Writers are often asked where do they get their inspiration. The answer a lot of us give is either "I don't know" or "Everywhere." Vague, I know. We don't mean to be, but sometimes it's hard to nail down the moment inspiration strikes and a character steps forward to begin a story.
I recently have been working on a four-story collection to publish this year titled Folds in Life and Death. The stories take place in an alternate history where some people have the ability to bring origami to life (i.e. paper magics). The unique thing about these stories is I know what inspired them, and I have four anthology calls to thank for the creative spark.
Though I always wanted to write something involving paper magics, I didn't necessarily have a story in mind. We Untethered Realms' people were using the original four elements (earth, air, fire, and water) to create anthologies. The first anthology, Twisted Earths, had been released, and I was considering what to write for Mayhem in the Air. All I knew is I wanted it to involve paper magics. I saw a piece of paper floating in the air. Then, Mayor Alfred Merry stepped out from the shadows. The mayor hated paper magics and wanted to ban them, not because Paperists (paper magic practitioners) could be dangerous, but because his wife, a Paperist, had cheated on him with a man Alfred had trusted. His wife had not only abandoned Alfred, but also their little girl who eventually passed away from cancer. Alfred promised his daughter only her mother would release her soul to the sky, which is the key task for Paperists. This story also brought up a deadly sect of Paperists known as the Ritualists. Alfred created the Futurists, those against paper magics. The players in this new world were set in "Paper Lanterns."
In 2015, the Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) put out a request for alternate history/parallel universe stories, which was titled Parallels: Felix Was Here. I knew I wanted to revisit my paper magics' world, but what story to write? I thought about our history, and I remembered something I read as a child about the Curse of Tippecanoe, which stated every President elected in a "---0" year would die. In our universe, Reagan survived the curse, but in my paper magics' world, he wasn't so lucky. So what would that mean for the President elected in 2000? Allyson Moore, a Paperist and the President's sister, is just about to find out in "Folds in Life and Death."
I wrote "Folds in Life and Death" for the IWSG anthology, but if it hadn't been selected, I was going to use it for UR's Spirits in the Water. So I still had a new story idea to discover for our fourth Elements of Untethered Realms' anthologies. I wanted to revisit the paper magics' world. In "Paper Lanterns," I wrote from the point of view of a Futurist. From "Folds in Life and Death," Allyson is a Paperist. Now, I wanted to write from the point of view from a budding Ritualist. What would inspire a person to join what most of the world thinks of as a terrorist organization? Aimee Washington helped me understand in "The Folding Point."
Last year, IWSG had a call for YA Romance with a masquerade theme. I wanted to write from the point of view of an autistic, like me. Willow bloomed before me, but I unfortunately didn't complete her story in time for the anthology. I wasn't willing to give up on her, so I inserted her into my paper magics' world. She is a regular ol' human who hasn't yet taken sides when it comes to Futurists, Paperists, and Ritualists. She's just a girl in love with her best male friend. A girl who obsesses over theater and history and admires the paper magics' her love interest can create. Willow's story is "Paper Faces," and it rounds out the collection Folds in Life and Death.
I'd hoped to have published Folds in Life and Death by now, but I'm still writing "Paper Faces." The collection will be published soon, though. March or April. *crosses fingers*
If you're a writer, where has inspiration led you? Readers, I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse behind the scenes.
