The best thing about Indie? The work itself. In Indie it can be whatever you want. You don’t have to worry about the latest trends, or what’s selling. You can just write what you love. Sounds all warm and fuzzy, right? But what about the bones, the how-to?
It’s different for
each of us, but here’s how it is for me:
In two days, I’m
going on a trip to the Adirondacks; it’s one of my favorite places on earth,
but it’s not a vacation (okay, not just a
vacation), I’m going there to be inspired. As a visual person, I need to
actually go to the locations of the stories I write. I need to see and smell
and hear and touch. I take pictures, and then study them. In short, I make an
emotional connection to the setting itself. That’s how I make my stories feel
as real as they do, because to me, they are. Now, that’s not always possible.
In Bashan, Joel went to Syria. As you can imagine, that’s not a trip I’ll be
taking anytime too soon. So, if I can’t be there in real life, I go in books. I
read as much as I can about the area, fiction and nonfiction alike. You can
make an emotional connection there, too. If not, then what’s the point in this
whole writing thing anyway?
Only then, after I’ve
immersed myself into the realness of it all, do I sit down to write.
How
about you—what do your bones look
like?
Come
back next Wednesday and I’ll reveal more of mine.
I tried visiting Cassa, but my Cosbolt was broken...
ReplyDeleteHope you come back inspired and ready to write!
I often used places I have visited for settings or use something I've seen pictures of. I wouldn't recommend visiting Syria right now either.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of going to a place to soak in what you can. So many times I pass by a place and don't really stop to see, hear, etc the place. It would add atmo. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from Shout with Emaginette