Inspiration and How It Hides

Did you know that The Matrix was inspired by Alice in Wonderland? I’ve always been interested in how creators of intellectual properties, like the Matrix, were able to create such a complicated story and where the origins of it came from. Ideas like the Matrix are like seeds, once planted, as long as you cultivate them and give it space to grow - it can become a truly beautiful thing. But The Matrix, isn’t Alice in Wonderland. They are vastly different. Building a world can’t be a 1:1 replica of something else you’ve seen.

To build a world no one else could build, you need to add a bit of yourself into the story. I watched this video recently (link here) and they talked about Alfonso Cauron needed inspiration to write a story. He was starved of ideas and someone asked him “well how do you feel?” “Well I feel like I need to get my feet back on the ground” - and there it is. The feeling of being lost and “out of your depth” was the original seed of “Gravity”. That idea became cultivated and the feelings he had, became metaphors and plot points throughout the story.

But that’s not only it either. Austin Kleon has a book called “Steal Like An Artist”. When I think back on this book, I remember that original ideas are rare. Most ideas piggy-back off other ideas and are usually “yoinked-and-sploinked” from other ideas. Yoink = taking from, and sploink = adding your own twist. Eventually this seedling you once had, can have different types of ideas layered on top of one another, so much that you don’t even recognize where the idea even started

Inspiration hides in the every day. It hides in the way water might fall off a leaf. Inspiration can hide in the ways we feel. We can find inspiration in the media we consume. You never would know your next big idea if you don’t observe the world around you or the one within you

Sorry for the late post this week. Had some complications with my dog and I’m trying my best to keep myself afloat