What should this ball gown look like? What would the floor plan of a foursquare house look like? What does her bedroom look like? What would he look like in green?
Experiment #18: Collect images—with a ticking clock
Does this actor look like a character in your story? Does this quote speak to your story’s theme? Does this screenshot of a Tumblr post remind you of your protagonist’s sense of humor? Does that outfit look like something your antagonist would wear? Does the mentor live in this house? Does that food look like what your protagonist eats when she’s stressed?
Collect images. Make a Pinterest board. Assemble a collage. Create folders for individual characters, groups, settings, themes. Print copies and stick them where you can see them.
Some writers discover may find that creating collections of pictures and quotes is one of their favorite non-writing parts of the process. Just like going down a research rabbit hole, this detour can become endless if you let it. Don’t forget to get back into the story. Keep writing.
Leave a Reply