Using photos to build on description

I recently changed my desktop photo to a small, wooden bridge draped with summer leaves. When I took the photo, I didn’t remember seeing all the things I see when I look at the photo now – the breathtaking way the light shines on the surrounding foliage, or the way the bark is so smooth on the railing in sections. What I do remember is that it was a little walking bridge leading to somewhere unknown. I remember the way the creek under it chattered across the rocks, and how inviting the bridge was – calling for me to cross it, to venture into the leaf-strewn thicket on the other side which lead to a picnic area near a ten-foot waterfall.

How about you? Have you ever looked at a photo and seen things you didn’t when you took the shot? Have you ever considered using that photo to build on your description and sensory writing?

A Place to Write

I spent the past couple weeks trying to move my writing ‘office’ down to the basement. While I had more room to put and organize things, and it was much easier to print with the printer connected directly to my Mac rather than dealing with my impossible print server and aging printer, it didn’t work out. After three days, I moved back up to the dining room where things remain cluttered, my power cord stretches from the table to the nearest wall outlet, and I have to run downstairs whenever I print something. While I could use a tea cart to hold the printer, it clutters things even more.

I’ve written three books from the dining room table. I like the view out into the backyard. Here, the dogs often keep me company. I have a dog bed next to my chair. There’s room on the table for a dictionary and thesaurus, a couple drink coasters, my cell and home phone, headphones, backup drive, and a pencil/pen holder that’s really an empty glass candle container. At this point, I don’t know why I care about adding the printer back into the mix. I don’t even know why I just don’t move the dining room table closer to the window so my laptop’s power cord isn’t in the path of dogs, humans, or the vacuum cleaner. Maybe I could even empty out one of the china cabinet drawers and put my office supplies in there.

Hubby has wanted to get a second-hand desk for some time and put it in the front formal living room we’ve converted to a library. It’s airy and has all of our books there. But, the view is to the front of the house. It’s just not as tranquil or inspiring. Maybe I’ll move into that room… someday. But, I just don’t have an interest in watching my neighbors come and go, and I really don’t relish the idea of them looking in at me. It’s a gorgeous room – solid wood floors and a black oak bookcase. But it’d feel almost like a fish bowl. But, maybe I’ll move into it for a week and see how it goes. I can always dust off our hand-me-down card table and set up shop there for that long to see how it works out.

Where do you write?

The Future of Books

I’ve been reading Publisher’s Weekly lately about the price war between Amazon and Walmart. I’ve also read about B&N’s new eReader, the Nook.

So, here’s my question to all you readers and writers out there: how will eBooks and eReaders change the way you read or buy? What effect do you think it will have on publishing? What effect do you think it might have on the writer?

The only think I can say is that music survived, and so will literature. I do think the profit margins are going to drop, but more from the economy than anything else. People without jobs don’t buy anything, much less books. Buy an eReader? Not the unemployed. They’ll go to the library. Those with better funds? Sure. It’s new, and it’s trendy, it’s an easy way to carry more than one book on vacation, etc. I have a friend and a relative who own a Kindle and they love them. I have more friends and relatives that prefer a real book. Me? Real. As geeky as I am, give me a real book. My friend and relative with the Kindles? They’re always talking about how cheap book titles are. I suppose. But, the device is expensive enough to make up that difference unless you’re more than an avid reader. You’d have to be a rabid reader. Prices of print books have dropped. Seriously, nearly the same price for print as an eReader title? Still, eReaders are pretty cool. Just not for me.

Now, about authors: I think the tried and true money makers will be fine. It’s the writer trying to break into the biz that’s going to have a hard go of it all. With profits tight, I don’t think there will be as many debut authors over the next few years.

A Love of Words

From my earliest memories, I can remember Mom reading to me every night before bedtime. I went to sleep dreaming of the characters in the stories and wondering… what if?

