Today I’m happy to present a guest post on world-building by fellow Inkspell author Sasha Summers, who has not one, but two new books out.
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Hi Stephanie – THANK YOU for having me on your wonderful blog. And thank you for letting me gush about the things that help me write.
I have two things I must do when I’m writing a book:
- Create a playlist or soundtrack
- Create a cast or story-board of sorts. Now I use Pinterest for this since there’s pretty much anything a gal could need for making an ideal storyboard! *I heart Pinterest!*
So the playlist… When I’m writing contemporary romance, I tend to pull songs that have lyrics. I’m not sure why, but lyrics don’t interrupt my flow… when I’m writing contemporary that is. Here are a couple of songs that were looped while writing my upcoming release, Hollywood Ever After:
When I’m writing my fantasy novels – it’s rare for me to have songs with lyrics. I’m not sure why this is? These also tend to be kind of heavy and moody to really help pull me back in time to ancient Greece, Olympus, the complete package. Here are a few songs from my Medusa, A Love Story soundtrack:
You can find more of my playlist on YouTube [sasha writes].
Now, on to my story-board… This is way too much fun – even if it is a serious part of my writing process. I’m kind of a movie-holic, so I tend to pull my characters from actors and actresses. You can find all of my book storyboards on Pinterest.
Images for Hollywood Ever After:
Images for Medusa:
You can feel, I think, the difference in the books and styles they’re written in.
Regardless of the genre – these two pieces (soundtrack and story-boards) are essential to me. Thanks for letting me share, Stephanie.
*** Please note: Hollywood Ever After is not a young adult novel. If it was a movie, it would be rated ‘R’ for mature content. Medusa, A Love Story is a solid PG-13. ***
You can find me here:
- Website/Blog: www.sashasummers.com
- FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sasha-Summers-Author/213036208773108
- Twitter: @sashawrites
Stephanie Lawton 
Sasha, thanks for the tips. I love the story board idea – guess I’m going to have to get busy on Pinterest. But music, even without lyrics, distracts me too much. I’m too much in my own head when I write and music pulls me out. I sing along! So I’m fascinated that soundtrack plays such an important role for you.
Hi Willa! I’m the same way. I can’t listen WHILE writing, but I make and listen to playlists when doing other things like driving, making dinner, etc. to help get me “in the mood” of the writing. Thanks for commenting!
Hi, Sasha. I definitely need music as well – I plug in the ipod and headphones and it helps me tune out the world and be immersed in the story. I use a binder for each novel with sections for character inspiration (actors/actresses), scenery, plot, research, etc. Helps keep me organized, and so I don’t get lost surfing…I mean researching on the internet while I’m supposed to be writing. 🙂
Although, for my current WIP, since it’s a trilogy, I found myself jotting notes for each book on index cards and pinning them on a bulletin board. (Note to self: Need a bigger board!)
I do love the variety of pics on Pinterest as well, and have pulled many things to inspire me there.
LOVED Medusa and HEA!
Oh Sasha, we think so much alike! I also have to have ‘mood’ music and the pictures of my ‘characters’. That’s half the fun…finding your muse her playmates for the duration of the story.
Thank you for having me on your blog Stephanie! This was a really fun post to write and share. Lots of of great comments. Love all the creativity out there! 🙂
Oh, yeah–music and pictures. I just have a hard time coming up with the words to go with them. Sasha makes it look easy.
Love this post and the comments! It’s so fun to hear how other writers do it ;). I definitely do the mood music and I totally heart Pinterest!