Do What Inspires You

When I was writing Bad for Business, I decided to find a target tone and setting and stick to it.  I had just read Neuromancer by William Gibson and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, both are excellent cyberpunk books, but I wanted more than that.  I wanted to see the world well enough to describe it fully and immerse my mind in living there.  I also watched Blade Runner about six times, and I watched the only season of Almost Human (similar setting).

The point is: I found something that inspired me and wrapped me in that world.  Sure, sometimes I took breaks from those settings to avoid over saturation and burnout.  I tell the other writers in my critique group to do the same.  For Loki, it's mostly Night of the Living Dead movies and playing Resident Evil.  For my brother, it's video games like Space Pirates VS Zombies and FTL, and movies like Pitch Black or Harlock Space Pirate.

If you're working on an idea--or working on working on an idea--find something that gets your creativity bouncing around your head and do the ever-loving crap out of it.  Now that I'm working on my Urban Fantasy novel, Lost Lamb (a working title) my viewing list has changed to include the best works of that genre.  Recommendations include the Constantine movie, Kolchak: The Night Stalker (the one from the 1970s is awesome), Troll Hunter (it's weird and foreign but still great), Being Human, and the shows Buffy and Angel.  My preference leading more toward Angel for the supernatural investigator vibe.

Doesn't look like much but he can kick an ass or two.