Creative Writing with the Crimson League

The Blog of Fantasy Author Victoria Grefer

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On story ideas: I must have a very creative guardian angel!

I honestly wonder from time to time if I simply have a very creative guardian angel.

I say this because my ideas for my stories come to me, for the most part, out of nowhere or from odd places.

For instance, the original inspiration for a resistance group fighting against a sorcerer who’s taken over the kingdom–the concept of The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope–came from a dream that was about something kind of related to that, but also, in some respects, not related at all.

I’ll be honest: the dream was about the Captain Planet cartoon I watched sometimes a kid, and I woke up from it with an idea that was only tangentially related (if that): a group of people with magical powers working together to fight a sorcerer-tyrant.

Some would be nobles. Some wouldn’t. They would all have different skills to contribute. I thought it might be interesting to explore.

I combined that idea with a thought related to Harry Potter: what would it be like if the muggles knew wizards existed? And they had to live side by side?

That, combined with sudden, unexpected inspiration regarding who my characters were (especially the protagonist, years after that dream) and the guidance of RPG character classes to craft the skills of the people in the Crimson League, and I was off and running.

  • I have a couple of rogues
  • A scholar
  • (loosely) a soldier/warrior type
  • some archers
  • Mages / sorcerers, of course. (I mean, sword and sorcery is the genre)

I DEFINITELY think my guardian angel is responsible for some, if not all, of the inspiration behind my pantsing writing style–making everything come together, not only within each novel but between novels in a trilogy that takes place over some 25 years.

I planned nothing ahead of time. When I wrote book one, I had no idea I would make this a trilogy. I had no concept of what would happen in future novels. But there are connections between books, between books two and three especially, that arose so organically, it still blows my mind to consider them.

As a writer, where do your ideas come from? How to tweak and mold those original ideas? Or, if you don’t write, where do you imagine story ideas come from?

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7 responses to “On story ideas: I must have a very creative guardian angel!”

  1. Victoria Avatar
    Victoria

    I love your questions and how you’re thinking about your creativity, Vic! I’m working on a fiction piece now and I know bits and pieces come from the recesses of moi 😉but other parts? No clue at all…odd stuff cobbled together from my subconscious? It’s fun, isn’t it? Love your story about storytelling and how you let it all flow…

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    1. vicgrefer Avatar
      vicgrefer

      thanks, Victoria! It really is crazy how things come together from who knows where! Sounds like your experience is similar to mine!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Victoria Avatar
        Victoria

        Oh…I think you’ve got loads more experience with “experiences” than I do…but I love that you follow the threads and ideas as they appear! 🥰

        Liked by 1 person

      2. vicgrefer Avatar
        vicgrefer

        thanks! I try to! I take me a while to get through a first draft because I have to take time here and there to realize where thing are going. But I love my process. It works for me.

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      3. Victoria Avatar
        Victoria

        😉🥰😉

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  2. juliefj1 Avatar
    juliefj1

    I like your guardian angel! My ideas for blogs come from things I hear in the news or in conversation. I have recently started to write creatively again and those ideas seem to come from out of the blue. I try to keep an open mind and let my imagination wander. It often gets lost. I’m also reading Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity by Ray Bradbury. It’s crazy to read where he got so many of his ideas and how they came together.

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    1. vicgrefer Avatar
      vicgrefer

      it really is crazy how some of the best creative ideas come out of nowhere! Current events/ news/ life sounds like great fodder for blogging as well, for sure.

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