I have always said that Pinterest is more useful than just a website filled with pretty pictures. When I start a new book, I create a new board with the name of the story as a work in progress (WIP). Then I spent some time - hours most of the time - searching for images that embodies the story as I visualise it.
I also find photographs of people. Often because of their physical characteristics that are the same as my characters'. But it doesn't end there. While I was searching for images about the desert and desert people I noticed something that I hadn't thought about: their clothing. People living in a desert do not dress the same way as people living in an urban or even a rural environment. Their environment is plagued by intense heat, blindingly bright sunshine and dust. Their clothing reflects their environment, and as such I had to rethink the way my characters would live and dress.
In Michael's Mystery, Michael learned that desert people have one major concern: conservation of their water resources. He also learned how people looked out for each other when confronted with dehydration and being caught in a sandstorm. These are the realities of desert living and I became more aware of this as I found images on Pinterest to add to my board for Michael's Mystery.
Even the desert itself presented a few challenges while I was writing. Would people still be travelling by camel train? Why not? The skill to navigate a desert is not one learned overnight and Michael experienced that firsthand when he went with Andesine to see the first people that he had to interview. He also had to travel by camel when they visited a remote village.
Images and photographs I found on Pinterest made the ideas I had about Michael's Mystery, its characters and setting come alive in my mind. It had been one of the most exciting storyboards I had put together and I hope that when you read the story (it is planned for release on 31 October 2015) you will see the elements in the story as I selected them for the storyboard for Michael's Mystery.
Pop around tomorrow for my view on the use of infographics for books.
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