Welcome back!
As I mention in this month’s Current Projects post, I lost all of the photos that were being saved up for future Inspiration articles when my laptop had an unforeseen BSOD issue. Until I can go out and get more pictures (or at least revisit the sites I had gone to), I will be forced to use older pictures I had saved elsewhere, or content from other sources.
As for a subject, it came to me after having written a few posts for November. Earlier this month, I was at a loss when it came to a theme, but one finally surfaced as I was revising my Current Projects and By the Book entries: Forests.
© Linda Little 2015
One of my favorite spots in the world is the Opeongo Mountain resort, where our family goes camping every year. The pictures which will be displayed here are from the various woodlands on or surrounding the campground, taken during different times of the year (between May and October), so they will vary in appearance. Hope you enjoy them.
First, we will take a look at the most prominent aspect of a forest: trees. I won’t go into extreme details on the components, types and such, or else this post would be taking up several hundred pages. Besides, how many of us actually know all that much about trees? These are details that not every character in the story you are telling should know. So instead, I will stick to what “Joe Everyman” would notice at a glance.
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
Paying close attention to trunks, branch formations, bark texture, shape and color of leaves, are all details than can help scenery descriptions in a story. Unfortunately, since most of these photos were taken in the same general area, I do not have a large variety of flora to show you.
What is most obvious from the following pictures is the difference between trees in a forest, and trees in a field. When surrounded by something that is obstructing their source of light (like other trees), a trees will shoot straight up in order to try and get as much light as possible. Whereas trees in the middle of a field or lot will spread its branches in every direction.
Before using descriptions of vegetation in your story, I recommend doing research online or, even better, go out and get a closer look yourself.
Next we have water. The following pictures will show different bodies of water found near Opeongo Resort, such as Clear Lake and Bonnechere Valley River. Water will look and feel different depending on the source, so it is important to pay attention to it when trying to describe it in writing.
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
Again, I did not have much variety in these pictures from camping (just one river and one lake), so in order to add a little more contrast, I included a few pictures of a swamp called Mer Blue Bog (photos courtesy of Linda). The pictures help give us a better idea of the difference between standing and cascading water.
For the last section of this post, I included a few random close up shots. These pictures really help us appreciate the details we can find in nature.
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
© Linda Little 2015
Getting a good feel for describing a forest setting can be important to a large variety of stories, such a Sword & Sorcery type fantasies, Horror stories taking place in isolated settings or Historical tales which happened before the arrival of technology.
That is all for this month's Inspiration post. In closing I would like to thank my wife Linda, for helping me by supplying some of the photos that were used in this post.
Until next time.
Cheers
Patrick Osborne.
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