New Ideas/Inspiration?

Talk with others about anything shrine-related, be it presentation, content or something else.
Amber
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New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Amber »

I've looked and didn't find another topic, so I hope I am not reposting a new thread for this. :heh: I'm working on my upcoming shrines and got to looking at them. I've been building them similar to my first shrine (http://sky-dreams.net) but I don't just want a repeat of what I already have online (especially for my DBZ shrine) and copy that format.

I've been browsing other shrines here at Amassment and have gotten plenty of ideas and stuff I could spin off in my own take. However, at what line do I cross ideas and reusing them, even with permission asked and credit? I mean, when does inspiration and credit cross the line? Is having an "inspired by person1 and person2" section really bad? :bleh: I don't want my all my new shrines to look like I had a lack of original ideas and needed inspiration from everyone else.

Maybe it is because I don't mass produce shrines but I feel as if I'm out ideas to make mine a bit more original. I know that doesn't always matter in the shine community as it used to...but still. I'm so close to finishing these but feel they aren't ready to be complete until I can add something more original to them too. :sob:

I'm just curious you all come with new ideas for writing or building your shrines. Maybe some advice and/or help is needed...let me know.
Robin
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Robin »

An "inspired by" section in your site credits is a great idea, and wouldn't be a bad way to give publicity back to those who have inspired you so much. :)

As for making things more original, perhaps including a couple of essays on what drew you, personally, to the subject of the shrine? That's similar to what I did for my Clefairy shrine, since I didn't want it to be "just another Pokemon info site"--I made a page called Why Clefairy?, which digs into reasons why Clefairy is my favorite Pokemon. It's easily the largest section of the site (oops xD), but I did a bunch of research tying Clefairy to my interests in the supernatural, the moon, and music. :)
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Mikari
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Mikari »

I've done similar credit sections before. Even if someone give you an idea, it's still you who is turning that idea into a page in your own style, so it's fine to get inspiration from others.

I agree that adding a page with your opinions and theories can give it more of a personal touch.
dubiousdisc
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by dubiousdisc »

You wanna know how I get ideas? By looking at other people's work! I'm completely unashamed to incorporate other people's ideas in my own projects. In the end, everything comes from something else. The human brain creates nothing, it just remixes. And even when I get out of the shower with a seemingly new idea that can't possibly come directly from looking at someone's work, the thing is that my head is just full of everything else that I've ever experienced colliding and giving birth to other ideas that might seem completely original, but once you look at them for long enough they're really not. When you think that someone else is making something completely new, it's just because you're unaware of their sources. tl;dr, I firmly believe that originality in the strictest sense does not exist, and that getting over this notion is the first step to having fun with what you make.

But, even with this, if you're worried about straight-out intellectual theft, the difference between that and making something that is yours is personal re-elaboration - as soon as you put your hands on something and you spin it into something else that has your personal touch, it's yours. Considered that you're worried about it, chances are that you're good. Intellectual theft usually happens from people who are unaware that they're just lifting material from someone else and using it exactly as it is. As soon as you have an inkling of what could possibly constitute intellectual theft, you're in some form aware of it and you're being smart about it, so it becomes almost impossible to do it.

So, if what you really want to do is just use those ideas and you're just stopping yourself out of fear, I'd say go for it, and sure, you can credit people for the inspiration, but I don't even think that's necessary to make your work "legitimate" - it's more so for giving back to works you admire.

I'm also gonna be the devil's advocate here (my own advocate?) and say that adding a page about why you like a certain thing does not a personal shrine make. Unless you have something really unique to say, those pages are mostly gonna sound the same no matter who's writing them, in my opinion. "I've always liked X since the first time I saw it", "I find X very fascinating", "I identify with X a lot because Y Z", I mean - those things are pretty universal, so if you don't have an interesting story to share, I don't think this sort of page adds anything particularly personal to your site. That is of course not to say you shouldn't have this page if you want to have it, just that I don't think that it can magically turn an uninspired work into a personal one by just tacking it on.
Todd
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Todd »

