Tag Archive - Image Systems

Turn the Core Idea of Your Novel into an Image System

On Throwback Thursdays, we’re looking at excerpts from past posts on Live Write Thrive. Today’s post comes from Getting to the Core Idea in your Novel.

As we continue on with exploring cinematic secrets that can supercharge your novel, we’re going to focus on something that is crucial to filmmakers, and that is getting a clear vision for the story.

Novelists, just like filmmakers, need to truly understand the story they are trying to tell and what impact or take-home feeling or message they want to leave with their readers. Just coming up with a neat idea for a novel is only the first step, and is no guarantee they will have a terrific book. Continue Reading…

How Novelists Can Create Image Systems for their Story

Last week, we touched on a concept called Image Systems, which is something filmmakers consider when preparing to shoot their movie. Image systems can be made up of many different types of components, and by looking at some movies with powerful image systems, hopefully you will get some ideas of how you can do similarly with your novel. Using an assortment of these “building blocks” can give deeper meaning to your overall story.

In the movie The Sixth Sense, writer/director Shyamalan uses red to link with the supernatural. In every scene in which something “beyond the veil” is shown, you’ll find an object in red: a balloon, a sweater, a tent, and many others. Using a repeated color is probably the most common element in an image system, which makes sense with movies, since they are so visual. Continue Reading…

Getting to the Core Idea in your Novel

As we continue on with exploring cinematic secrets that can supercharge your novel, we’re going to focus on something that is crucial to filmmakers, and that is getting a clear vision for the story.

Novelists, just like filmmakers, need to truly understand the story they are trying to tell and what impact or take-home feeling or message they want to leave with their readers. Just coming up with a neat idea for a novel is only the first step, and is no guarantee they will have a terrific book. Continue Reading…