I am not a very visual person. I’m not someone who really pictures images of characters or places in my head while I’m reading (which is exactly why I find movies-that-were-once-books so very disturbing.) And it’s hard, sometimes, while I’m drafting a new novel, to remember that I need to have images I’m describing for the reader. Because I know most readers like that.
I’ve found that it helps if I put these images in front of me. Lots of googling for pictures on the internet and physically taping them to my computer screen or on the cover of my blank notebooks.
Here are a couple of photos I snapped from the inside of my First Draft notebook for Caminar, in case you’re curious.
Yes, I know about Pinterest. I know authors use it and love it for just the purpose I’m describing. But I have no interest in that. I need something physical I can run my fingers over. Something I can put up with tape and take back down again and move to another place. And sometimes what I need is three dimensional.
This is currently on my desk. Any guesses what my current WIP is about?