Okay so I have been trying really hard with doing this. I suck at being unique and it kinda bums me out and makes me less inspired. Every time I think something about one of my characters (Both Already made AND in creation). I find out it’s already been done in a movie or book somewhere. It bums me out
Any tips on getting inspired? Or even anything that helps you think up stuff?
(The fact that I love telling stories and I suck at it makes it so much worse)
Any tips on getting inspired? Or even anything that helps you think up stuff?
(The fact that I love telling stories and I suck at it makes it so much worse)
Stop trying. Seriously. Everything has been done.
Just focus on doing something you find interesting, and let yourself get swept up in it. Just because something's been done before doesn't mean it's not interesting, and I've learned how very, very differently different people will use the same idea.
I don't create much anymore. It's kinda a bummer. But when I do, I try to just get really into it, and I end up with things like Chasu Maru or Alba, the latter of which was heavily inspired by a character who appeared in a webcomic I read.
What's a thing that would be fun to do?
What's something I haven't tried before, and are there existing things I could reference to help me build it?
What's an idea I've seen that I don't have a character for? What would fit, and how can I build that character to work beyond just that part?
Just focus on doing something you find interesting, and let yourself get swept up in it. Just because something's been done before doesn't mean it's not interesting, and I've learned how very, very differently different people will use the same idea.
I don't create much anymore. It's kinda a bummer. But when I do, I try to just get really into it, and I end up with things like Chasu Maru or Alba, the latter of which was heavily inspired by a character who appeared in a webcomic I read.
What's a thing that would be fun to do?
What's something I haven't tried before, and are there existing things I could reference to help me build it?
What's an idea I've seen that I don't have a character for? What would fit, and how can I build that character to work beyond just that part?
Well what can I say about this, it's not bad that your character is like from movie or book since it's base of your character, point is to make it distinct from it's inspiration(think of your character as a human in the sense as it's own unique being, even if it has traits inherent from parents, it's different from them)
Besides there's nothing that hasn't been done before, so don't feel bad about that.
Advices? Well I would say listen to music or read something as it allows to help becoming inspired, writing also works, as in try to write his every day life
, you can also write concept of character like one/two sentence/s that describe him/her/it.
Taking rest and diverting your attention from it, spend time doing something different than writing, go with dog or play some sports if you're into it.
Besides there's nothing that hasn't been done before, so don't feel bad about that.
Advices? Well I would say listen to music or read something as it allows to help becoming inspired, writing also works, as in try to write his every day life
, you can also write concept of character like one/two sentence/s that describe him/her/it.
Taking rest and diverting your attention from it, spend time doing something different than writing, go with dog or play some sports if you're into it.
I love unique characters and doing things that I think are "new", but really, nothing is new. You'll find that all of your ideas have been done in some way or another and it can be frustrating at times. The thing is, if it's something you haven't done before, then it's something that the world has yet to experience from your point of view. You're not going to do it the same way that those other people did it and it's actually pretty hard to copy something to a T. That's why people always fuss over "accuracy" in fan creations.
So if you come up with an idea that you like, why not run with it even if it's something that's been done before? You'll still put your own spin on it, and hell, maybe your version of the concept will become someone's favorite version of that concept. Yours might even be their first experience with that concept. When you think of it that way, it doesn't feel so overdone.
As for coming up with ideas... I have many ways. My boyfriend often seems overwhelmed by my flow of ideas and can't seem to understand how I do it, but there's no super special secret to it. I just take a moment to entertain ALL of my ideas regardless of how stupid they are. I might start out with something ridiculous like "Boy wouldn't it be funny if this character had an obsession with chickens?" and then I'd ask myself "But what if they were allergic to chickens!?" and then later, after playing with the idea for a bit longer I'd wind up with a character who needs magic to function in some way (similar to an addiction, obsession, or necessity), but they can only use magic if they steal it from other people, and the process of doing so will either hurt them or the person they're stealing it from and there is no way around the consequences. It might not be a perfect idea, but I just came up with it and I think it's a good idea of how even stupid concepts can evolve into something you might find useful.
My favorite source of inspiration is Pinterest. Everything from pictures to snippets of stories can give you ideas so it's helpful to save anything that interests you, even if it doesn't give you an idea right away. However, the most important step is actually writing down or sketching your idea when you DO get one.
And finally, when you're looking for ideas for a specific... "thing", don't just look up that specific "thing". For example, if you want inspiration for the way a character looks, don't just look up pictures of people. Look through all kinds of images and even consider different mediums of art like writing and music, because they can give you ideas too. You're usually much better off searching for themes than specifics.
So if you come up with an idea that you like, why not run with it even if it's something that's been done before? You'll still put your own spin on it, and hell, maybe your version of the concept will become someone's favorite version of that concept. Yours might even be their first experience with that concept. When you think of it that way, it doesn't feel so overdone.
As for coming up with ideas... I have many ways. My boyfriend often seems overwhelmed by my flow of ideas and can't seem to understand how I do it, but there's no super special secret to it. I just take a moment to entertain ALL of my ideas regardless of how stupid they are. I might start out with something ridiculous like "Boy wouldn't it be funny if this character had an obsession with chickens?" and then I'd ask myself "But what if they were allergic to chickens!?" and then later, after playing with the idea for a bit longer I'd wind up with a character who needs magic to function in some way (similar to an addiction, obsession, or necessity), but they can only use magic if they steal it from other people, and the process of doing so will either hurt them or the person they're stealing it from and there is no way around the consequences. It might not be a perfect idea, but I just came up with it and I think it's a good idea of how even stupid concepts can evolve into something you might find useful.
