Vision Boards

Some writers use vision boards or collages to help in the pre-writing stage of their novels or as a source of inspiration or to help them visualize characters, setting, etc. Many writers who use vision boards/collages swear they help keep them on track, help them get the words down on paper, and/or help them stay inspired. The most well-known (that I'm aware of) writer who advocates the use of collages or vision boards is Jennifer Cruisie.  (Here's a link to her blog where she talks about them - Collages as Prewriting and Inspiration )

I've never done a vision board or collage for a book, but at any given time I've always collected pictures or things that remind me of the book I was writing at the time. I've just stuck them in a folder and would go through them from time to time - mainly when I got stuck on a plot point or needed some inspiration.

As I've been thinking about the goals I want to set and meet for the upcoming year, I keep coming back to the idea of a vision board. I'm considering doing one for my writing in general with pictures, words of inspiration, writing quotes, etc. I have a picture of the Rita (the equivalent of an Oscar award in the Romance Writing community) that I think I'm going to include.  While I may not win a Rita in 2015, it'll be something to strive for. I'm going to hang the board where I'll see it every day so it'll keep me inspired and moving forward in my writing career.

Have you ever done a vision board or collage for a book or for something you wanted to accomplish?

Sourdough Bread and Writing

I've mentioned here before how much I like making homemade bread. I've always wanted to try and make sourdough bread, but have always been put off by how long the process is. The shortest recipe time I've found is letting the sourdough starter sit a minimum of 12 hours before actually making the bread.

One day last week, I mentioned to a friend how much I want to try making this type of bread, but it seems like such a long process just to make a couple of loaves of bread. My friend gave me a strange look and said, "but you don't think anything about the fact that it takes you months to write a book."

Suddenly the proverbial light bulb went off over my head. She's right. I don't think twice about spending so much time thinking about plots, dialogues, characterization before I even start the actual process of writing. I started seeing the parallels between waiting those 12 hours for the sourdough starter and my pre-writing process.

Letting the starter sit so the yeast and other ingredients can ferment is a great deal like my need to do character sketches, try out various plot lines, make sure my hero and heroine both have believable goals and motivation before I start writing. Letting the starter sit the required hours gives the bread the foundation it needs to rise and bake properly much like my pre-writing ensures my completed novel will have a sturdy structure as its base.

I think I'll be making sourdough bread this weekend. :o)