Maria Savva's Blog - Posts Tagged "inspiration"
The inspiration behind the stories in my latest short story collection: Fusion
I’m fascinated by the creative process which is why I love reading and writing so much. I am often inspired by events in my own life, or by things I’ve heard, when I write my stories and novels.
I'm often asked, 'How do you come up with the ideas for your stories?'
So, I thought it would be nice if I wrote a paragraph or two about a few of the stories in my latest short story collection,Fusion. These stories were written over a period of over 10 years. Some of the descriptions below contain spoilers, so, unless you’re the type of person who always reads the last line of a book before you finish it (I actually know someone who does that!!) you might want to read ‘Fusion’ before you read this article!
Only Time Can Divide Us
I remember watching a documentary many years ago about young men who fall in love with much older women. It always seems okay when we hear about an older man dating a much younger woman, but for some reason it’s not so well regarded if it’s the other way around. I wrote this story as a love story for a competition.
Untold Crimes
This story came to me around the time that the Swine ‘Flu epidemic was taking hold in the UK. I remember a television advert at the time which seemed to be suggesting that you could be a murderer without realising it if you didn’t take precautions against spreading the virus.
Me and My Dictionary
This one was written for a short story competition where the theme was 'The Dictionary'. The story had to feature a dictionary in some way. My mind somehow came up with this funny little story. For some reason, maybe because I’ve written it in the first person, everyone who reads it always thinks it’s autobiographical. Maybe I just look like the sort of person who would learn all the words in the dictionary? I’ve never really taken the time to learn all the words in a dictionary before... or have I?
Make Hay While The Sun Shines
Again, this story was inspired by a theme for a short story competition. The theme was ‘Make Hay While The Sun Shines’. The story was to be based around that saying. It’s a story about deception, and looking for love.
Hope Springs Eternal
This story is loosely based on my own idealistic attitude towards love and romance. It takes it to the extreme; what would happen if someone fell in love at first sight and then waited around for ever for this special someone who never felt the same?
The Reunion
This is a ghost story. I was always interested in ghost stories when I was growing up, and we lived in a haunted house. I am sure this story was inspired by something I once heard about a person communicating with someone after their death.
A Virtual Affair
This story was written years ago when I was using email for the first time. It explores the idea of how people can pretend to be who they want to be when they are only communicating online.
Till death us do part
This one was inspired by a documentary I watched over ten years ago, about women who would correspond with prisoners on death row, and even have relationships with them. In more general terms, the story is about how it can affect someone’s life when their friends or family don’t agree with their choice of partner.
Seize the day
This is a fun story, dealing with subjects such as how reality TV can propel someone to super-stardom over night, and the modern type of celebrities whose lives are documented daily in newspapers and magazines, and the exploitation that can arise.
The Time Machine
A sci-fi tale. I don’t usually write sci-fi, but I was told by a sci-fi writer that it’s good.
The title says it all, really. I like the ending of this story. It’s one of my favourites.
The Valentine’s Card
There is a great story behind this one. One day, about 17 years ago, I was standing at a bus stop on the way back from work. An elderly woman asked if she could borrow a pen. When I gave her my pen, she said it was nice and asked me what I did for a living. I said I was a trainee solicitor. As she was writing something, another middle-aged woman came over and said something like “That’s a nice pen”. Then when the elderly woman said she’d borrowed it from me, the other woman looked at me and said: “You could write a lot of good things with that pen”. Then she told me a story about a friend of hers who owned a card shop. She told me that a man had gone into the shop and had bought two Valentine’s cards, one for his wife and one for his mistress. The one for his mistress was much bigger and more decorative than the one for his wife. That inspired my short story about ‘The Valentine’s Card’. The thing about those two ladies was that they told me other things, and when I look back they seem to have been some kind of fortune tellers. Anyway, they definitely foretold that I’d be a writer, because I hadn’t started writing stories or novels when I first met them, but they must have seen something in that pen.
