Story Boarding

When I begin writing a new book and it’s still just a fragment of an idea whirling around in the maelstrom of my mind, one of the tools I use to let my imagination fly is photos or pictures that evoke a reaction from me. At present on or near my board there is artwork by Yuri Arajs, and Amy Rice, an Audubon hawk, a painting of a girl with a dog, a quote from poet Mary Oliver, a grotesque from Oxford with its finger in its nostril, and a long thin smooth beach rock I like to worry between my fingers while I have a think.
My boyfriend (oh yeah, there’s a nice picture of him on the board too) just took the photo above during the blizzard.Click on it to see a larger image. You can see more of his beautiful work over here
Although it does not apply to the book I am currently writing, I found it to be such an inspiring image. It tells a story all on its own.
They hadn’t plowed around the old school and graveyard yet, wind was still beating the snow and ice into drifts and mounds, we walked thigh-high through powdery snow in some places and the dogs looked like they were swimming through it.
I think it’s important to rest our eyes on something quiet and lovely, stirring or provoking. A respite from looking at the glare of the screen all day. A way to dream, let our thoughts float unmoored, maybe remember some buried emotions, or what it’s like in its truest most basic form, to live and breathe.