When I wrote
the first book of my middle-grade series, The Clara Jeane Mysteries, I used actual
photos from my childhood because the main character is loosely based on myself,
and some of the events that take place in the story are from actual events in
my childhood. Even though most of the
memories I had were enough, using photos allowed me to sharpen my description
of landscapes, weather and even smells for the visual images staring back at me
allowed my memories to come alive!
In writing
school one of the exercises in a creative writing course I took was to write a
story based on a photo of our own or an image from a magazine. That is when I discovered using visual aids can
be a very effective tool used to help push the limit of your creativity. If you’ve never tried it I recommend taking
an old photo from a time in your life and discover how alive your memories can become!
It’s not to
say our imagination is not an effective tool for imagery for sometimes we
conjure up places and people that never existed before. Not until we write them that is! However, I am saying there are times in which
visual aids can add a spark to our visual senses and help to sharpen our written
imagery. So go ahead, push the limit and
try adding visual aids to your writer’s toolbox!
In closing, I
wanted to share a link to my new blog, The Cat Vamp Diaries: All Things Scary, where I am honored
to join some very talented writers in the horror genre for Flash Fiction Friday’s
through Vamplit Publishing. If you like to
read all things scary or even want to try your hand at flash fiction stop by
and explore. You just may find a new favorite
author or two!
Until next
time,
Keep on
thriving, keep on striving and keep on writing!
T.K. Millin
The Unknown Author
We are very glad to have your great tales added to our Friday flash fiction, T.K.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal level, my hyper mind retains images forever, which is a good thing since most of my pictures have been destroyed. I can see where photos could enhance a story, bringing sharper focus to the tale, allowing for much improvement. Excellent point. Great post!
Blaze