Something you might know about me at this point is that I love world-building. World-building is a skill I have been working on developing, and I have been enjoying it immensely! So, today, I thought it would be fun to chat about one of the things I use for world-building, concept photos!
I grew up in the northwest. If you have ever been there, you probably know at least two things. It rains a lot, and it is beautiful! The stunning mountains, trees, rivers, and waterfalls are magnificent! In any direction, you can find some of the most beautiful views, some only if you are willing to hike a bit. But there is greenery and scenery everywhere. The northwest will always hold a special place in my heart, and I am so excited because I got a chance to go back for a visit!
Working in Washington
The northwest corner of the USA is a place that will always play a role in my writing. Many scenes in my books involve forests and woods, and the Forest in the Arlin Trilogy books was actually inspired by the forests I used to trek through as a kid! They were thick and full of plants with berries, small creatures, deer, and trails. I used to love riding horses through those forests! These days, living in the opposite corner of the continent, I don’t interact with forests as much. At least not in the way I once did. Here in Florida, there is a big tick problem, so while I am surrounded by oak forests and jungle, I don’t tend to trek through them as much as I might in the northwest. Because I often use inspiration from the nature around me, I was missing the northwest recently when I started developing a story that takes place mainly in a snowy mountainous region. Florida is very flat. It is hard to get visuals of mountains in a state whose highest point is the lowest high point in the country. So, when I got the chance to go back to Washington State for a visit, I jumped on it right away!
Getting Inspiration
Getting inspiration for my books through photos is something that I actually learned to do on the beaches of Florida. One day, I took a close-up photo of a rock that made it look bigger than it really was. It looked like a massive cliff in the ocean! It was so cool that I started imagining what stories I might tell in a place that looked like that. Imagining stories based on that one rock made me think about the stories I was already working on. From then on, I began to see the beach as a great place to get pictures of cliffs! I know that sounds funny, but here are a couple examples.
That being said, mountains are different. There don’t seem to be any places in Florida to get that “mountain” look, even on a small scale. When I realized I would be returning to the northwest this year, I decided now was my chance to see what photos I could get for concept art!
It is not hard to be inspired when in the northwest. The mountains are stunning, especially when they are covered in snow! Right now, I am looking for some good places to take concept photos for two different locations in a new book I am working on. One location includes snowy mountains, and the other is a river surrounded by rocks and cliffs! I might have to go farther north to find that second one, but we will see what happens!
If you want to see some concept photos for the book I am currently working on, join my email list! I often share the photos the closer I get to publishing the book!
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