Saturday, September 3, 2011

Writing Tips- A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words.

Pictures are said to be worth a thousand words. Meaning, you can describe a picture using a thousand words. I've never tried it but I think if you really wanted to, you could. Anyways, today I'm going to use this random picture I took of a trail when I went camping two summers ago. I thought that the picture was cool, or the path was at least, because on one side it was lush and green and on the other side it looked dead. I tried to take a picture of it here, but I don't think it turned out as how I intended it to be.

Anyways, I'm one of those people who love looking at pictures, and not just because they're pretty. I love using pictures to inspire scenes or find a picture of some one who looks similar to one of my characters. For example, I found this wonderful picture a couple months ago that looked very similar to my Main Character, Tatiana, in The Cursing.

She has white hair and wings, and in the picture it was her against a gray sky with a black bird. I want to show it to you guys cause I really like it, only when I tried finding it again on Google, I couldn't. I can't remember what I typed in. And I would go ahead and post it but I'm afraid of copyrighting someone's work on accident. So I won't.

Anyways, pictures are also a great way to work on describing things. We'll use the picture I put up as an example. Touch: The white tree in front looks like it would be hard and maybe have a papery touch. I would describe things in the picture as being dry, the leaves soft or brittle. The air would be warm. there might be some annoying dirt in my sandals and maybe even a small rock. Smell: A fresh smell that you only get from being in a forest, clean air that is not really polluted. Sight: A black dirt path, green leaves, that white tree (I think it's a birch but I'm not sure), and dark trees. Sounds: The wind as it rustles the leaves, a bunch of different bird calls. Taste: This one of always a hard one. If you're walking through a forest it's kinda hard to taste stuff. Maybe...a fresh taste?

So, do you use pictures to help you with your stories? If so, is there a certain type of picture (like nature photos, anime, etc)? Do you ever look up pictures that may resemble your characters?

Sincerely,
Peony

2 comments:

  1. I like to have pictures relating to my stories on my bulletin board. Mostly setting-related pictures. For example, part of my setting is based off the mountains in Montana, so I have some pictures up to look at. And I've spent lots of time trying to find a person that looks like my characters, but I've never really found one.

    Of course, my motto has always been: If a picture is worth a thousand words, then write two thousand. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's cool! I've seen pictures of the mountains in Montana and they're beautiful. I have some Powerpoints where I put pictures up for my stories. For example, I might have some pictures of the temples and ruins of the Aztecs and Incas and then some character pictures for The Cursing. And I also put into any picture I think that might have something to do with the story.

    That's such a cool motto! :)

    ReplyDelete

Any comments with profanity or comments that are hurtful/ mean will be removed. We appreciate hearing your thoughts. Remember, if you wouldn't say it to someone's face please do not say it on the internet.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...