It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
Today’s question: When you are working on a story, what inspires you?
Sometimes it’s playlists I will put together for a particular story. Most often it’s a collection of images. I created Boards on Pinterest for all four In Darkness stories and I collected hundreds of images that fit the location and feel for the story. (There’s one extra Board for a story about a ghost that just never came together.) I’m a visual person, so images tend to work best for me.
And if you’re curious about those Pinterest Boards:
The Vampire / The Shark / The Werewolf / The Alien
In Darkness: The Shark releases next Tuesday. The tour kicks off today at Lynda Young’s site as I talk about amusing Aussie words & phrases and why I love paranormal romance. I’m also at the IWSG Anthologies site today discussing rapid-releasing a series.
Here is the full schedule:
May 3 Lynda Young and IWSG Anthologies
May 5 Australian Romance Readers
May 8 Alex J. Cavanaugh
May 9 Tyrean Martinson
May 10 Denise Covey
May 12 Elizabeth Seckman
May 15 Jemi Fraser
What inspires you? Do you create Boards for your stories?
Congratulations!
ReplyDeleteI've used images before for character creation...it can really help!
Congrats!
ReplyDeleteI used images as well. I keep key images in Scrivener.
Looking forward to hosting you next week!
ReplyDeleteYou're so organized. Images just come in my head and I describe what I see there. Have fun on your blog tour.
ReplyDeleteCongrats! I love playlists and images. I also set the mood with ambient sounds from caves, space stations, storms, etc from YouTube. :-)
ReplyDeleteSongs are really good at sparking ideas for stories and for hitting the right emotion for a scene.
ReplyDeleteI wish I was more of a visual person. I've tried making Pinterest boards, but I tend to ignore them for months at a time. Just not my media I guess.
ReplyDeleteMusic is a much better inspiration source for me
Yes, Pinterest is a great source of ideas and images. I use anything I can get my hands or eyes on. Happy IWSG Day, Diane.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane, I'm planning to make a mood board for my current novel.
ReplyDeletePlay lists are excellent. That way you can set up your music to suit the mood d'jour!
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to stretch out your promo, I could put your book up on May 17.
I forgot about Pinterest boards. I do one for each of my books. Great inspirations. Best wishes for your new release.
ReplyDeleteI never created a story board, but I have done outlines which works to keep me on track of my story. When I was actually writing stories (it's been a few years) I used to play a lot of Bruckner and other long dense classical pieces. Background music is what works for me,
ReplyDeleteLee
Hey Di, Many congrats. You are more than welcome to visit at my place.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome, Diane! Congratulations on the new book and the book blog tour.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit addicted to Pinterest and have just started putting together boards for some of my stories. I keep them to myself right now, but hopefully soon I'll get over my shyness and make them public!
Congrats on your book!
ReplyDeleteI love Pinterest, but strangely, I've never made boards for my stories. I mostly use it for food and knitting.
Images work for me as well. Sometimes, I would make a pre-made cover and suddenly think of a story to fit it. Or a heroine. Or a scene. Funny how imagination works.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new book, Diane! That's awesome that you're working more on your own writing.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes find instrumental music that helps get me in the right mood for a scene. Mostly the research is what fleshes out my plots.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the upcoming release! Best of luck!
Fun that you have boards. Sometimes I'll use a photo of actor to see in my head how he'd respond to what he says in my book.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex!
ReplyDeleteCarol, organization is my God-given talent.
Lee, thank you!
Sandra, would you be able to host me in Sept. for The Werewolf?
Wow! That is organized! I listen to a specific soundtrack for mood during writing, but have never managed to do any other kind of imagination support like pictures. Kudos to you for finding something that works!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was writing my own post, I don’t know why I forgot about pictures! I will often specifically search for artwork in the fantasy genre to inspire everything from buildings to outfits
ReplyDeleteMusic is very big for me. Songs and styles of music greatly impact the flow and tone of my stories.
ReplyDeleteParanormal romance is great, well, when done well. It can also go off the rails so easily. I'm visual too, so I can see how boards would be helpful.
ReplyDeleteYes! Music and images are a great inspiration.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for your new release. Super happy to have helped.
Congrats on the new release!
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever used images to inspire a novel (though sometimes I do the WritePhoto hop and write flash fiction from a picture). I wonder if it would help--I don't visualize people well, and I guess that might help me remember what they look like, if I could find the right images.
That's great that images are so helpful for you. I'm not that visual, I've made a moodboard before but after the story was done. Maybe I'll change that next time and see if it sparks inspiration.
ReplyDeleteHi, Diane! Aha! Now I know who Alex's special guest is on Monday! I hope you have lots of fun on your book tour! I enjoyed looking at your story boards. The shark one was something else! I'm visual too, but I use my photographs for inspiration. I usually write about places I know well. Sometimes I will search the internet for photos that speak to me about what I'm writing. Have a happy and productive May!
ReplyDeleteI like that you're inspired by pictures. Despite being an artist and often surrounding myself with art, I find they don't really play a role in my writing inspiration.
ReplyDeleteLynda, thank you again.
ReplyDeleteLouise, thanks for checking out the boards.
Great blog
ReplyDeletePlease read my post
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I too like to use music and Pinterest for inspiration sometimes. Congratulations on the continued release of books in your series.
ReplyDeleteHi Diane!! Congrats on your new release. How exciting! All the best.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I am a visual person and I have always been inspired by the visual beauty around us.
Hi Diane - all the best ... I noted the other day that Steven Spielberg was sorry he'd decried sharks via his movie Jaws ... good luck with your interpretation and new book - cheers Hilary
ReplyDelete