I agree with everyone to an extent. It's really hard to tell what is copying these days because very little is ever truly brand new. What I would consider theft from my own shrines is laying a shrine out exactly like mine, or taking my ideas, rewording them, and claiming them as your own. Take my Tidus site for example. While having a section on Yuna, Jecht, Auron, Blitzball, and the voice actor would be on any Tidus site, I've thought up unique things to discuss over the years: Is Tidus the Main Character of FFX?, how I feel Tidus' fear of being alone is his motivation and drive for most things he does, how I believe Tidus is more of a Time Mage than a physical Melee attacker in-game, etc. If another Tidus shrine popped up with these ideas, I'd be annoyed. What makes those sections unique? They're based on my own interpretation of the character and events in the game. They are highly opinionated.
dubiousdisc wrote:I'm also gonna be the devil's advocate here (my own advocate?) and say that adding a page about why you like a certain thing does not a personal shrine make. Unless you have something really unique to say, those pages are mostly gonna sound the same no matter who's writing them, in my opinion. "I've always liked X since the first time I saw it", "I find X very fascinating", "I identify with X a lot because Y Z", I mean - those things are pretty universal, so if you don't have an interesting story to share, I don't think this sort of page adds anything particularly personal to your site. That is of course not to say you shouldn't have this page if you want to have it, just that I don't think that it can magically turn an uninspired work into a personal one by just tacking it on.
I have to agree with dubs here. I've seen these "Appeal" or "Why?" pages on shrine after shrine. I've stopped including them on my own sites. Rather than put all your opinions and thoughts about the character on this one page, why not spread them out across the entire shrine?

My thoughts on shrines these days are this: With Wikis and official sites, information on anything is so easy to find. Building a fan site with just information is a waste of my personal time. That's why my sites are so reflective. Don't get me wrong. All opinions are supported with facts, and I do aim to inform the visitor, but when I write articles, I try to prove something with each piece. I don't want a page of just straight facts, rehashing events from the game. On my Reiko site, I wrote a "Mother" page, and instead of just writing that she was a mother, how she became a mother, and what happened to her baby, I also wrote about whether I felt she was a good mother, in the traditional sense of the word. On my Tidus site, I have a "Dreams" page where I could have just written what occurs in the Dreams, but I decided to also write about what I feel like the Dreams mean: that Tidus has issues with his father, clearly materializing in his dreams. On my Knuckles site, I wrote an "Echidna" page, explaining what an Echidna is. Instead of just talking about what the animal is, I also decided to theorize why Sega might have chosen an Echidna, and how Knuckles' abilities fit the animal.

These thoughts are what make my sites unique, in my opinion. The trick is mixing it with fact so your sites aren't completely opinionated, clearly marking your opinions with words like, "I think..." so visitors don't take your opinions as fact, and backing up your opinions with fact so that your sites are grounded.
Crystal
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Crystal »

Looking at what some people have to say makes me feel like I have the wrong approach when it comes to my shrines. But I like how they are so it's still okay, right? xD On all my shrines I write a "My Thoughts" page where I talk about how I was introduced to that subject and why I like them. Kinda boring when I think about it. I think my only interesting reason of why I like a character is on my Cherche shrine because the events were so random.

I'm not sure what else to say. Something I've tried doing with my shrines is add more personal opinions when writing up something. Like I'll explain why I think so and so did this action and what they could have been feeling sort of thing. It doesn't always work but the end result is usually something I'm happy with.
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Todd
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Todd »

Aw, I hope you didn't read my thoughts as the right way to shrine or anything like that, Crystal. I was just discussing my own methods. It's done different by everyone, and there is no right or wrong way to make a shrine. I really enjoy yours.
Crystal
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Crystal »

No, it wasn't just you Todd, but it's okay. And thanks! :D
There are shadows before us - but only because the light is at our back.
dubiousdisc
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by dubiousdisc »

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that you're in any way WROOoOOOng or anything like that...just that pasting a page like that won't do much to improve an otherwise boring rest. But I wouldn't say that's the case of your sites; they're fine in their own right! Never meant to be a jerk :(
Crystal
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Re: New Ideas/Inspiration?

Post by Crystal »

It's fine Dubs! :D (I was in a bad mood when I read this so that probably doesn't help much) I think it could also depend on how the person presents it too. If they put it as you said it could probably be pretty boring but I think it works for my sites. I can talk about things I otherwise wasn't able to talk about in the rest of the shrine.
There are shadows before us - but only because the light is at our back.
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