
Take the thumbnail pic on this post, for example. I completed it yesterday, because the image of an owl and a ghostly female figure got into my brain, and demanded to be birthed onto the page (come to think of it, most of my writing ideas come to me as an image glimpsed in my mind's eye). I call it "The Wandering Woman," and I imagine her wandering the hillsides and forests at night, searching, unaware that she has passed beyond this mortal coil. Who is she, I wondered as the image took form. Who or what is she searching for? And, oh, yeah...how exactly did she die?
With a picture, I am obviously not thinking about telling a story through words, at least not at first. But I am thinking and planning how to create a mood through imagery that tells a story. Guess it's just in my blood. And so, in a real sense, I haven't stopped writing at all. Not sure how this helps other writers, other than to perhaps to get you to think a little more deeply about your story. How can you use imagery in your writing to evoke a mood. How can you look at your writing in a different way, connect with your reader on a more visceral level, bring new life, depth, and insight to your writing.
You should always be looking for ways to grow. This is as true as a writer and artist as it is personally. Could be that thinking of stories in another medium will give your creative fiction a little something new and different to, uh, draw upon.
Till next time...
Peace,
Chris