Friday, July 8, 2011

Inspiration!

So, I've had a few people ask me where this stuff comes from.  The truth is, I have an extremely active imagination, not to mention the ability to bullshit my way out of most situations.

It's a gift.

That said, I'd be lying if I didn't cop to some serious inspiration from a plethora of quality web comics and Scifi series, both written and visual.

Firstly, what I generally picture in my head when writing up the definitions for these, is the art of Jonathan Rosenberg.  I've been reading his webcomic, Scenes From A Multiverse, since it began a year ago, but you may already know him from Goats, which he started posting in 1997.  [That's quite an archive.]

SFAM never EVER fails to get a giggle out of me.  Some of my favorite characters include The Corn God, Doctor Whoa, and Mrs. Spelt.

Another webcomic that floats to mind when I'm thinking up a Mollexicon post is Drive, by Dave Kellett.  He's another one that you may know of from his other long-running [2001!] webcomic, Sheldon.

Kellett has gone to great lengths to build a rich, detailed universe for his space opera.  Sprinkled throughout the comic are pages of historical documents, personnel files, and encyclopedia entries.  Excellent world-building, hilarious characters, and an intricate, yet easy-to-follow story make for one of my favorite comics on the web.

Continuing to plumb the vein of Space Opera, I'll talk a little bit about the first series I read as an impressionable youth.  Anne McCaffery's THE ROWAN.  I only managed to read the first three books, before I either lost interest, or my Dad couldn't find the rest at the used bookstore he would squirrel them home from.  I don't really remember why I stopped, but I definitely remember why I kept reading as long as I did.  Psychic powers!  Important women!  Interesting locales!  Empathetic cats!  I remember sitting in my room, reading something else, when my dad walked in and tossed me the first book.  "I just finished that, you'll like it."  That has happened a LOT in my life, and we continue to swap books today.

Another Dad Recommendation that has had a lot of influence over most of my creative endeavors is the STARDOC series by S.L. Viehl.  It's another series that I started as a tween, never managed to complete, yet remember fondly.  At that point in my life, my ADD was kicking in something fierce, and I had to have all of the parts together or I wouldn't finish a series.  I was voraciously consuming books, and if it wasn't ready right then and there, I moved onto the next set.

Which is what I do with television now.  Such as Farscape [Netflix and Wikipedia ], which is probably the most influential, at least as far as making up words.

Then there's Stargate SG-1, which is my darling favorite.  [Netflix and Wikipedia]

And of course, Firefly. [Netflix and Wikipedia.]

The various lists go on and on, and honestly, there's no way I could talk about everything in a coherent fashion, but these are the big ones.

I hope this has been informative, at least as much as the Mollexicon itself!  Stop by every Wednesday for a new definition.  And please, please feel free to ask me anything about any of the entries, or just in general.  Answering questions is excellent world-building practice!  <3

No comments:

Post a Comment