Story Collages

    Sometimes it helps to visualize a character before writing. Since I teach as well as write, I sometimes have gaps of time during which I do not get to work on my projects much. So creating a collage of images from clip art, magazines, and sometimes even crude drawings, helps me get back “into” the world and characters. Then I can quickly pick up the voice and begin writing.
    While talking about creating characters with a group of friends who write, I mentioned my collages. I expected them to react as if I were simply procrastinating. Instead, they wanted to know more.
    So, yesterday we gathered at my home to create these collages. Everyone brought magazines and I showed several of my previous collages. Then we began browsing magazines, ripping out images, cutting, exchanging, and pasting.
    Everyone’s collage reflected her own style. One focused on all the characters for a new project. Another pasted people and items that each character would own into a journal. Another, who writes picture books, made a composite of children the age of the main character to help visualize the reader. Another focused on facts about different characters and found images to represent those character traits. My collages blend character, setting, and items to represent character traits. No white space is visible in my collages; images overlap and pieces flow over the edge of the paper. I also include words to represent the theme or events of the story.
    It was interesting to see how each writer will use these  images to reconnect with a project. The characters and these collages are as diverse and unique as the writers creating them. Not only did this provide insight into my own characters but into the creativity of each of my writer friends.