The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

I read a person's comment in another group that called an individual a liar for saying they got the ideas for their stories out of the blue. This troubled me. Why?

People ask me all the time where I get the ideas for many of the stories I write. The inspiration I have does not come from a specific place. It is developed from my interactions in the world, and my outlook on life. The fact is that I look at the world in a very odd light and this allows me to write some "Alice and Wonderland," like short stories. Is there a direct source--- no. Nature, experiences, and understanding of life have always generated endless ideas that are extremely eccentric. I hate to see hostile people respond to individuals that are expressing a viewpoint that they feel is true to them.

That was me, in my review of Frank Butterfield's latest book. I was teasing him, because he makes it sound as if his writing takes no effort, and involves no thinking. I know him, and I love his books and he knows that. I'm sorry you thought I was being mean--he understood me. We all get ideas "out of the blue," but nobody ever writes a good book without a lot of effort and thought. That's all it meant.

I'm the author... And I knew exactly what Ulysses meant when I read his review. There's not a drop of hostility in his review—it was a literary device to drive home his point, which very much amused me. However, I have to gently disagree. I like to say that Nick (the narrator and one of the MCs) is telling me the story and I'm just writing it down. I'm as surprised as anyone when the story ends up where it does. But, it's the mildest of disagreements, like a feather tossed in with the mountain of endless appreciation I have for Ulysses and his astonishing effort at reviewing LGBTQ books. I've always said that he is doing the Lord's work. His reviews are what kept me going in the beginning.

Well, when I turn back to fiction, we'll see how that goes. I'm chasing a plot bunny, and I hope good ideas come to me when I need them to :)

gotch :)

I completely agree with Max about ideas for stories coming out of the blue. But many ideas that I have had have also stemmed, in some small way, from a news story, a personal experience, something a person has said, etc. I think that even when an idea seems to come from no where it can still be related, in some small way, to the author's life, interactions with people, etc. That is the great thing about writing, it is usually rooted in real life so people can often relate to the story in some way.