It’s the Little Moments that Inspire Me

I’ve noticed that depending on the craft, different things will inspire me. In the case of songwriting emotions or situations and stories, whether they be my own or imaginary, heavily inspire my songwriting. A feeling from long ago, the words from some old letters in a thrift store, imagining what a certain scenario would be like and feel like are some examples. For screenwriting it’s a bit different. I’ll want to explore a specific theme such as personal anxiety, or the struggles of motherhood, the troubles of pursuing revenge. These usually stem from some personal belief that’s explored through characters, plot and in my more sci-fi or fantasy work, the setting.

Sometimes other crafts inspire other crafts. A song I heard might inspire an idea for a movie and vice versa. I remember listening to this acoustic cover of Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol and I saw the ending shot of a short film that I had not written, or had any ideas about. That specific song sparked a strong visual. I’m now in the process of writing a short film based around that ending shot that was brought forward by that song. Or there’s a scene in Lethal Weapon where the main character has to talk down a jumper. That got me thinking about what it would be like to be there to witness something like that. That thought sparked a song. 

Trusting theses little moments, as serendipitous as they may seem, is essential in creating something true to myself. If I find something interesting, chances are I will be invested in it. But if something is disingenuous I’ll lose interest really quickly.