in-law recovers well. My heart goes out to you and your husband! Congrats on your 5K success. What an accomplishment. I haven't turned dreams into stories myself. You have some wildly creative dreams, my friend!
We really have to watch out for our elders — Younger people won’t get it until it happens to them… And so the world goes
But Congrats on your running and your garden! beautiful strides!
happy summer =)
Tara Tyler Talks
I hate when the medical community writes someone off. Like, as a society, can't we do better? And really, aren't too many politicians far above the median age, so one would think they'd be fighting for their own octogenerian generation, right? So weird.
Writing from dream inspiration is fun. I dreamt an entire Adam Sandler movie. Woke my husband because I was laughing so hard in my sleep. Can't really do anything with it, one of the main characters died IRL, so even if I was "cool enough" to pitch it to Adam Sandler, it couldn't get made. But it was a funny dream.
My dreams... If I could write horror, some of my dreams could work. I have some very horrifying ones. But I'm too grossed out and/or horrified by them to want to spend any time with them.
Nick, he started dialysis today so we are hopeful.
Melissa, I am sorry. I have been a runner for most of my life and it would be hard if I couldn't.
Crystal, they are very hard to find.
Jamie, most of them are coughing dust now! Yes, they should be fighting harder for senior medial care. And that is so funny about the Adam Sandler movie in your head.
Dreams can produce really cool ideas. The first book in my new series came from a dream. Congrats on your 5K time.
Sorry about your father-in-law.
Congratulations on your 5K time! Unfortunately, I've seen what I feel is medical elder abuse each time I've had to take my mom to the ER. I can't tell you how many times they've talked to her like she's a daffy old lady (she's not) and determined there was nothing wrong, just for her to follow up with her regular doctor and discover broken bones. Yes, repeatedly. I go in and try to force them to listen, suggest things to check, etc. I did read a book on medical abuse and gaslighting of women, which is great if you want to be enraged, BUT it did point out that one reason they continue to suck this way is that they never hear back that they were wrong. Once they dismiss you, they don't care and no one is letting them know, "Hey, that lady you released the other day just came up with a fractured shoulder." I plan on remedying that from here on out.
So sorry to hear about the hospitalization and lack of proper care. Good job with the 5K though! That's great!
It can be hard writing fiction based on dreams. That's really great if you can do it well like you sound like you do. I've normally am not able to do that. Ive only done it well with one short story: "The Boo Brothers", a middle-grade story. (its in my short book of the same name.)
Woo Hoo. Congrats on smashing your 5k time!
I'm so sorry to hear about your father-in-law. It seems as we age, we become invisible. And I'm jealous you get ideas from dreams. I never remember mine, except that they would have been a great story line. Heh.
I'm sorry to hear about your FIL, that really sucks.
But congrats on your elite status. That's pretty awesome.
IOh how I wish I could remember my dreams. I hope your FIL is feeling better. I get that tone of you're too old to fix it these days. But one perk of aging is I don't have to have a mammogram anymore!!
Hi, L. Diane... Surprise... I thought I'd stop by to say hi... It's been way too long.
Good for you! That is great time. You should be proud of yourself.
Sadly, I agree about the medical profession these days. They have no time or care to see what's really up with our health. Throw meds at you and have operations. Not willing to find out the real cause. Sadly, my doctor, who I loved, retired, and now I am dealing with a thirty something doc who thinks he knows my body better that I do. So, I basically do what I think is best for me and hope for the best. I refuse to have an operation that will make my situation worse and I refuse to take even more meds to correct an ongoing situation. thankfully, it's nothing serious but I need to keep an eye out. Losing weight will rectify most of my situation. As an official senior now, I have to tread lightly with the exercise, etc. But, I am improving slowly but surely.
As for the question... as you may have guessed since you've known me for SO long, I am a panster and get my ideas from everywhere....
How's your father-in-law doing?
Must be some amazing dreams!
Hospitals, generally, suck. Don't let them get away with less than excellent patient care. Maybe there's a patient advocate in the area to help? (They're often volunteers.)
“An indie author's success is never guaranteed, but neither is failure—so you might as well take the leap.” — Quote source Unknown
J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) @JLenniDorner ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge international blog hop
Shannon, you should. It's just shameful.
JQ, I look forward to that!
Michael, they tried the "You need an operation on your gall bladder" with my husband. He balked and it ended up being something totally different.
Sandra, he is on dialysis and doing better. Might not even need an operation on his heart.
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