God's World and Our Imagination

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. --the Bible

As an author, I marvel at the sights of this beautiful planet. 

My imagination soars with the heights and floats with the breeze and waves. 

I imagine my established characters, and sometimes new ones, in these scenes.

Pictures and scenes are one of the greatest ways to foster ideas. 

I take LOTS of pictures in our travels. 

Some of them have made it into videos of my books. 

Others serve to keep my mind agile and brisk with ideas. 

Tell me, what kind of story ideas do these pictures give you?

Do you see a young couple hiking in the northwest? 

What troubles do they stumble into? 

A dead body? A raging fire? Kidnapping? Finding themselves with new purpose? 

Do you imagine a family camping here and encountering wild creatures? 

Fishing? Hunting? 

Or can you see something entirely different?

For me, this one says: 

Set in Mexico, in a missionary setting, a young girl meets two very different impressive men, 

but which one is the right one--for her? 

Then, she must also figure out which one is the drug lord... 

Can she do both--and survive?

What do you imagine here happening?

An Amish story? An 1800s novel? A wagon train passing through? 

Or perhaps a country farm setting with a wife who dabbles in mystery problems in the nearby town?

To me, I can see another story I've begun and hope to finish soon, set during the late 1800s, Destiny and Michael riding their horses through one of the fields he owns, arguing, both strong people who must decipher whose father was the gold thief and find love in the midst of their suspicions.

In this one, what does this scene depict in your mind?

A scary situation? Mystery? A lost child? Can you feel the terror? 

Do crazy thoughts of someone jumping out at you lurk in your imagination? 

Can you see children in an adventure book strolling this path?

To me, I can see in my Alex and Denton Davies series, the two of them walking this semi-dark woodland pathway, searching for clues or chasing after a suspect.

And one last one to stir your creative juices...

Does this bring to mind a warm, cozy feeling? 

Can you see an abominable snowmen lurking close by? 

Or can you see a couple meeting on the ski slopes? 

A family adventure? A lonely older person meeting his soul mate? 

I see a mountain lodge where a female detective looks for a psycho suspect and runs smack dab into a love she hadn't planned on. But can she find the bad person...and keep the love?

Can you see how we can use pictures and images to further our writing, 

to increase our creative juices, to spur us to keep writing, 

and to give us the encouragement we need when we're stumped?

Take advantage of everything and all things that keep you writing.

Tell me, what do YOU see in these pictures? 

What do you use to sit down at your writing desk and 

add a few more pages to your document?

Use that imagination!

Happy writing blessings!