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Make sure to stop by to visit each of February's co-hosts as well as all of our other awesome members! A big thank you to:
Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!
IWSG Question: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?
Photos, artwork, and pictures of any kind can be great a inspiration when it comes to sparking curiosity and fueling the old who? what? when? where? why? mentality. As for myself, I'm drawn to old pictures and photos like those often found in old family albums. Ones that have been passed down generation to generation. One of the first things you grab in case of a fire.
My husband has an old family photo that immediately comes to mind when I think about this question. It's a photo of my husband's grandfather playing a fiddle at an old timey barn dance. This was a man that farmed, hunted, and trapped furs for a living - to house, clothe, and feed his family of twelve. Times were tough, but come rain or shine they held a barn dance and played music on Saturday night. Neighbors came from miles around to visit, eat, dance, and generally shed the stress of day to day survival. My husband's grandfather was a skilled fiddle player, and this particular photo shows him and a few friends playing music, toes tapping, lanterns glowing, an old stone jug sitting nearby, and a circle of dancers high-stepping around the floor. When I first saw this picture, it just sparked something in me, filling my head with visions of days long lost to modern technology. My husband's father loved to share stories about his father and the good old days - his memories of a simpler time. The photo inspired me to try my hand at writing a historical story featuring a man and his family in the early 1900's. The partially written manuscript is tucked away in a drawer now - my one and only shot at writing historical fiction. No, I haven't finished it as I eventually figured out historical fiction isn't my strong suit. I moved on to the Suspense/Thriller genre where I feel more at home.
So, when is a picture worth a thousand words? When it sparks creativity in any form!
I'd like to add that I'm probably more inspired by music than photos. Songs, voices, melodies . . . they take me to another place. Sparking a flutter in a spot way down deep in my soul. A song can soothe me or agitate me, make me sway or sit in a trance-like state lost in the words. The right song at the right time paints a picture in my head, and ideas for characters and storylines sprout and grow.
How about you? Where do you find inspiration and ideas for stories?
Thanks for sharing this wonderful family moment. It inspired the storyteller in me, too. (I think you need to get back into that draw someday!) I'm also motivated by music that resonates different elements of my WIP. I'm a playlist person and always create one for each book and/or character.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing how that picture inspired your novel. I hope you get it published one day as it sounds like an interesting read. I was inspired by a letter written by an great uncle for this first novel I am working on.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your writing and will be checking back again!
Music probably inspires me more. It was my selection for today.
ReplyDeleteAny way to turn that story into a historical thriller?
I enjoy looking through old photo albums. There's so much reality to spark the imagination in the images.
ReplyDeleteI love your account of your husband's grandfather. Life was, indeed, hard. But they still took time to enjoy and appreciate what they had. A lesson we could all use today.