This week, Alida, Kathryn, and Robert discuss inspiration, sources of it, high concept ideas, and whether you need to be inspired to write a story, or if the story you’re writing can serve as your inspiration.
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What is a high concept idea? And do you need one in order to write? Should you build your story around your theme or let it emerge through your story? And what about writing to genre conventions? We talk about what inspires us, how to write in and out of the box, and shut down that voice of resistance in your head!
What we talked about:
The problem of “the amazing idea”. (0:43)
How do you define high-concept? (1:52)
Is it the idea that is engaging, or the way it is told? (3:49)
Do you have to be inspired by a high concept idea? Or can it emerge organically? (4:35)
The dangers of building a story around a theme type inspiration. (7:49)
Can you marry inspiration to genre conventions? (11:10)
What about inside the box ideas? (12:20)
What inspires us? (14:28)
Idea versus Inspiration. (18:15)
But what if someone steals my idea? (19:05)
LINKS
Things we mentioned:
Brandon Sanderson
Furies of Calderon (Codex Alera book 1) by Jim Butcher
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
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