Story Inspirations

[Comshaw]

I watched a video of the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Jeff Lynne) doing "Handle with Care". The next video was Jeff Lynne talking about how the group came together and decided to do ten songs in ten days and how they came up with the songs. Here's a quote from the interview:

"Geroge had the main guitar riff but no words yet and as we were playing that riff together he looks over and sees this box that says handle with care and that's how the song came about."

That got me to thinkin' about the creative process and how my stories come about. I'm working on one now that was inspired by a story my wife told me about how she and her cousin would go to a section of highway with a grass strip next to it on their horses late at night sans clothes, wait for a truck to come along then dash out, ride along in the headlights for a short way then dash back into the woods. It's bloomed into a pretty good story. Many if not most of my stories have started the same way, seeing or remembering something that triggered the building of a story. So how many of you do that? I suspect most, but I'd like to hear from you. For interest sake and for those who have never heard I've included the video of the song.

Comshaw

 

[Kelliezgirl]

The whole story behind the Wilburys is fascinating.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I'm working on a noir story. I got the idea from an excellent gritty movie from the 80s called 'To Live and Die in LA". In that movie, there is a side plot where one of the federal agents is blackmailing an informant for info and sex. She turns the tables by purposely feeding him false info to set him up - and remember this a SIDE plot (that's how good the plot of the movie is). I though that this alone would make its own great story, so I suppose that I ripped it off kinda ... a bit ... sorta.

My portrait artist story was simply an exercise in creating an incredibly sexy man. It was directly inspired by the severe lack of sexy men in lit stories. I asked three different (female) friends of mine what they thought of him and they all instantly said "ohhh yeah!" so I consider it a success.

My recent car racing novel was inspired by sexy race car drivers from the 70s, James Hunt, Francois Cevert, Peter Revson, etc. A few years back I had a friend who was into retro European culture like Francoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot etc, and showing me images from the era she showed me Francois Cevert who had dated Brigitte in the early 70s. Francois might be the sexiest guy I've ever seen, so I developed a crush on race car drivers and always had the notion of writing a story about it, but I knew nothing about racing. So I had to research tons. The more that I learned about the dangers of it during that era, the drivers all seemed that much more daring and that much more sexy (blush) and I imagined what it might be like to date one - a race car groupie - and the romanticism was just too obvious.

 

[lovecraft68]

My story Home is where the Heart is, in mature, but an actual romance, was inspired by a young girl who panhandled in the industrial park I worked in. I gave her a few dollars a couple times, brought her food or coffee several times, and would talk to her for a couple of minutes. She found herself homeless when her aunt she lived with passed away, and her sons showed up and kicked her out to sell the house. She had a place, a nasty oen room spot in the worst section of the city and tried to come up with enough money each day to stay there and eat.

I have a soft spot for broken people, gave her a bag of clothes my daughter had put aside for good will, and after that had my wife go by and give her a card to someone she knew at a shelter. One day I saw a pick up along side her, and as I slowed could see her shaking her head, stepping back and acting nervous, I pulled over, got out and the guy took off, of course he was soliciting sex. I was getting to where I talked to my wife about the small inlaw we had in the basement, but had a separate entrance so you couldn't get into our house from it.

She said she'd think on it. This was a Friday night, and Monday she wasn't around the park, and I never saw her again. No idea what happened, and I try to keep my mind from going down the path of what could have happened. I thought about her for a long time, and one night I mentioned the upcoming Valentine day contest and told my wife, I'd skip it because I'm not good with anything 'heartfelt', and our conversation shifted and somehow the girl, her name was Paula, came up.

I was struck by the idea of a sort of catharsis piece based on that situation, but with her getting a happy ending. But thinking of her made it seem wrong to do, so I did a reversal where it was a young man in her situation and an older woman who befriended him, and he developed a crush on, and...story goes from there. Before anyone says or thinks it, I had no desire for this young woman other than to help her. I have my issues, but I'm loyal to my wife, and I'm no predator.

The story exceeded expectations, and I think is still somewhere in the top ten all time in Mature and held number one for a good amount of time. One of my most successful pieces and totally out of character for me.

 

[MyBareTorso]

I'm working on a noir story. I got the idea from an excellent gritty movie from the 80s called 'To Live and Die in LA". In that movie, there is a side plot where one of the federal agents is blackmailing an informant for info and sex. She turns the tables by purposely feeding him false info to set him up - and remember this a SIDE plot (that's how good the plot of the movie is). I though that this alone would make its own great story, so I suppose that I ripped it off kinda ... a bit ... sorta.

My portrait artist story was simply an exercise in creating an incredibly sexy man. It was directly inspired by the severe lack of sexy men in lit stories. I asked three different (female) friends of mine what they thought of him and they all instantly said "ohhh yeah!" so I consider it a success.