Fusion is available as a paperback at all good online booksellers, and can be ordered from bricks & mortar stores by quoting the ISBN 978-0956410139
You can also order it from your local library.
Here are a few links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Lulu
Barnes and Noble
I'm often asked, 'How do you come up with the ideas for your stories?'
So, I thought it would be nice if I wrote a paragraph or two about a few of the stories in my latest short story collection,Fusion. These stories were written over a period of over 10 years. Some of the descriptions below contain spoilers, so, unless you’re the type of person who always reads the last line of a book before you finish it (I actually know someone who does that!!) you might want to read ‘Fusion’ before you read this article!
Only Time Can Divide Us
I remember watching a documentary many years ago about young men who fall in love with much older women. It always seems okay when we hear about an older man dating a much younger woman, but for some reason it’s not so well regarded if it’s the other way around. I wrote this story as a love story for a competition.
Untold Crimes
This story came to me around the time that the Swine ‘Flu epidemic was taking hold in the UK. I remember a television advert at the time which seemed to be suggesting that you could be a murderer without realising it if you didn’t take precautions against spreading the virus.
Me and My Dictionary
This one was written for a short story competition where the theme was 'The Dictionary'. The story had to feature a dictionary in some way. My mind somehow came up with this funny little story. For some reason, maybe because I’ve written it in the first person, everyone who reads it always thinks it’s autobiographical. Maybe I just look like the sort of person who would learn all the words in the dictionary? I’ve never really taken the time to learn all the words in a dictionary before... or have I?
Make Hay While The Sun Shines
Again, this story was inspired by a theme for a short story competition. The theme was ‘Make Hay While The Sun Shines’. The story was to be based around that saying. It’s a story about deception, and looking for love.
Hope Springs Eternal
This story is loosely based on my own idealistic attitude towards love and romance. It takes it to the extreme; what would happen if someone fell in love at first sight and then waited around for ever for this special someone who never felt the same?
The Reunion
This is a ghost story. I was always interested in ghost stories when I was growing up, and we lived in a haunted house. I am sure this story was inspired by something I once heard about a person communicating with someone after their death.
A Virtual Affair
This story was written years ago when I was using email for the first time. It explores the idea of how people can pretend to be who they want to be when they are only communicating online.
Till death us do part
This one was inspired by a documentary I watched over ten years ago, about women who would correspond with prisoners on death row, and even have relationships with them. In more general terms, the story is about how it can affect someone’s life when their friends or family don’t agree with their choice of partner.
Seize the day
This is a fun story, dealing with subjects such as how reality TV can propel someone to super-stardom over night, and the modern type of celebrities whose lives are documented daily in newspapers and magazines, and the exploitation that can arise.
The Time Machine
A sci-fi tale. I don’t usually write sci-fi, but I was told by a sci-fi writer that it’s good.
The title says it all, really. I like the ending of this story. It’s one of my favourites.
The Valentine’s Card
There is a great story behind this one. One day, about 17 years ago, I was standing at a bus stop on the way back from work. An elderly woman asked if she could borrow a pen. When I gave her my pen, she said it was nice and asked me what I did for a living. I said I was a trainee solicitor. As she was writing something, another middle-aged woman came over and said something like “That’s a nice pen”. Then when the elderly woman said she’d borrowed it from me, the other woman looked at me and said: “You could write a lot of good things with that pen”. Then she told me a story about a friend of hers who owned a card shop. She told me that a man had gone into the shop and had bought two Valentine’s cards, one for his wife and one for his mistress. The one for his mistress was much bigger and more decorative than the one for his wife. That inspired my short story about ‘The Valentine’s Card’. The thing about those two ladies was that they told me other things, and when I look back they seem to have been some kind of fortune tellers. Anyway, they definitely foretold that I’d be a writer, because I hadn’t started writing stories or novels when I first met them, but they must have seen something in that pen.
Fusion is available as a paperback at all good online booksellers, and can be ordered from bricks & mortar stores by quoting the ISBN 978-0956410139
You can also order it from your local library.
Here are a few links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK
Lulu
Barnes and Noble
