Everyone one has their own ways of getting inspiration, some may be similar to others, and others aren't as commonplace. Something that is shared though, is the necessity of ideas in order to accomplish a majority of activities. The Whyvillians here shared what they use the idea generating process for.
Bibi4evr: Do you do an activity (writing, drawing, etc.) that requires you to come up with ideas consistently? If so, what is it?
Rubella: Well, when I find the time to write I usually write songs. I play the piano so I also come up with little melodies to play along with the songs that I write. I've written about 60-70 songs in my lifetime, and the lyrics change every day.
Pengwhen: The activity in my case would probably end up to be drawing. I love to doodle and draw.
Cows2cute: I compose short poems and doodle.
Sweet1680: Well, not really. I just writing about the recent, interesting topics that everybody has different views on. No particular activity, but it's just like writing an essay in English class.
kittieme: I love composing songs on my piano, and in order to move on from line to line in the music, I've got to have many different ideas on how to continue the song.
The most basic classification for ideas would be good and bad. But people don't stop to consider that you get both types through the same process. Of the myriad ways to get ideas, my interviewees get ideas with the following.
Bibi4evr: How do you come up with the ideas needed?
Rubella: I carry a notebook everywhere. I have one beside my bed that I keep close in case I wake up in the middle of the night and find something to write. If ever I see something that inspires me, I write it down. Basically, I write down every word that pops into my head and work it all out into phrases later on.
Pengwhen: Well it matters what sort of mood I am in. If I am sad I will probably draw some sort of sad scene, or happy with a happy scene, etc. If I can't think of anything to draw or I am in a neutral mood, I will draw pictures of characters from books that I read that I am insanely in love with (pictures of Katniss Everdeen holding flames in her hand).
Cows2cute: When I read, the books have situations that are somehow related to mine, and I put myself in the shoes of the person and think, how would I solve it? When I draw, I think of what I want to draw, and sometimes things just pop in my mind while I draw, and there's an idea.
Sweet1680: I mainly read the 'Current Events' section of the BBS a lot. I really like writing about topics on which everybody has different views on and they keep debating about it. Well, I've sent in a couple of articles in the past that haven't got in, those were from random things and topics I've written essays on. And the ones that got in, and mainly about the things I like, or I want everyone to know about . . .
kittieme: I usually pound around or will play out various chords until I find ones that I like, then I will incorporate in something to do with my other hand while the chords are being played.
Personality traits play a part as well when it comes to inspiration. An introvert like me would probably find a barrage of ideas in a quiescent room while an extrovert can make sense of thought in a room full of noises.
Bibi4evr: Where can you typically find yourself (environment) in which you come up with a majority of your ideas?
Rubella: I come up with a majority of my ideas when I am traveling abroad. I guess it's the change of the everyday environment that inspires me the most. A majority of my songs that I would consider "good" were written when I was on vacation in Boston with my relatives. Otherwise if I'm not traveling, like I said above, usually when I'm just in my bedroom thinking about life.
Pengwhen: School. I am usually bored out of my mind so I will end up sneaking a bunch of doodles in when I finish all of my work.
Cows2Cute: Usually at home, when it's quiet. Also at school, practically anywhere quiet so I can focus.
Sweet1680: Well, I don't really research a lot about random things, I just come up with random ideas at random times of the day. While there's lots of people debating on the BBS about hot topics such as the '2012 World End', I just started researching about it and wrote an article about it.
kittieme: I usually think of ways to continue my compositions when I am sitting on my piano bench. But, sometimes when I'm in choir I'll be reading the music and find parts of it I would like to add into my music.
Coming from a big self-analyzer, I find it enlightening to not just know the basics, but to indulge on how we get them whether their ideas, traits, and etc.
Author's Note: I send a huge thanks to all my interviewees who sent speedy replies. It was very appreciated.
