I'm a verbal/auditory thinker. My stories usually begin with a character talking to me. I actually get pretty confused by assembly instructions from Ikea that are nothing but images. I NEED words to understand the world. So it was a real eye-opener when my last post, with seasonal writing prompts, garnered this comment: "I find I 'freeze' when given a written prompt. But visual prompts...get me writing."
She's not alone there. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series was born from a single image: "a scrawny, black-haired, bespectacled boy who did not know he was a wizard" (wikipedia). In a guest post here, Michelle Davidson Argyle mentioned that her novel Out of Tune began with the the simple image of "a girl and a guitar."
So today's post if for you visual thinkers. I've gathered some nonverbal prompts to stir your imagination.
Photo credit: BBoomerinDenial from morguefile.com
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com
Photo credit: EnriqueRodriguezSantamaria from morguefile.com
Photo credit: taliesin from morguefile.com
Photo credit: phaewilk from morguefile.com
Photo credit: krosseel from morguefile.com
Photo credit: jamsheed from morguefile.com
Photo credit: gracey from morguefile.com
Photo credit: kconnors from morguefile.com
Photo credit: wintersixfour from morguefile.com
Photo credit: JANYLEE from morguefile.com
Photo credit: nasirkhan from morguefile.com
Photo credit: kconnors from morguefile.com
Photo credit: clarita from morguefile.com
Have your stories started with an image, a phrase, a voice, or a premise? Which of these images is most evocative for you?
Every story idea I've ever had was either sparked by a visual image or solidified after an initial idea.If the idea comes first, I immediately start searching for character, setting, and world building images. It's how I get inspired to move forward with a story.
ReplyDeleteSo visual is pretty key for your process. Do you do Pinterest boards? I know a number of authors who do.
DeleteNot all of my novels have started from a mental/visual image, but several have. And the ones that haven't, start with an idea that leads to visual images--usually the final scene in the novel.
ReplyDeleteVisualization happens later in the process for me. It's so cool to hear how different writers find their entry points into stories.
DeleteMy ideas usually come from dreams, but I do pull up google images to help me solidify a new environment and occasionally a character. Descriptions become so much more engrossing when using a reference point.
ReplyDeleteI've had ideas come in daydreams, but not so much sleeping dreams. That's really interesting. Definitely images are helpful for rooting settings and being able to describe them.
DeleteExcellent story starter images! I get stories from pictures, word phrases, and random intersections of words, images, and newspaper articles.
ReplyDeleteA wonderfully hybrid approach! Great ideas here.
Delete