January 2019 Writing Challenges Begin! Week 1: Writing the Senses

I almost missed posting my response for the first day of my own challenge! Can you believe that? I would've laughed aloud but my husband was already sleeping. If you decide to join me in this challenge, please share your own responses. I'd love to read about your writing process and see what you're working on. Just be sure you use the hashtag #writingthesenseschallenge so I can find your posts. I'll be looking for them on Instagram and here on the blog. If you share to facebook, I probably won't see them. :( But please don't let that stop you! Happy writing challenge!

Writing the Senses Challenge Week 1: Sense Inspiration Boards

Week one is all about creating sense inspiration boards. I love creating them because they really spark my imagination and jump-start my writing.

Day 1: I chose to create two inspiration boards which included photos of sights that inspire me when I think of my two main characters.

Day 2: For this board, I chose to highlight sounds that inspired the different settings in my story.

Day 3: This was a bit more difficult that I thought it would be. For one, I couldn't find photos of bonbons (or what I call bonbons) because those were my inspiration for the bon'jies in "Ripples" and they are so widely exported throughout Y'Dahnndrya, they'll probably show up in every book. But I managed to find enough edible, drinkable, and non-edible taste inspiration photos. Read on to see the boards I created.

If you thought you'd see an inspiration board without coffee on it, well you were wrong. LOL Both coffee and tea are heavy influences for me. I know for a fact how important medicinal teas are even today and I would hate for that to be different in my world.

As for coffee, there's just something about that "bolder than tea" warmth going through you. Far be it from me to deny my characters [the joy] of this tasty treat.

When it comes to alcohol and liquor, they exist in my world and I've ironed out a few products from three of my clans. I have more work to do in this area, though. I'm more of a novice in this area than the other two and so thankful there's lots of info available online.

Water is as important in my fictional world as it is in my real one.

One thing I couldn't find was a photo of jerked meat. My characters travel a lot so jerked meat would be important on the trail. But I did find lots of awesome photos that I might expect to see at an inn or in a well-developed village. The bakery photo is my favorite on this board with the mushroom basket coming in second.

As I mentioned earlier, I couldn't find a picture of bonbons. I didn't see any photos of marzipan, either, and that would've been a nice addition. I've never tasted marzipan but it's eye-catching and looks really sweet.

I chose what looks to be either an apple or pear tart in the upper right corner to represent the breakfast pudding that Liha likes to eat. Breakfast plays a big part in my stories, I think, because it's my favorite meal of the day. (That's kind of funny because I often sleep late and have to rush through breakfast, making mine more like a snack than a real breakfast.) The upper center photo is also breakfast and it looked super yummy. I think it looks more like a Shinnoahn or M'Neshunnayan breakfast might look, though.

I chose to add macaroons and candy sprinkles because they are the colors I imagine bon'jies to be. Truffles were added because they are the same size and probably similar in consistency. Fancy cakes and pies would be something you might see at a special event in Y'Dahnndrya.

So you're probably wondering why there's a photo of sparks in the upper left corner. If you've ever been around someone while they are working metal, you can taste a metallic tang in the air. Since the Genzet are known all over Y'Dahnndrya for their beautiful metal scroll-work and cut-work, this might be encountered in my story.

As mentioned in the section on main dishes, I tried to find a photo of jerked meats which might be taken on a journey. I couldn't find them but I did find a photo of berries growing wild and a lovely photo of herbs, which might also be found growing wild.

The juniper was added on the lower right because I think there would be many plants, including fruit or nut trees, growing in a forest that my characters could use for food, if they knew what to look for.

Day 4 - Technically, I missed yesterday's post for the challenge since it was after midnight before I shared it. But, hey! It was still 11:00 somewhere. *nervous laugh* The main thing I want to remember is that I did it and it's done. To let you know how tired I've been after the holidays, I even put the blog post for yesterday on my home page! *sigh* It's moved to it's correct place now, but y'all please excuse me and know that I'm going to keep going and not let this kind of thing discourage me.

