I see movies in my head

Every author has a different way of writing and putting their ideas and characters on paper. I thought I'd share mine today and give you a little idea of how I view my world and characters.


In ancient times, the Egyptians flourished because of the Nile river, which kept their land fertile and abundant. Just think how difficult and hard life would've been without the Nile. As a writer, your need is very similar. In order to become a good writer (in my very own humble opinion), you need your own personal Nile river. You need to be able to keep a never ending 'river' of ideas. You could also call it inspiration, and that inspiration can come from anywhere and be anything. Alot of authors use music to help them create a steady, healthy flow of inspiration.


Most of the time, ideas come while I'm in the car listening to music and thinking about nothing in general. Inspiration often strikes me at work too, if I'm not already thinking about something. I think keeping a clear mind helps. Life often likes to take up alot of space in our minds, leaving little room for anything else. Music helps me "empty out the trash" in my head so that ideas have room to occupy my thoughts. 


However, I write while listening to music occasionally. The music has to match perfectly with the scene I'm writing, otherwise I get distracted and the writing process becomes slow and tedious. Writing itself is hard and requires alot of effort but I believe it should be fun and rewarding. There's nothing I love more than going back to a scene I wrote and completely falling in love with it. :)


But, what happens when I do get ideas? Like the title says, I basically see my ideas and characters as if they were in an actual movie. For example the book I'm currently writing, in order for me to write a scene, I have to be able to see that scene in my head first.  I literally have to see the characters acting out an imaginary "script", composing of ideas from my inspiration river, so that I can see where the story is going. This is a key element of writing for me, because without it, it becomes very difficult and near impossible for me to write. But once I have those moving pictures going, writing becomes easy and fun. I say easy, because I'm not stumbling around for ideas or wondering "what's going to happen next??" because I'm seeing it happen as I write it.


So hopefully you've enjoyed this peek into the window of my world. :)