Something Wicked This Ray Comes...

When Ray Bradbury passed away last week, the internet poured out its collective heart and soul into beautiful posts about the impact the author had on so many lives. His influence on writers, readers, television watchers, moviegoers, and theater audiences was tremendous.

I loved his "The Illustrated Man," a collection of short stories including the insanely-good "The Veldt" and of course, the amazing "The Illustrated Man." His novels "Something Wicked This Way Comes" and "Dandelion Wine" always spoke to me on a child-like level.  Although our upbringings were so very different, I still felt like I could relate to his Iowa-cornfields-on-a-late-summer-night sentiments.

When I think of Bradbury's work, I feel it in my bones.  I feel the longing for something beyond us, the playfulness of never-ending childhood, the wonder of the universe.  But although he believed in the ultimate good of humanity, he never forgot how razor-thin the line was between good and evil.  In his short stories and novels, his villains might have been vanquished - or not.  They might have been us.  In many instances, such as "Fahrenheit 451" we were our own worst enemy.

I can't overstate his influence on how I write or read. The very first novel I began writing (which remains unfinished) had its beginnings in his work.  I have re-read more of his stories than I have of any other author.  When I need a strong shot of good stuff to inspire me or comfort me, I'll pick up "The Martian Chronicles."

Not long after I moved to LA, I was fortunate to meet Bradbury for the first time at a bookstore signing - for someone else's book!  It was a collection of his covers, put together by Jerry Wiest, who was there for the signing.  Bradbury came too.  He did speak but kept his part short; he was gracious about leaving the floor to Wiest since it was his show, not Bradbury's. 

I soon learned that Bradbury was - despite his age and increasing inability to get around well without assistance - incredibly generous with his time. He appeared at the same tiny book fair I did when my first novel was published.  He spoke - lovingly, passionately - about writing, about doing what you love with little regard for fame or fortune or public acceptance.  He was the embodiment of that belief.  He wrote what he wanted when he wanted.  He did TV and movies and he wrote shorts and novels - and refused to be classified as a science fiction author.  He was a fantastist, a writer of fantasy.  That he loved space and wondered about our place in the universe was secondary.

The final time I met him was at another book fair, this time in West Hollywood.  Lines, lines, lines - everyone wanted to see Ray. I didn't get as much time with him as I did at the previous smaller fair because so many people were waiting but I did tell him what a major influence he was on my books.  I told him I was at the fair because of him, because what I'd written had been published. He smiled and told me he was glad he could help me fulfill my dream "in some small way." Small?  Hardly.  A dream? Definitely.  A dream inspired by him and his writing.

Read Bradbury if you haven't already.  Find a story, a novel, a play, a movie, an episode of The Twilight Zone.  I dare you not to be inspired.

4 Sources of Writing Inspiration

1. Museums, specifically the Los Angeles County Museum of Art here on Wilshire Blvd in LA. Sprawling grounds are perfect to contemplate the shape of clouds (it's a puppy! a puppy playing! a puppy throwing up in a shoe!) while the exhibits inside give me a peek inside the working minds of creative and clever artists. I always leave with my mouth slightly agape, wondering how I can do the literary equivalent.

2. Other writers. I'm not the sort who reads a book or watches a movie and thinks, Pfft, that was crap, I can do better. I don't aspire to write "better than crap." I aspire to write "great." Or "amazing." Or "moving." Whether it's a classic by Ray Bradbury or John Steinbeck or Edith Wharton or something by a debut author, I love to be inspired to push myself deeper and the best writers do this to me.

3. Movies based on books. Taren at Chick Manifesto recently posted about this, along with some thought-provoking responses from readers. While I do honestly believe books and the movies based upon them are two entirely separate beings, I do find inspiration in the movie versions. Sometimes a screenwriter and director team can streamline a complicated novel (e.g. "Lord of the Rings" by JRR Tolkien) into something much more manageable and, in the end, understandable. I have tried many times to read LOTR and have gotten bogged down and confused but knowing that it can become the Peter Jackson movie makes me continue to try and to respect the book as I might not have before.

4. Ballet class. As you can tell from the above, I often find inspiration for writing in distinctly non-writing sources. Ballet is a physical art form, the movements codified, and yet new and different combinations are devised all the time, making the idiom more flexible than you might think. We all use the English language, yes? But you put the words in a different order than I might and your result is wildly dissimilar from mine. Not to mention the endorphins that are released during physical activity, which makes me feel really positive about my creative endeavors: never underestimate the power of positive thinking when it comes to writing.