Muse Food – Crowns And Going On A Head
Our heads are focal points. They are the highest part of our bodies. Gazes are drawn there first.
So what our characters have on their heads, if anything at all, is important.
This is why writers often mention hair color early in the character’s description. It is one of the first things other beings notice.
And it is why Royalty wear crowns. And new grads wear graduation caps. And birthday girls often wear elaborate hats.
Hats, helmets, other headwear can serve other important purposes also – like protecting our fragile skulls or sealing in breathable air or keeping the rain off our faces.
What is on your character’s head?
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Muse Food – How Does Your World Defend Itself?
There are a gazillion ways for a civilization or a world to defend itself.
The choice of method tells us a lot about the civilization, how they think, what they value.
A truly peace loving civilization, for example, might defend itself by building strong partnerships with other civilizations. They are less likely to be attacked because they have friends or they ARE friends. In a disagreement, their first response will be to send a negotiator. Partnerships will be valued and celebrated. They might even recognize the special celebrations of their partners as well as their own.
A war loving, violent civilization, as another example, might defend itself by attacking first. They will have a strong military with many of its residents expected to serve or have served in it. There will be multiple holidays or celebrations of the military. They will place special emphasis on wars in their history, maybe even reenacting them.
Adding these details can add richness to your world and/or your story!
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Muse Food – Add A Splash Of Color
This little boat is a splash of bright color amidst a sea of white and/or black boats. It stands out. It draws the eye. It is a MOOD.
Consider adding a splash of color to the scene you’re currently crafting. This could be a hero in a bright red coat. Or a word that is rarely used and fantastical. Or an explosion. (grins) I love explosions.
Make something in your scene stand out.
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Muse Food – Physical Space
There are many reasons why ‘Only One Bed’ is such an appealing trope and one of them is because there is a very small physical space the characters have to inhabit.
And that space can be even smaller. That one bed could have been designed for a single person.
Changing the physical space the characters inhabit can significantly change a scene.
A hero whispering in the heroine’s ear in a confined closet where they are forced to press up against each other, for example, is a very different experience than a whisper in a massive ballroom.
A heroine floating alone in the vast expanse of space is a very different experience than the heroine floating alone in a bathtub.
A battle scene inside a building is different than a battle scene in a wide open field.
Can you change the physical space your characters are inhabiting to make the scene more powerful?
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Muse Food – Love Vans And Time As A Setting
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I spotted this van while trekking around South American and we both immediately thought of the 1960s, the hippie era, a time when some young people embraced peace and love and unity.
Time can be a powerful setting.
It can influence language and fashion and thinking, whether the heroine is viewed as a rebel, for example, or the average girl.
Certain colors and images on covers, for example, can convey a time period like the rocket shaped spaceships on the 1970s SciFi Romances or the high waist gowns on Regency Romances.
What time is your story set in? How does that factor into your plot?
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Muse Food – Bison And The Unexpected
If there was a bison background character in one of my stories crafted for North American readers, I would likely merely mention there was a bison. I might call him majestic or large or hairy. But I wouldn’t go into much detail.
If I was describing THIS bison, I would likely devote some space to describing his horns.
Why?
Because they aren’t typical for a bison. They aren’t ‘normal.’
And because they aren’t normal or expected, they stand out and they warrant mentioning.
Mention the unexpected in your stories, especially if that unexpected detail is important to the plot or character development.
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Muse Food – A Ship In Harbor
One of my favorite sayings is
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”
(attributed to John A. Shedd).
I remember that saying when I’m writing a scene, a scene that will make my characters uncomfortable. Characters in stories aren’t meant to be comfortable. Comfortable beings don’t take extreme actions, actions that we expect characters in great stories to take.
Make your characters uncomfortable. Push them out of their safety zone. Get that ship in the sea.
(grins)
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Muse Food – Monkeys Eating Pringles And Sharing Our Treats
(The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I encountered this monkey eating Pringles in Malaysia.)
A human is trekking through the forest and they encounter a cute little creature.
They want to interact with this creature. So they reach into their pack, take out candy or chips/crisps or chocolate and they then offer this treat to the creature.
This happens often in books and in movies, whether that forest is on Earth or in Space.
We share our treats, the foods that taste good to us, hoping we’ll make a connection. It is our way of saying “I want to be friends.” We do this with people and we do this with other living things.
How would the main character in your story try to make friends?
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Muse Food – Other Escape Routes
Your characters are trapped.
The doors are blocked. The windows are sealed tight. Danger is all around them.
If they don’t escape soon, they’ll die.
Look down. Is there drainage they can fit into?
Look up. Is there a ventilation shaft they can navigate?
Spaces are often designed for air and water to pass through them. These systems could be escape routes for your characters.
Or you could always give your characters a bomb of some kind and blow sh*t up.
That’s fun also.
(grins)
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Troll And Seeing Romance Where It Isn’t Shown
Spoiler Alert – This post will talk about the Netflix movie Troll and it WILL contain spoilers. If you haven’t yet watched this fun and surprisingly good monster film, you might wish to skip this post.
The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I watched Troll on a lark. We saw Troll 2 had released and figured it must have been good or enjoyable enough to warrant a sequel.
My friends, it was both. It was fun and fantastical and emotionally deep in places. The characters were interesting and well developed. The expected army guy? He had depth and humor and was extremely likable.
It was also a Norwegian film, which made it even more fun, because characters switched between languages often and fluidly. (It had English subtitles.) And the scenery was gorgeous.
Did Troll have romance?
No. Not on the screen.
As a romance reader and writer, however, I saw how romantic relationships could form between certain characters and I was pairing (and more) characters up during the entire movie.
Troll will definitely inspire some future stories from me.
(smiles)
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