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K. L. Stewart's Dark Angels blog gives details into the characters, worlds, and inspirations related to all of the books in my Angels and Shadows series.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

How It's Done

     Many people tell me that they wish they could get ideas like me.  They ask me how I come up with these ideas.  For me it comes naturally.  To be a writer, you must be a full-time daydreamer.  That's how I think of it.  The ideas just come.  Instead of pushing them aside, I allow them to grow, and I listen to these characters that run around in my head.  I visit these lands with them.  I feel what they feel (and sometimes I make them feel what I feel).  Then when it goes onto paper, it becomes like a dream made into a reality.  It is something that other people can walk into and experience.
     The thing is, not everyone's experience in these worlds will be the same as mine, and I understand that.  That's why so many different genres of literature exist.  Some people go into a fantasy world, and hate it.  Others, relish in the escape from reality.  Personally, I go into a world that seems like reality, and try to instantly flee.  If I'm already living in this world, why would I escape to it?  That's why I'm a fantasy author.  I create these worlds for the endless possibilities that arise from a place where anything can happen, and where I can control it all.
     After all, that's what sucks about reality.  You can try to change it, but really it's all the same.  Someone else always holds a higher card.  In a fantasy world, even when things seem harsh and inescapable, there is always a way for the character to gain an advantage, even when you think the situation is hopeless.  So whether it comes to me through a dream or a daydream, I must watch and listen to the events unfolding in these worlds, and report them on paper.  This is writing at its most simple.  Writing not only what you know, but what you think, dream, and imagine!  It is both spiritual and emotional for me.  It is an outlet for me, and it is also energy pouring into me all at the same time.
     There are some things that I do to help me write in a deeper mode, such as when I have an emotional scene to write.  I may be feeling an opposite emotion in my actual life at that time, but that's when I create a mood.  I turn on some music, and get rid of any outside distractions.  Sometimes I even change the lighting in the room, and the smells around me.  This helps me to tune myself to what my characters are thinking and feeling, and open my imagination so that I can see what's happening more clearly before writing it down.
     Now, every writer may have different inspirations and different advice, but I recommend the following blogs as something for both writers and for anyone who just wonders how we do it.

http://www.ornaross.com/2011/02/creating-anything/

http://networkedblogs.com/8Mx3a

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