Sorry for the lack of posts recently—things have been crazy! Here’s something that ought to make up for it: in addition to collecting character-inspiring art for you, I’m also collecting art to inspire plots! These might be images of situations, strange items, etc. Here’s one of my favorite examples. Click through and click on the image at DA to view the full-size image for all the wonderful details:
You might use any one of these images to trigger an idea for an entire book’s plot or a simple twist in a pre-existing plot. They’re particularly handy for game masters looking for inspiration for this week’s adventure or magical artifact.
One of my favorite resources for fleshing out a character is the vast wealth of portraiture found online. Art, photos… There are multiple ways to use such items to help you with a character. The two major ones are art to character, or character to art to character.
Art to character: In this case, you simply find a portrait that inspires you and create a character around it. Your character doesn’t have to ‘accurately’ reflect the portrait: for example, you might base a female character in a fantasy world around a painting of fairie queen, even though your character is wholly human. The important part is that some element of the image fires your imagination and helps to fill out any gaps in the character you’re creating. Clothing, hair, facial expression, body posture, gesture: all of these things can inspire character elements.
Character to art to character: In this case, you start with a character you’ve already begun. You then look for an image that suits that character. This can take quite some time (particularly with male characters—it tends to be much more difficult to find male portraiture), but can be very worthwhile. You might end up picking out one or more characters that are close to what you want but off in one or more details. Then, you reverse it: you see what additional inspiration you can take from any image(s) you’ve found, just as in the first option.
I created a DeviantArt account largely so that I could start collecting DA character portraiture in a convenient place. It occurred to me this morning that I should link to that collection so that anyone who comes across this might use it as well. So here you are: the ever-expanding collection of character images. Here’s one of my favorites:
Visit this page and, for the moment, simply look at the photograph without reading the text. (Just in case you read this entry sometime months from now and the picture is gone, it’s an old black-and-white photo of young men in suits marching down a road carrying signs that read ‘WE WANT BEER’.)
Now, you have two options.
1. Read the hysterically funny ‘explanation’ stumbleupon user kish-me concocted for the photo. Then go out and find your own photo of who-knows-what and write your own creative tale to go with it. You don’t have to emulate kish’s style; do anything you want!
2. Before reading the explanation for the photo, write your own. When you’re done you can read kish-me’s hilarious creation.
The stories we can come up with when inspired by an innocuous image can be touching, hilarious, moving… anything at all. Let your imagination run wild.
Next time you find yourself having trouble solving a literary problem in your writing, use colors to help you brainstorm an answer.
Say you find yourself uncertain how your main character will get out of a seemingly hopeless situation. What would a purple solution to the problem be? Purple might lead you to think of royalty, twilight, grandmothers, or magic, any of which could suggest a solution. If that color doesn’t work, move on to the next. You can go through the colors in order, or pick one at random.
It’s been a while since I gave you an image-based prompt, and I came across a piece of artwork recently that I simply must share. I particularly love images of people for the kind of intensity and personality they can convey if the artist or photographer is good. Today, look at the image that follows and do any of the following:
Write a monologue or interior monologue from this man’s perspective.
Write or outline a story in which he plays a significant part.
Write a story that is significantly impacted by him but in which he never directly appears.
Free-write for ten minutes or one side of a sheet of paper, speculating as to who or what he might be.
Write a dialogue in which he participates.
Write or outline a story in which he’s the ‘good guy.’
Write or outline a story in which he’s the ‘bad guy.’
Free-write for five minutes about who he’d be as a good guy. Then free-write for five minutes about who he’d be as a bad guy. Finally, free-write for five minutes about who he might be if he fit into neither category.
Create a creation myth for this figure.
Leave a comment here with your own suggestion for an exercise to be added to this list.
Today, take a look at the following depiction of mother, or madame, nature. Write a brief scene with her as a character, preferably told from the first person (her point of view) or second (someone with her). Or, free-write or journal about this depiction of Mother Nature and what it means to you.
You might also counter this depiction of Mother Nature with one of your own, describing how you see her or, if you have artistic skills, depicting her in your own manner. How does your depiction contrast or compare with the one below? Why is it different or similar? What do you like or dislike about the original below, and why do you have your own, separate take on things?
I felt it was time for another image prompt, so I went poking around deviantart and found the following. Today, pick one of these options and apply it to the image below:
Write a poem inspired by it.
Draw something inspired by it.
Brainstorm based on it: write any words or phrases it makes you think of in empty spaces on a sheet of paper, then cluster more words and phrases around them, connecting ideas with lines where appropriate. See if this leads you to anything interesting.
Write an essay on the silk moth.
Write a scene of a story in which this moth is present.
I love to use images as the inspiration for writing, and if there’s one thing you can find in abundance on the internet, it’s images! Today, check out the Catchy Colors Photoblog (I’ve also added it to the blogroll as a resource). The photos are visually arresting, and could inspire you directly or indirectly in all sorts of ways. Pick out a photo and use it as inspiration. Free-associate from it, work from it directly, free-write based on it… there are any number of ways to take inspiration from images. Even the color of a photographed item might be enough to get you going, or the shape. Here’s one I’d use from the blog:
Take this image as the center of a scene and build outward, bit by bit. Explore the location, the people, the movement, the events.
What’s happening here? What’s going to happen next? What might have happened recently? Who comes through here every day and sits at this table? Who’s drinking this coffee or smoking these cigarettes? What does it feel like to dip the spoon into the coffee, or sip through the rippled crema? Is this drink sweet or bitter? How does it make the drinker feel? Is he relaxed in his coffee experience, or eager to get on with the rest of his day?
Explore through description, story, narrative, free-writing, or even a sketch of your own that fills out the area beyond the boundaries of this image.
