I’ve heard it said that some books are very cinematic, and I agree.  Some authors create worlds so vivid that I see them in my mind as I read.  Many times readers are disappointed in actual film adaptations of their favorite books, partly because it doesn’t fit what they saw in their minds, and partly because you can’t always portray the book as fully in film as the written page.

When I write I hear the dialog, and as I get to know my characters I begin to see them in my head.  With Feisty Family Values the pictures in my head were of people I knew that physically reminded me of the character – my feisty little friend Kim was who I pictured when I wrote about Tillie, only with white hair.  One of my instructors always glides into a room, and wears bangles and broomstick skirts, so she’s who I thought of when I was writing Regina.  However, Annabelle was a culmination of my grandmother and what I pictured in my head of the consummate grandmother figure from my childhood.  She was pretty much imaginary, but vivid.

Once I began to get to know my characters they morphed and my friends were no longer prominent. The characters came alive, in my head, of course.  One of my first readers is a very pragmatic person and always laughed when I talked about my characters as if they were “real” people.  She’d roll her eyes, too.  Once Feisty Family Values was polished and then published she read it again, and this time they came to life for her.  She even called me one Sunday morning when she saw a lady who made her think of Annabelle in a flowered dress with her pocketbook on her arm, probably on her way to church.

I’ve often read authors who said they felt like they were the scribe and the characters were telling the story.  To some degree that came true for me also.  As the story grew and the characters became more familiar the pictures in my mind became even more distinct.  So, if you as a writer have trouble picturing the character or scene in your mind then the reader may have difficulty as well.  Make your story come alive using all the senses and clear descriptions.  Hum, I think I’d better check for that in the new novel (Patchwork Family) I’m editing now, just to be sure I can “see” things clearly.

Enjoy the journey.