Hi friends!
Happy Wednesday! I always look forward to my days with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and spend a little of your day with me.
Thank you so incredibly much for your amazing support of my new release, One Wrong Move! I so appreciate you taking the time to read Christian and Andi’s adventure and for sharing it, too! Plus, the amazing amount of reviews has been such a blessing and so humbling. You guys are the best!
Many of you have kindly asked what’s coming next. I’m happy to announce I’m working on book two of the Jeopardy Falls series! This is my favorite stage of a story’s progress. The creative “play” time. It’s when there’s a blank slate, and all the possibilities lay open before me.
It’s both fun and daunting. I get to dream about everything that may or may not go in the story, but there is a fear that what I envision in my head…all the possibilities won’t come to fruition on the page. That I won’t be able to tell the story as well as I hope.
However, at this stage, I push that fear aside. (It comes back as the internal editor I constantly have to shush, but that’s another blog post.) So I push it aside, and like a kid in a candy store, I go wild. I play with the characters, with my ideas for scenes, with all sorts of inspiration.
Today, I thought I’d share two of the main sources of inspiration I delve into during this stage in the process.
First, I’m super visual, so I like to make a collage of how I envision the characters, setting, and “snapshots” of the feel I want the story to evoke.
If you’ve read One Wrong Move, you might be able to guess what couple book two is about from the pictures below. I’m also tactical, so instead of starting with a Pinterest inspiration board, which I do closer to a book’s release, I go old school. I print out pictures and attach them either to a corkboard or a posterboard. Here’s just the really rough start of book two’s board.
Next, I put together a soundtrack that I play before writing or during revisions. I can’t write with music playing during my first draft unless it’s instrumental. I’ve already collected a solid handful of songs for book two. Here’s one of them that really speaks to one of the characters’ faith journeys. It’s one of my favorite songs, too.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind-the-scenes peek at how I begin a story.
Reader Question:
What is something that inspires you?
Blessings,
Dani
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Loved getting to see some of your inspiration board for book two!
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I love inspiration boards and music.
Aren’t they so fun?
Love your inspiration board! Music is definitely inspiring to me when I am writing. I can listen to lyric-filled music when writing, but it has to be a playlist that I know all the songs in so I can tune it out, and it has to fit the book’s theme. 🙂 I love the song There Was Jesus. It is so beautiful, and Dolly’s voice is perfection. My newest favorite song is Counting My Blessings by Seph Schlueter.
Awww. Thanks so much, Gena. Music is wonderful and so inspirational. I haven’t heard that song yet, but going to check it out now. Thanks so much for sharing.
I love making character graphics and book soundtracks to inspire me as I write! Though it can easily become an avenue for procrastination🤪 One of my favorite ways to get inspired is to go out and think about how I would describe the scenery, people, and other things around me. Whether it’s by the ocean or at the grocery store, I find that there’s always something that can spark an idea for a story (even if it’s the couple arguing across from me in the airport lounge😂).
Can’t wait to dive into your new series!