During dinner, she’d listen to me as I read books out loud, helping me whenever I got stuck on something. When her health began to fail, she moved in with us. She read something I’d written and believed in me so much, that she took on cooking and laundry so I’d have time to write.

I owe my love of words, my love of reading and writing to my mother. This month we would have celebrated her birthday. But, Mom died a few years ago, and although she never saw me make it to print, she believed in me. This post is dedicated to her. Thanks, Mom. I always believed in you, too. Always will.

Is there someone who forever changed your life? Who was it that first got you into reading or writing?

The First Five Chapters

If you’ve been writing any length of time, you’ve heard of Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages. Essentially, Mr. Lukeman states that agents must be hooked on the first five pages to ever ask for more of your manuscript.

But what of readers? I know that I’ll give about any book more than five pages. I’ll give them more than the first chapter. Unless the book isn’t what I thought is was at all, or the characters or writing isn’t my taste at all, I’ll give the author five chapters.

I’m wondering if I’m alone in giving an author so many pages or chapters to keep me reading. It seems to me that more reviewers on blogs, Amazon, etc., are complaining about books that start slow. I’m looking back at some of my favorite authors and I guess that by ‘today’s’ standards, they’re slower than turtles stampeding through peanut butter in January.

This isn’t to say I don’t enjoy a book that jumps right smack into the heart of things. I do. But, as long as the writing is good and the story has an initial hook, the author has a certain grace period with me. In some cases, I think that books that leap into action never fully develop the plot or characters enough for my tastes. It can’t just be a bunch of stuff happening or snappy dialog. The story has to build a certain ‘depth’ to it.

How about you? How long does an author have to draw you into their story? Will you read two, three, four, or even five chapters of a book if the premise is interesting but things aren’t happening at a quick pace?

Reading and Critiquing Published Works

A question for all writers: How do you read? When you pick up a book, do you read it purely for pleasure? Do you find yourself critiquing the story? Do you find yourself learning how to craft your own novel better?

I ask it of writers because I think people who don’t write approach a book differently. At least I do. Don’t get me wrong – I still read for pleasure. But, part of my brain also evaluates plot, character, word choices, and pace. The longer I write, the more I detect subtle symbolism and word selection.

All this also begs the question: Do you, as a writer, think you enjoy the books you read more as a writer, or do you think you’d enjoy them more as a reader? I’ve gone back to reread some of my favorite books now that I write. It’s true that I see them in a different light than before. I like some of them more, others less.

Seeing Reality Through A Fictional Character’s Eyes

Breathing life into fictional characters isn’t always easy. As writers, we try not to mold characters directly from people we’ve met. We try not to mold them from ourselves. But, we all know that our characters are a combination of many people, including a piece or two of ourselves.

To create new and interesting characters, writers often put themselves in their character’s shoes for a moment. To make the scene or dialog realistic, we all have some sort of visual of our characters and an idea of their personalities. They’re not real people, yet we try to imagine how they see the world before them. We, as authors, try to write the root of that character – the why and how of their thoughts and actions.

And all the while, I think authors learn more about different perspectives. Because we’ve had to rationalize a character’s feelings or beliefs, we now see how others in real life might feel about that same subject. After all, as I’ve said, fiction or not, we try to make our characters act and think as realistic as possible.

I can’t help but think of Professor Snape in Harry Potter. From the start, a good portion of readers disliked Snape. As the story went on, they may have distrusted him, too. But what of the end? Didn’t we all feel differently? Snape ended up having as many fans as Harry, I think.

Writing about a teen might make you think differently about the younger generation. Writing about a priest might shed a viewpoint on religion you hadn’t given much thought about. The story of a person with a terminal illness might make you appreciate life a little more.

Part of this new perspective comes from the research we had to do, surely. But does it stop there? Have you ever come away from reading or writing a work of fiction with a different perspective on something? I’m not saying you come away thinking completely opposite of what you thought going in to the story, but just enough to see something you hadn’t before.