I know I've talked about this topic before but it is one of those timeless ones and always useful. I was looking through my From Light to Dark and Back Again and I would list the inspiration/themes for the stories in here as coming from:-
1. Fantasia by Walt Disney
2. My loathing of hunting increasingly rare animals for "sport". There's a strong poetic justice theme here!
3. The Tooth Fairy not being as nice as perhaps traditionally thought. (An idea to take and run with, possibly run away from if you are likely to require her services!).
4. Revenge.
5. The Sword in the Stone/King Arthur
6. Transformation/the idea someone could be a magical being and we'd never know.
7. Santa Claus and the idea that government inspectorates get everywhere!
And that's just the first few stories in the book!
So you can use your favourite films/music etc as ideas to get you started. With regard to bringing in your personal dislikes, don't rant! My story here, A Kind of Hell, shows my not so nice character getting their comeuppance but there's no anti-hunting rare animals rant here. It is all implied. Less is definitely more.
As for my fairytale inspirations, it has long been established that fairy folk are not always that nice, a theme so many writers have used, but it is a rich seam for stories and highly unlikely to run dry any time soon! Happy writing!
1. Fantasia by Walt Disney
2. My loathing of hunting increasingly rare animals for "sport". There's a strong poetic justice theme here!
3. The Tooth Fairy not being as nice as perhaps traditionally thought. (An idea to take and run with, possibly run away from if you are likely to require her services!).
4. Revenge.
5. The Sword in the Stone/King Arthur
6. Transformation/the idea someone could be a magical being and we'd never know.
7. Santa Claus and the idea that government inspectorates get everywhere!
And that's just the first few stories in the book!
So you can use your favourite films/music etc as ideas to get you started. With regard to bringing in your personal dislikes, don't rant! My story here, A Kind of Hell, shows my not so nice character getting their comeuppance but there's no anti-hunting rare animals rant here. It is all implied. Less is definitely more.
As for my fairytale inspirations, it has long been established that fairy folk are not always that nice, a theme so many writers have used, but it is a rich seam for stories and highly unlikely to run dry any time soon! Happy writing!
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