My recent car racing novel was inspired by sexy race car drivers from the 70s, James Hunt, Francois Cevert, Peter Revson, etc. A few years back I had a friend who was into retro European culture like Francoise Hardy and Brigitte Bardot etc, and showing me images from the era she showed me Francois Cevert who had dated Brigitte in the early 70s. Francois might be the sexiest guy I've ever seen, so I developed a crush on race car drivers and always had the notion of writing a story about it, but I knew nothing about racing. So I had to research tons. The more that I learned about the dangers of it during that era, the drivers all seemed that much more daring and that much more sexy (blush) and I imagined what it might be like to date one - a race car groupie - and the romanticism was just too obvious.

To Live And Die In LA is an underrated classic! Have you seen Rush?

 

[pink_silk_glove]

To Live And Die In LA is an underrated classic! Have you seen Rush?

The racing movie or the undercover cop movie? I've seen neither.

 

[TheRedChamber]

The racing movie or the undercover cop movie? I've seen neither.

The racing movie is really good - especially for me as I genuinely didn't know anything about the story going in.

 

[THBGato]

A lot of my story ideas come from songs. Thirty was inspired by the song Thirty by The Weather Station. I also use songs as plot devices frequently. The story I just started this morning (1157 words so far - probably halfway: this is going to be a short one) was inspired by the song The Parting Glass.

Otherwise, a scenario will just pop into my head - a blind date that isn't really a blind date; doing an audition naked - then I come up with the characters and story to fit around that inciting incident. Some of those ideas undoubtedly come from stories I've read on here. Seriously, I'd always struggled for ideas for stories, then, since I started reading Literotica back in December they haven't stopped coming. I've written more fiction in the past six months than in the past two decades.

 

[Erozetta]

A lot of my story ideas come from songs. Thirty was inspired by the song Thirty by The Weather Station. I also use songs as plot devices frequently. The story I just started this morning (1157 words so far - probably halfway: this is going to be a short one) was inspired by the song The Parting Glass.

Otherwise, a scenario will just pop into my head - a blind date that isn't really a blind date; doing an audition naked - then I come up with the characters and story to fit around that inciting incident. Some of those ideas undoubtedly come from stories I've read on here. Seriously, I'd always struggled for ideas for stories, then, since I started reading Literotica back in December they haven't stopped coming. I've written more fiction in the past six months than in the past two decades.

Same on the songs.

I almost always have music playing and sometimes they spark an idea.

Current earworm inspiration is "This is Love" by Air Traffic Controller. Gonna be a fairly dark story, lol.

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

Caffeine figures prominently. A tall cup of coffee later, my mind is zinging.

Also, like @THBGato and @Erozetta , music provides a lot of pop--lyrics, specifically. I'll pick out a line or two I like, and expand on the concept from there.

And clips I see on social media. Some slice-of-life scene that someone recorded or a throwaway line in an interview get me thinking about the "what-isfs?" behind it, and I go from there.

 

[MyBareTorso]

The racing movie or the undercover cop movie? I've seen neither.

I was thinking of the racing movie, but I've seen both. The racing movie is a very, very entertaining look at the world of 1970s racing...right in your lane!

 

[intim8]

I tend to get my ideas from some "what if?" that pops into my head. And they pop into my head a lot. Not so much a plot, just a... thing? that could happen, and what if it did. Then I start pantsing and characters and plot emerge from it.

Another source is seeing a person, live or in a picture, and somethign about the situation, their look, their body language, suggests a back story for how they got to that particular moment. I'll take that and pants it from there, see what comes of it.

For here, I tend to prefer my porn in photos rather than video, and I like a site called NakedXB, which is just pictures of nude or partially nude women outdoors. Usually just one, though every so often, there's something hardcore-ish or multiple women in the same shot. But always outdoors (though rarely public in the sense of other clothed people being around). Usually, the pictures are casual - not porny - or at least somewhat convincingly posed to appear so. Women that just happen to be naked on a beach, a balcony, or in the woods, or wherever. Though obviously, they're all posed.

Every so often, there's something in the setting, or her facial expression, or that reminds me of a past experience, or something, that prompts that back story thing to just pop into my head, and I'll run with it. I know exactly which picture prompted my highest rated story, Pictures of Her. I have it saved on my hard drive. Just a naked woman standing over a rusted out bicycle in front of a ruin of some stone building with weeds all around.

 

[SimonDoom]

Inspiration comes from many different places for me. I can't think of a common denominator.

Some stories are projections or extensions of long-held fantasies or experiences. I once went skinny dipping in a river during a long run on a hot day, and my experience turned into Nude Day Running Adventure three decades later. Some of my other exhibitionist stories are like that.

Some stories come from movies I've seen or things I've read. My "tandem" story spoof Cuckolds and Incels is based on a funny (but non erotic) tandem story that became famous on the Internet years ago. I made an erotic spoof of it.

I've been inspired by fantasies others have shared with me.

I've been inspired to write my own versions of story concepts I've encountered here at Literotica, like "hucow" stories and "mailgirl" stories, or "mom and son on the seat together" stories.

The most unexpected source of inspiration was when MelissaBaby shared the story about Innkeeper worms washing up on the beach in Northern California. That became my twisted erotic alien sci fi horror "Penis Fish."