Something Christine said in another topic in reference to Mr. Patridge's mortvers:
"I want to see it, hear it, smell it. I want to shudder with revulsion as I imagine its putrid breath bearing down upon me. If you can, it might not even be a bad idea to draw it and spend some time looking at it for creative inspiration. "
I thought that was interesting. I do a very similar thing when I'm writing. For a story I am working on about an artist who sees people's souls and draws them, I got online and searched for a bunch of drawings and paintings that I thought portrayed my characters' inner feelings and personalities in an abstract way. When I describe the pictures that the artist draws in my stories, I'm actually looking at the pictures on my screen and describing them. Just last night, I was writing a story with a lady who was getting ready to go party with some dude she was hooking up with, and I was having trouble getting it right, so I went on a singles dating service and found a picture of exactly the slightly-too-old-for-the-party-lifestyle, trampy, party chick I was trying to describe, and just decribed that picture. There have been other things (landscapes, etc.), where I find a picture of what I want and describe that. Sometimes it takes some time, but I find it helpful. (Finding the right paintings for the artist story took hours.)
It would probably be more convenient if I could do it 100% from imagination, images straight-up invented from thin air, but I find I produce better work this way. Does anybody else do this, or something like it? Or do you have any other little writing aid tricks/methods you use? I'm interested to see how you guys do it.
Posted by Magic Beans (Member # 2183) on :
Google image search is one of my best friends. I can also draw (I am a visual fantasy artist in addition to being a writer) and so I often draw my own characters. I especially draw any piece of unique equipment in the story that doesn't exist in real life, such as the sailwagons from my novel WIP. I also draw out maps and diagrams of locations and have a distance scale so I always know where the characters are going and how long it takes them to get there based on their speed. That way, I don't have any logistical errors in the story.
[This message has been edited by Magic Beans (edited November 21, 2004).]
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
I read that Frank Herbert sometimes snipped photos from magazines to make character files for each character in a major work. I draw detailed pictures of my settings. It helps me get a handle on how to move the characters through the landscape. I think when the writer has a really good mental picture or physical picture of the setting, it shows in the writing and helps avoid inconsistencies. In a way, we are tour guides for our worlds. Who wants to follow a guide who doesn't know the landscape? Anything we can do to get it firmly established in our heads before starting to write will show that we are competent guides.
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I'm kind of jealous of anyone who can sketch out their mental creations. I feel like my only outlet is words because I am utterly incapable of drawing what I see. I have tried. I know that if I took a lot of classes and practised faithfully I might someday be able to draw a pale semblance of what I see in my mind, but drawing, sketching etc have never been how my particular creative gift manifests.
I have often longed to be able to see a physical representation of the sentient Trees I've created in my novel, but every sketch I've attempted looks worse than the average second grader's line drawing. It's more discouraging than inspirational.
So instead, I have focused on honing my communications skills, with the hope that eventually I'll be able to convey my concepts well enough that someone else with more ability than myself will be able to depict my world.
But I think it's wonderful that you guys can do both!
Posted by Jeraliey (Member # 2147) on :
I feel your pain, autumnmuse, and share it.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
Well, Autmnmuse, why don't you and Magic Beans trade some time? An hour for an hour, and you'll get to see your trees!
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
Definitely. I'm always scanning the ads in the Sunday papers for faces I like--faces I can grab onto and say, "Oh,yeah. That is so-and-so."
I also draw some--maps, world-building pieces (houses, fortresses, landscapes, costuming), people. Thinking about them so deeply that they come out visually on paper helps me develop my story.
Though I haven't found the need to do this with short stories. With my novel it helped me get into the story and characters to the depth I needed to be able to hold it all coherently together.
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
For me it's often something I hear that evokes an image that I can use. "low-flying slut puppy" comes to mind, from the 60s Star Trek series.
Posted by NewsBys (Member # 1950) on :
I didn't say my drawings were good. I am never satisfied with them because they don't look as good as the pictures in my head. But they still help. I always remind myself that it does not need to be a work of art. I'm probably the only one who will ever see it. And even if I were to become super-famous and after my death my family published my drawings, true fans would like them no matter how bad they are, kinda like John Lennon's poetry. Another thing that I find helpful is to draw maps when I get into world building.
