Jane Eyre

Have you ever seen a film so beautiful that it makes you feel like crying because you know you're never going to be able to create something so heartbreakingly perfect?

That was my experience with watching Jane Eyre.

I was a little apprehensive about seeing this movie, because I really enjoyed the book. The book is quite dark ( I mean, come on - it was written by a Bronte sister) and I find that some adaptations try to lighten up the story. Which I really don't like. Also, the story is quite melodramatic in nature, and it's hard to do well without going ridiculously overboard. But this adaptation managed to retain the dark threads of the story while remaining believable at all times.

The book starts off very slowly, and the film dealt with this very well. It started with Jane fleeing Thornfield and arriving at the home of St. John Rivers. Most of the story is told through a series of flashbacks, which deals nicely with the slow start. The film is beautifully shot, with fantastic performances from Michael Fassbender and Judi Dench. The real strength of the film, however, lies in Mia Wasikowska's performances. She portrays the multi-faceted Jane Eyre so well that it's hard to credit the fact that she's only 21. It's lovely to see a film adaptation of a book that adds to your understanding of the former, rather than failing to live up to your expectations.

What about you? Do you ever get disheartened when you see genius that you can't hope to replicate? Or do you find it inspirational?

Road Trip Wednesday: Real Life Settings

The nice people over at YA Highway a ‘Blog Carnival’ every Wednesday, where the contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.

This week the prompt is: What is the most inspiring setting you've ever visited in real life? My answer is fairly predictable and boring for an Irish writer, it's the west of Ireland. The landscape is so beautiful in a harsh and rugged way, and the wide open spaces give your mind room to think properly, away from the constraints of concrete buildings, neon lights and worries about bills, the day job and city life. I'm definitely a Dublin girl at heart, but I love the west. I dream about going on a writers retreat there one day.

What about you? Any inspirational places?

 

The Sea: A Love Story

I don't know what it is about the sea, but it just calms me. I like to think it's because my surname come from the word Moray, the Scottish term for a sea settlement. But that's just fanciful talk.

I used to live by the sea when I was a little girl, and I still miss it. Hopefully, one day I'll live beside it again. I never feel quite as calm as I do when I'm beside the sea, and I find it very inspiring. I get some of my best story ideas sitting on the shore.

The great thing about Dublin is its size. From the city centre, a thirty minute drive in any direction will bring you to the mountains, the sea or the countryside. I love that about the place. That and the winding back streets that evolved over hundreds of years.

*What about all of you? Is there anything about where you live that gives you inspiration?*

*I'm on holiday, so I'll respond to any comments when I come back*

Friday Fives: Creative Inspiration

Every week, the lovely people over at Paper Hangover give a blog prompt to help those of us who, very occasionally, run out of ideas for posts. This week they want to know: What are the five things that get your creativity juices flowing? Because Paper Hangover is predominantly YA, I'll be listing things that help me write YA urban fantasy, rather than my other genre, women's contemporary fiction.

1. Music: When I get stuck in a scene, I find playing music can jog my brain. Maybe it's because music appeals on an emotional level? 

2. Rain: I find that I get inspired by the rain, and I find it easier to get write on cold, damp days. Good thing I live in Ireland then.

3: Reading history and mythology: I find that my YA fiction depends more on my university education than my adult fiction does. The political situation in Ravensborough is inspired by historical research, and my steampunk WIP is based in an alternative Victorian era, a period I've specialised in. So non-fiction comes into play.

4: Eavesdropping: It's amazing how many ideas you can pick up from listening to people talk in public. Not that I would lift an idea completely, but if gives you a starting point. Then you ask 'what if...' and a plot strand begins to take shape.

5: Life: This sounds like a bit of a cop out, but it really isn't. The more things you do, people you meet, and places you see, the more your imagination grows. Like any living thing, creativity needs fuel.

What about you guys? What inspires you?

I is for...Inspiration

When I'm stuck in a scene, and want to procrastinate by kidding myself that I'm doing something useful, I visit writers forums. It's not a total waste of time, I've met some really nice people and got a lot of information about the publishing process from those sites. And writing can be very lonely sometimes; it's nice to make small talk with people at a virtual office water cooler.

One of things that took me surprise, was the amount of new writers who asked about inspiration. Now we were all new writers once, and the idea of writing an entire book is quite daunting at that point. When you realise just how difficult the writing process can be, but don't yet have the confidence that comes from having completed a first draft. But I found it quite strange that people have such a problem with finding an idea for a book. Plot holes, I can understand. That point when you've run out of steam after the first five chapters, sure. You know that you want a character to move from this point to this point, and aren't sure how to make it happen? We've all been there. And sometimes the sub plots are more difficult than any other part in the book.

I have loads of ideas for books. In fact, my problem is resisting the urge to start a new project when I'm up to my eyes with my current drafts. When I really need inspiration is not at the beginning of the story, but during it. That's when I discover problems in my plot that I hadn't anticipated. If I can't iron it out at the computer, I have to go and do something else. Usually I walk my dog, go and see a film, or go out with my friends. Usually, something will click with me while I'm doing something else that solves the problem.

What do you all do when you need inspiration?