Comments on: Using Visuals to Inspire Scenes

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 14:32:42 +0000

In reply to dholcomb1. Thank goodness for the internet! I will have a peek at your vision board. I added a board for train research to Pinterest, but have not been too diligent. I feel fortunate that the people I reached out to were willing to chat and help me find information. I need to take a field trip one of these days and visit them.

By: dholcomb1

dholcomb1 — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 06:06:01 +0000

Love the way you research.

I tend to do a lot of my research online, I use settings with which I'm familiar, and I make Pinterest "vision boards" for each MS.

denise

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Sat, 29 Feb 2020 02:12:48 +0000

In reply to Eldred Bird. Ah, yes! I used Google street view, too and have found it to be helpful. After reading each chapter that named a location my hubby went straight to Google Maps to find it. Great idea to use the drone!

By: Eldred Bird

Eldred Bird — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 20:32:10 +0000

My series is based here in Arizona, so I'm lucky enough to be able to visit locations and scope them out. I take pictures, talk to people, and also shoot drone footage at some of the more remote and hard to reach locations. One of the other tools I've found helpful is Google Maps and Street View. If you can't physically go to a location, satellite views and street images are a pretty good way to get a feeling for the place.

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 17:39:52 +0000

Now bowing necessary. LOL
I totally agree with you regarding docents. Once we went to the Air and Space Museum in New Mexico. Our docent was a retired astronaut! He was awesome. He had great stories to tell.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 16:46:38 +0000

All of my historical fiction friends impress me down to the bone. The only historical tale that has ever come to me from my travels was an short story set at Hearst Castle. Those docents really made the times come alive. Normally, I get inspired by people and places I meet TODAY. To have to research the time in addition to the character? That's is why I bow to my historical friends.

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 15:25:25 +0000

In reply to Terry Odellt. Terry, what a fantastic idea! I am positive that you will find something in one of the photos to spark the beginning of a great story.

By: ecellenb

ecellenb — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 15:22:10 +0000

In reply to barbaralinnprobst. Hi Barbara! I wish I could have spent time along my characters' route. Like you, I find the atmosphere of the locale helpful to create a good scene. The more senses used, the better.

By: Terry Odellt

Terry Odellt — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 13:32:39 +0000

We recently took a vacation to the British Isles. It was an anniversary trip, but I'm using the setting in the book I'm trying to write, I have pictures I took, lots of brochures from places we went, and Google to fill in some of the blanks. Since I didn't have the intention of writing a specific book, I'm trying to make sure there's a story in there somewhere, and it's not just a travelogue.

By: barbaralinnprobst

barbaralinnprobst — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:35:17 +0000

Love this piece, Ellen! And I couldn't agree more! We need to let our senses (and our bodies) inform our writing. For some, it's vision; others use music or objects. I know people who find photos that "look like" their characters, to help them "see" the character while they're writing. For me, it's the actual experience of a place rather than an image that helps to stimulate a deeper writing. I need to experience the quality of the light and air and space. However one does it, I think you're spot on in reminding us that writing doesn't come from the mind alone. Thank you!