Inspiration is a wonderful thing.
I remember the moment in “Breakfast of Champions” when Kurt Vonnegut — the author of the novel — stepped into the novel as himself.
Near the end of the story, Vonnegut reveals himself as the creator of the characters and meets the protagonist, Kilgore Trout, face-to-face. He discusses how Trout’s life has been controlled by an author and even grants him a measure of freedom.
Stephen King will do something similar years later in his Dark Tower series.
I wonder if he read “Breakfast of Champions,” too.
I suddenly understood that writing contains no rules. Do as you please.
I became a far better writer from that moment on. Rather than feeling constrained by self-imposed norms and expectations, I decided that the blank page was my page, free of norms or rules of any kind.
“Twenty-One Truths About Love” — a novel written entirely in list form — would not exist had I not read that book.
I remember reading Steve Martin’s novel, “The Pleasure of My Company” — the story of a man with crippling OCD who must find a way to connect with others despite his limitations, and understanding two important things:
- Character over plot. For the first time, I understood that if I found a compelling protagonist, the plot would follow. Plot, I realized, does not dictate story. Character does.
- Novelists can be funny while simultaneously writing about serious, profound, and important things.
That novel, which I read in 2005, changed the way I viewed writing forever, and in many ways, it’s been equally instructive to my work on the stage.
It’s not surprising that my first published novel was completed less than two years after reading Martin’s novel. That book gave me permission to write in the way I wanted to instead of the way I thought I was supposed to.
Thank you, Kurt Vonnegut, and thank you, Steve Martin. I may not have a career in writing if not for you.
Inspiration is critical to the success of so many artists.
That said, watching this side-by-side comparison of George Lucas’s original “Star Wars” film and the 1955 film “Dam Busters” makes me wonder where the line is between inspiration and simple copying.
Lucas credits “Dam Busters” as an inspiration for his work on “Star Wars,” but I find the similarities a little unsettling.
Inspiration?
Or something more akin to copying someone else’s work?
I’m not sure, which is probably not the place an artist wants to be.
Watch and let me know what you think.