My favorite source of inspiration is Pinterest. Everything from pictures to snippets of stories can give you ideas so it's helpful to save anything that interests you, even if it doesn't give you an idea right away. However, the most important step is actually writing down or sketching your idea when you DO get one.
And finally, when you're looking for ideas for a specific... "thing", don't just look up that specific "thing". For example, if you want inspiration for the way a character looks, don't just look up pictures of people. Look through all kinds of images and even consider different mediums of art like writing and music, because they can give you ideas too. You're usually much better off searching for themes than specifics.
Ironically, I've been studying something right along these lines in my English class. You're gonna have to forgive me in advance because it might get a little wordy in here, it's something I'm totally intrigued by right now 
please skip to the ;tldr if you don't need context from people way more learned than I
tldr; people tend to form expectations of a thing or theme, and instead of enjoying that thing for what it is, they measure how much they enjoy it based on their idealized expectations. There's another line, something like "It's about the journey not the destination". It doesn't matter what your superficial end result is, there are lots of characters, there are lots of canyons. It's how you GET to that character that matters! Over a decade ago I designed a white-haired pale-skinned vampire nobleman. Do you know how many of those are out and about right now? Boy, it's like its own sub-genre. But I don't enjoy writing him because of those characteristics specifically. I enjoy writing him because he has an in-depth backstory that helped me immerse myself into the character, I enjoy how he impacts the stories of others and how he brings plot and development to the table. Don't worry so much about what your character is, or how it looks, or how much it conforms to the stereotypes of its design. Worry about finding the sensation in the cliche. Write whatever inspires you. Write what makes you happy. They say "every melody has already been made", but that doesn't stop us from cherishing music. You love telling stories? Do your thing. Everything else will fall into place.
please skip to the ;tldr if you don't need context from people way more learned than IWalker Percy's The Loss of Creature wrote:
Garcia Lopez de Cardenas discovered the Grand Canyon.... The thing is no longer the thing as it confronted the Sparniard; it is rather that which has already been formulated- by picture, postcard, geography book-. ... As a result of this preformulation, the source of the sightseer's pleasure undergoes a shift. Where the wonder and delight of the Spaniard arose from his penetration of the thing itself, ... now the sightseer measures his satisfaction by the degree to which the canyon conforms to the preformed complex. He will not be able to see it directly, he will only be conscious of the disparity between what it is and what it is supposed to be.
How can the sightseer recover the Grand Canyon? He can recover it in any number of ways, all sharing in common the stratagem of avoiding the approved confrontation of the tour and the Park Service. It may be recovered by leaving the beaten track. He arises before dawn and approaches the South Rim through a wild terrain where there are no trails and no railed-in lookout points.
How can the sightseer recover the Grand Canyon? He can recover it in any number of ways, all sharing in common the stratagem of avoiding the approved confrontation of the tour and the Park Service. It may be recovered by leaving the beaten track. He arises before dawn and approaches the South Rim through a wild terrain where there are no trails and no railed-in lookout points.
Gilles Deleuze: The Painting before Painting wrote:
[Discussing an artist's work]
He wanted to express something, and before he could do it he had to fight the hydra-headed cliche, whose last head he could never lop off. ... One can only fight against the cliche with much ruse, perseverance, and prudence: it is a task perpetually renewed with every painting, with every moment of every painting. It is the way of the Figure [in this text, figure means "cliche" and capitalized Figure means "sensation"]. ... we never cease to trip over the objection of fact: the Figure is still figurative; it still represents someone (a screaming man, a smiling man).... The painter's problem is not how to enter into the canvas, since he is already there, but how to get out of it, thereby getting out of the cliche.
He wanted to express something, and before he could do it he had to fight the hydra-headed cliche, whose last head he could never lop off. ... One can only fight against the cliche with much ruse, perseverance, and prudence: it is a task perpetually renewed with every painting, with every moment of every painting. It is the way of the Figure [in this text, figure means "cliche" and capitalized Figure means "sensation"]. ... we never cease to trip over the objection of fact: the Figure is still figurative; it still represents someone (a screaming man, a smiling man).... The painter's problem is not how to enter into the canvas, since he is already there, but how to get out of it, thereby getting out of the cliche.
tldr; people tend to form expectations of a thing or theme, and instead of enjoying that thing for what it is, they measure how much they enjoy it based on their idealized expectations. There's another line, something like "It's about the journey not the destination". It doesn't matter what your superficial end result is, there are lots of characters, there are lots of canyons. It's how you GET to that character that matters! Over a decade ago I designed a white-haired pale-skinned vampire nobleman. Do you know how many of those are out and about right now? Boy, it's like its own sub-genre. But I don't enjoy writing him because of those characteristics specifically. I enjoy writing him because he has an in-depth backstory that helped me immerse myself into the character, I enjoy how he impacts the stories of others and how he brings plot and development to the table. Don't worry so much about what your character is, or how it looks, or how much it conforms to the stereotypes of its design. Worry about finding the sensation in the cliche. Write whatever inspires you. Write what makes you happy. They say "every melody has already been made", but that doesn't stop us from cherishing music. You love telling stories? Do your thing. Everything else will fall into place.
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