Counterpoint woes

I'll start off by saying I'm probably the worst motive - creator the world has ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm a subpar melodist - but something about writing fugues and inventions never sat right with me. The problem lies not with the technique of the affair - give me a subject and answer, and I'll use it to the best of my abilites, efficiently and (I hope) proficiently.

However, in a context of strict counterpoint, I can't seem to create any kind of satisfactory starting material. It takes me perceived eons to arrive at a motive or subject that doesn't sound stilted, forced, or awkward to me. Thus I turn to you, YC, for help.

TLDR: Any tips on creating suitable fugue subjects?

I'll start off by saying I'm probably the worst motive - creator the world has ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm a subpar melodist - but something about writing fugues and inventions never sat right with me. The problem lies not with the technique of the affair - give me a subject and answer, and I'll use it to the best of my abilites, efficiently and (I hope) proficiently.

However, in a context of strict counterpoint, I can't seem to create any kind of satisfactory starting material. It takes me perceived eons to arrive at a motive or subject that doesn't sound stilted, forced, or awkward to me. Thus I turn to you, YC, for help.

TLDR: Any tips on creating suitable fugue subjects?

Well, a lot of it depends on the type of counterpoint you want as well as the tendencies (independence) of each line you want. One thing that I tend to employ is the fixation on certain motivic units within the subject its self. These are usually 3 - 4 notes that I then treat with sequence, inversion, retrograde, etc. There's lots of different things - and I think each composer finds his/her own unique way of doing it.

Best rule to making a fugue subject: always make one that can function as a solid bass line. The subject will eventually have to be in the bass voice and therefore should be able to function as a bass line. Almost all of Bach's fugues do this, even if its ornamented to the point where it "feels" like a soprano melody. The harmonic context of the subject should be clearly evident by just playing it in the bass and adding implied chords in the right hand. It's a great technique when writing fugues that rely on harmonic matrices as well as counterpoint (which, again, Bach's fugues do).

Another stylistic thing is that certain melodic contours in your subject have to be treated in a certain way with the counterpoint if you want a true "baroque sound". For example, given a melodic figure of sixteenth notes: 1-2-4-3, it sounds more "baroque-like" if you pair it with either descending eighth notes 3-1 (or any downward leap), or with a downward sequence of sixteenth notes: 4-3-2-1. But really, these things are just to make it not sound awkward... it may still be "correct" or "good sounding".

Is he doing a 'Baroque' sounding fugue here?

Thanks for the advice, it's helpful sometimes just to have a bit of insight into others' processes.

Yes, Jason, I'm doing the standard Baroque-style traditional counterpoint.