Muse Food – Grouping Like Things
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this collection of smooth, triangular boulders in Hong Kong.
One such boulder would have been interesting. But it likely would have gotten lost in the rest of the display.
Four similar-looking boulders, however, grab our attention. We notice them. We notice their shape, their colors, their size.
Writers use this same technique in stories. We employ symbolism more than once (I use it around three times or more), for example, because that ensures readers notice it. We repeat a key idea multiple times in slightly different ways.
Grouping like things or like ideas is powerful. Use it in your own writing!
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Muse Food – Pirate Ships In Cabo San Lucas And Other Adventures
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I were trekking along Playa Chileno, a beach near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when we were delighted to see this faux pirate ship rounding the bend.
We weren’t the only travelers captivated by this unexpected appearance. Visitors from all over the world watched the pirate ship’s approach with glee and wonder.
And it reminded me WHY many people read our stories.
They are looking for adventure, for something different than their regular lives. This doesn’t have to be space battles to the death or daring rescues (though those are fun – grins). It merely has to be unusual and, perhaps, unexpected.
Give them adventure.
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Muse Food – Average Guy Angels And The Unexpected
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted an average guy trying on a pair of angel wings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
The average guy seemed to love doing this. (He was surprised by the weight of those wings.) And everyone around him was smiling and laughing.
Because we don’t usually picture an angel as an average guy. They are usually stunningly beautiful and super fit and not wearing white running shoes with black socks. (grins)
Give your story an ‘average guy angel’, something unexpected, something enchanting.
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Muse Food – Poseidon / Neptune In Mazatlán And Other Gods
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this GIANT statue of Poseidon / Neptune in Mazatlán, Mexico.
It was aptly situated next to the aquarium. (grins)
Almost every culture on Earth has at least one deity featured in its stories. It is human to want to credit the wonders of this planet and the often seemingly random events in our lives to a greater power.
I suspect this will also be true of many off planet cultures.
Who is your character’s deity (or deities)? What do these deities control? What do they look like? How do they act? What do THEY value?
This will tell you and readers a lot about your character’s concerns/beliefs/values.
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Muse Food – Mazatlán And Juxtaposition
We were trekking along a very urban part of Mazatlán, Mexico when we came across this body of water and the greenery surrounding it.
It delighted us.
I LOVE contrasts. They always grab my attention and delight me.
And I’m not alone. Many readers are intrigued by contrasts and juxtapositions also.
The hero with the scarred face and the sadness reflecting in his eyes. The heroine who kicks a$$ yet stops to pet a kitten. The desert planet with a green oasis in the middle of it. The sea licking at the sandy shore.
Use juxtaposition and contrasts to captivate your readers.
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Muse Food – Jellyfish Sculptures And Multipurpose Scenes
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted these jellyfish sculptures by a bus stop in Dubai.
They serve at least two purposes. They’re beautiful works of art. AND they provide much needed shade for waiting transit users.
Our scenes should, ideally, be like these jellyfish sculptures. They should, at the minimum, serve two purposes.
Maybe the scene hints at a future event. Or it reveals a character’s motive. Or it shows how the character is changing. Or it transitions the reader from one place to another. Or…it could have a gazillion different purposes.
Challenge yourself to make your scenes work harder and do more!
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Muse Food – Look Upward
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this vibrantly colored bird in Mazatlan, Mexico.
It is human nature to gaze around us at our eye level. That’s quick. That’s easy.
That’s…dangerous. Because threats can come from the sky. And they can come from below us.
As writers, we tend to describe the scene from our character’s eye level also.
And that can be…uninspired. Because there are likely interesting things happening above their heads and below their feet.
Look upward.
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Muse Food – Revisiting Puerto Vallarta And Circular Storytelling
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I have been fortunate to visit Puerto Vallarta, Mexico many, MANY times.
We always walk along the Malecon and we usually stop for a moment at the child riding a seahorse scupture.
It is different every time we visit. In the early years, it didn’t have the Puerto Vallarta sign around it. Now, that sign is painted a bit differently every visit.
I like that. I like seeing the changes.
As I like seeing the changes in characters in circular storytelling. When we place characters in a similar situation as they experienced at the beginning of their story, it emphasizes the growth and changes they have endured. That’s fascinating!
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Muse Food – Mounted Police And Setting The Mood
I was completely enchanted by these mounted police in Qatar.
And…I shouldn’t have been. Because they ARE the police. They have the ability to arrest me and others and perhaps do worse to us.
Those beautiful horses? I suspect they have been trained to kill.
But someone from North America, like myself, associates them with parades and other peaceful events. We don’t view them as possible weapons.
If you want to change the mood of a story, that can be as easy as changing a small detail…like the mode of transportation the rule enforcers use.
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Muse Food – The Dubai Frame And Transitions
While we were in Dubai, the Dear Wonderful Hubby captured this awesome photo of the Dubai Frame. It is a structure joining an older part of Dubai with a newer part of Dubai and is an absolutely stunning work of art.
It also highlights the importance of transitions – in terrain, in stories, in our lives.
Writing transition scenes isn’t my favorite part of the storytelling process. Often I struggle with them.
But those scenes are key to reading buddies enjoying our stories. It allows them to leave the previous scene behind them and fully embrace the new scene, entering it with our characters.
Put care and love into transition scenes. (smiles)
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