At first, when I saw people making inspiration boards for their WIPs on Pinterest, I was kind of amused in an eyebrow-cocked way. Was this really helpful? Was it a good way to procrastinate? Did it really provide inspiration? I admit I was skeptical.
Then I decided to create this board for my short story "The Rose-Covered Cabin" when I shared the news that I'll be submitting it to the Five Magic Spindles contest. I'd actually pinned a bunch of stuff to a secret board that was helpful for my story -- things about the so-called "walking wheel" or "great wheel" spinning wheels and so on. So I tossed that all onto a new board, and added shots of the various actors I'd "cast" in the story. And guess what? It was fun!
But I still didn't start making any new boards for new writing projects, not until Elisabeth announced this party. Then I was like, "Well, I shared the board for RCC already... I should make one for my new story!" So I did. I hereby unveil my board for Patchwork Autumn, a novel that grew in my head over the course of little more than a week and which I've only just started writing. But I'm already loving how it mixes the Appalachian mountains with the Wild West -- it's sweet and tangy and salty and smooth all at once.
And then the other day, I was having so much fun adding to the PA album that I just went ahead and created a board for my last novel, Fickle Creek, because I could. That's my first-ever YA novel, and my first western in a long while -- I started writing it way back in 2012, and am in the slow process of revising it now.
So now you've seen all three of my "inspiration boards." I do add to/tweak them from time to time. But I don't use them for inspiration so much as for gathering and storing links and information, and for looking back at fondly after I've finished a story and saying, "Oh, yes, wasn't that fun?"
I'm pretty bummed I forgot to post this yesterday. I blame it on baking an apple pie. Does things to one's brain, pie-baking does.
So now you've seen all three of my "inspiration boards." I do add to/tweak them from time to time. But I don't use them for inspiration so much as for gathering and storing links and information, and for looking back at fondly after I've finished a story and saying, "Oh, yes, wasn't that fun?"
I'm pretty bummed I forgot to post this yesterday. I blame it on baking an apple pie. Does things to one's brain, pie-baking does.
Don't worry one bit about being late! I decided to leave the link-up open a week anyway, in case anybody else wanted to jump in. Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteThe Rose-Covered Cabin is my favorite of your boards—it's got me curious about the story—but I love those Blue Ridge pictures on Patchwork Autumn (great title!) too. Reminds me of the two-part Waltons episode "The Conflict" where they were visiting relatives way up in the mountains.
Oh, good idea! Never know who might be inspired to join by seeing others' posts.
DeleteThe board for RCC definitely has the most story-telling aspects to it. Probably because I'm in the refining stage of it, so it's nearly done and I have the most complete knowledge of it. PA is so new to me -- the idea for it came to me while I was driving through the Blue Ridge in the fog last month -- that I don't have a total sense for it yet. I've written up some notes, but barely anything of the story itself besides the first paragraph. I haven't seen that Waltons ep, I don't think -- I need to watch that whole series in order at some point. And thanks! I love the title Patchwork Autumn too, though I'm not sure it fully fits the story. We'll see!
So fun! I love the Western theme in your boards. :) And I agree with Elisabeth - The Rose-Covered Cabin is a lovely collection of pins, but I also really like the landscape shots in Patchwork Autumn (along with the great pics of Emma Thompson)! Very nice. :)
ReplyDelete~Amber
Thanks, Amber! I hadn't written a western in many years, but while writing Fickle Creek I realized that was where my heart and interests are, and so I've concentrated on that genre since :-)
DeletePatchwork Autumn was inspired by a drive through the Blue Ridge in the fog, so definitely a lot of atmosphere going on in that board. And story!
These are soooooooooooo beautiful!! I especially love the Patchwork Autumn one. Emma Thompson and Michael Fassbender . . . MAH GOSH. And the pictures you chose all fit together so well--colors and all. (I love pictures. As you can probably tell. :) )
ReplyDeleteI'm currently trying to start a new novel--in addition to my WWII novel, which I'm not giving up, no sirree :) It's just that the WWII story is at such a sad part right now and I don't really have the energy to "go there" while I'm so tired and stressed from school. So I'm going to try and see if I can do the two-projects-at-once thing. My new story is about the Berlin Wall and I'm super excited about it :) I can even use some of my German, so that'll be fun! It's called "Bernauerstrasse" cause it takes place in the Bernauerstrasse neighborhood of Berlin, the one that was divided in half when the Wall went up in 1961. Can't wait to start actually writing it.
Thanks, Jessica! And yes, I'm so excited for Patchwork Autumn -- I actually have Emma Thompson in a dual role, playing mother and daughter.
DeleteOdd recurring theme I just realized about all three of these: they all involve a single-parent family. In Fickle Creek and "The Rose-Covered Cabin," the mother has died, and in Patchwork Autumn, the father has died. Weird!
Ooooh, I'm very intrigued by Berlin in the '60s right now, thanks to The Man from UNCLE, which begins there. Best of luck on your new novel! I generally have at least two things in the works at all times, and it helps me to have something else to bop back to when I am stuck somewhere on one story.
I do that a lot, too--single-parent families, orphans, etc. I don't know exactly why, either . . . except that it seems to create interesting possibilities? Anyways, Jane Austen did that a lot too so we're in good company :)
DeleteThanks so much! I think it'll help me, too, to have more options--I was afraid it would distract/confuse me, but I'm not seeing that as a problem so far. Yeah, I think the Berlin Wall makes for a great story setting, too :) SPOILER ALERT: The Wall comes down at the end. END OF SPOILER. (Haha) I actually got the idea in German class a month or so ago; the professor was showing us footage from the collapse of the Wall and a sort of "lightbulb" turned on in my head, as it were. I was just like, "This needs to be a story." I love those moments soooooooooooo much :)
Well, orphans are easy to deal with because there are no pesky parents around telling them to not have adventures. That's why they get used so much in fiction. I haven't written any orphans (yet), but three single-parent families in a row is starting to feel like a trend. My next novel breaks it, though.
DeleteI remember when the Berlin Wall came down! I was 9. We got to watch TV all day for school and it was awesome!
You remember seeing the Wall come down? Wow, that's awesome! I bet you'll like my novel then, haha :)
DeleteSee, that's the awesome thing about being homeschooled; you don't have to miss out on the Important Stuff Happening. You can stop lessons for a day and Take Notice. And you learn more that way ;)
I also remember when the Gulf War started -- those were the two times I can remember my dad saying, "No school today -- you're going to watch the news instead because this is going to be in the history books."
DeleteSmart dad :)
DeleteIt was the same way for us when Reagan died, and also Pope John Paul II--we got the day off from school to watch their funerals. It was sad, but at the same time, I have a lot of good memories from it.