Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts

Saturday, November 16, 2013

NaNoWriMo Day 16 - Creating places and buildings

How you word things shall greatly impact how those things are perceived by your readers. Perhaps I told you there was a tall building, made of stone, and sitting in the middle of a green field, atop a knoll, what is the mental picture you have? I don't think you and I are thinking of the same thing…let me explain once more. There is a magnificent castle, presenting an imposing demeanor from it's seat upon a knoll over the green field, it's structor was composed of all white stone. Hmmm, there, now we should have similar mental images of this structure.

Now that we have established that how we write will influence our readers perception, we must now guide them through our novel's world.

Readers have incredible imaginations, never underestimate their mental  picture abilities. Give them incredible details, and let their mind's have the space to roam free through the world you have created.

Keep continuity, maybe write note cards for each place, like a home, or country, and stick with it. Readers like knowing that you care that the places are 'real', and not random. If you say a tree is leaning north, don't randomly straighten it out. Don't mess with your readers, you'll lose their respect.

Give your readers something to PLAY with. Remember that imagination I spoke of? Create a world that is so rich and brilliant that your readers can imagine themselves in, and can roam about in it freely as if they were there, sitting beneath the trees, listening to the wind rustle through the leaves. They need the details that allow them to create more world than you wrote for them.

The color of stone…matters.
The fury of the storm…matters.
The blueness of the sky…matters.

Because it matters to your reader.

Whether you are writing a love story, poetry, fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, or your autobiography, you are painting a picture for your writer to see. You're making them feel at home, or out of their comfort zone, or you are making them anticipate something, or feel fear, but you are guiding them. Your attention to that fact will enhance how you write, because you will be writing with not only your plot in your mind, but now also how your audience will read a chapter, process the story, and react to the situations.

If a situation is lovely, give your readers warm and fuzzies.
If a situation is tense, make your readers feel the tension.
If a situation is exciting, get the reader's adrenaline pumping.



I Kings 6

"In the four hundred and eightieth year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and ten cubits deep in front of the house. And he made for the house windows with recessed frames. He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built.

The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third.So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar.

Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, “Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.”

So Solomon built the house and finished it. He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar. And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across, in front of the inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.

For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided. He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.

In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it."

Thursday, November 14, 2013

NaNoWriMo Day 13ish - Finding Inspiration

*yawn* It's way too late at night for me, NaNos…

But I'm doing word wars, so might as well catch up on posts!

This post is about inspiration for writing, because sometimes things become a blur, or get boring, or just  seem pointless. It's important to keep things interesting. I mean, seriously, if you are bored, you may just bore your reader to death, or at best put them to sleep, at least then you'd be curing their insomnia.

I found inspiration for my book by looking up pictures I found on the internet of actual places, or imagined places.

Such as a map of New Zealand, a house with a long grassy road, mountains, and things like that. Maybe things like that can inspire you as well. Just don't get caught up in searching for pictures or videos, or music, to the point of wasting all your time. But it's nice to have those pictures, so that you can have a more vivid imagination of your story, or to keep continuity. Suddenly changing the color of your main characters front door could be an awkward blooper. (hey, but if you do have a blooper, leave it there! You can edit in December.)

If you're a Visual person, looking at the pictures or going to places will help you to be inspired.

If you are a Kinesthetic type, then snuggling up in a blanket, sipping hot tea, curled up around your computer, and dreaming about your novel will be inspiring to you. (oh great…now I want tea…)

If you are Auditory, maybe listening to sounds associated with your novel would be an aid. Such as tracks that have the sounds of forests, thunderstorms, waves, busy streets, etc. Hearing the things that your characters hear may impact your thoughts and thus strengthen how you write.

If you are Auditory Digital (like me), then try any or all of the above, plus research facts about your novel. What model cars would there be? How much does your main character's coffee cost? Asking specific questions like that, may help you to be inspired and know more about your character's world, so that you might be more accurate.

Finding the things that inspire you, may take time, so take it. Savor those things, dwell on them for a while. By soaking in the information and thoughts and sights and sounds, you will create a more vivid and real world in your work. Enjoy your inspiration, enjoy the creativity that you write.


This Psalm always inspires me because of how creative God is, and how much science He has placed in Scripture. I hope you enjoy this Psalm, maybe it can help you today. :-)





Psalm 104
"Bless the LORD, O my soul!

O LORD my God, you are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
covering yourself with light as with a garment,
stretching out the heavens like a tent.
He lays the beams of his chambers on the waters;
he makes the clouds his chariot;
he rides on the wings of the wind;
he makes his messengers winds,
his ministers a flaming fire.

He set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
they give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth
and wine to gladden the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.

He made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their dens.
Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.

O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
Here is the sea, great and wide,
which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
There go the ships,
and Leviathan, which you formed to play in it.

These all look to you,
to give them their food in due season.
When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your Spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the ground.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!"