Yesterday, I focused on scents that inspire my writing. My characters will be traveling a lot so they'll enounter scents like freshly chopped wood, wood smoke, pine/trees of the forest, rain, and some kind of warm drink. Liha grows up in a what amounts to a huge natural water garden so there are flowers, herbs, and line-dried linens. Both my MC's might encounter the scent of incense at some point. And Zec might encounter the scent of metal-working, though he will not work the metal himself. All my characters will face the scent of sweat as they hike woodland trails and go through rigorous training. And burning candles are used for light so they'd encounter that scent, too.

Day 5 - A friend of mine responded on Day 3's IG post asking if this week was all about inspiration boards. It was a good question. I know I mentioned it on the challenge introduction post but to clarify things, I'll state the purpose of the challenge again here.

This isn't about inspiration boards in particular. I work better when I have something visual to jar my memory so inspiration boards are an excellent tool in my arsenal. But if that doesn't work for you, or for your particular type of creative pursuit, then that's OK. Please use the prompts in the way that works best for you. I'm starting with the big picture and working my way down to the details. With that said, I hope you'll continue to follow along and/or join in.

Yesterday's prompt asked about inspirational feelings, which include textures because if you're thinking of the senses, then "touch" is definitely one of them. I created three boards for this prompt.

Any story about people will run the gamut of feelings. Mind is no different but these are the main ones I thought they'd encounter. From left to right, top to bottom: Fear, love, lonliness/separation, sorrow, friendship, and joy.

Some of the textures my characters might encounter are linen/rough cotton, woven blankets of yarn or coarser threads, silky material of finely-made garments, smooth and round prayer beads, and rough water and stone.

Weather is an equally important aspect to any story. My characters will experience warm sunshine, wind, rain, snow, and ice (though ice is more a thing they might encounter rather than a weather phenomenon.) This is one of the areas I struggle with when writing. For some reason, I can write in pieces about wind, but other weather is stuck in my head. I want my readers to experience it, too!

Day 6 - Since day 6 was all about imaginary things, I tried to create boards depicting things that inspired my imagined beings or things.

The first photo collage I created represents some of the things that inspire me when writing about the Genzet Clan. You may remember from my 'Introducing the Clans' series, the Genzet are a people who are truly different. They have slightly pointed ears and small fangs. Their hair, eyes, and skin are the same color but their colors range the spectrum. And piercings are a way for them to mark milestones in their lives, usually starting with their pilgrimage to Gild'n Mountain Shrine where they'll choose the career path that they are best suited for.

The second collage I created included things that inspired the Drakmaugh, denizen of the underground tunnels in book 2. It has a bear-like body and paws. Tentacles ring the paws and make up its tail. It has no eyes, keen hearing and sense of smell, and a toothy maw. To entice its prey, it whines like a small animal in distress. Cheese in the trap was the only open source photo I could find that fit the bill for that last element.

Day 7 - Which quote inspires you most? I've been asked to share a quote about writing or editing several times before and since so many are great, I've really enjoyed sharing a variety. I can't just pick one favorite and I still couldn't this time.

You might be wondering what quotes have to do with writing anything of your own. Don't underestimate the power of building up your spirit up with some strong words. The work gets harder as you go along, or at least, more intense. I shared two quotes I found today that really made me smile. They also inspire me to keep going.

If you read this far, thank you so much for your interest in what I have to say and in my work process. I'll share a slideshow of all the collages at the end of the month so you can see them.

If you are following my facebook author page, know that I'm considering dropping facebook from my life. It's far too time consuming and while it's great for connections, I find I do much better on forums focused totally on writing. I'll definitely keep you posted so you'll know when to expect my absence from there, probably February 1st or close to that date.

Thanks again for stopping by and reading and for your continued support. I truly appreciate it!