I am a visual person and I find that using these visual cues helps my writing enormously. For example, if I am using a location I’ve never visited before, finding images of the location really helps. Google Maps is another great visual aid if your location has a street view option. Movies, videos, paintings can all really help to enhance the experience and provide the stimulus you need to write about the place.

One of my favorite visual aids is what I call a character collage. Since I tend to write character driven stories, I believe that having a firm grip on who my characters are is a priority – even before I sit down and start writing. Putting together a collage is very easy and can be a lot of fun. Personally, I prefer to have a physical collage that I can hang on my wall, but there is no reason you can’t do a digital one, if that’s your preference.

Creating your collage

Creating your character collage is pretty simple. You can start by grabbing a stack of magazines (if you don’t have them lying around, check your local thrift store or library for cheap or even free magazines) and flipping through them for images of people who match how you envision your characters. How about the blonde in the car ad; is she perfect for your main character or her funny sidekick? The dog chowing down in that Purina ad looks just how you envisioned your main character’s beloved pet.

But don’t limit your clippings to images of people; clip out anything that relates to your characters; the cars they drive, the homes they live in, the coffee shops they frequent, the bars they play pool in, the parks they play baseball at. You needn’t stop with pictures either. Is your character sentimental? Would she save ticket stubs, or dry the flowers from her high school prom? Does she have a favorite recipe? Poem? Book? This is your collage so you can add anything you like and anything that is going to conjure up your characters for you.  

Putting your collage together 

There is no right or wrong way to put your collage together, but these are the steps I use:

1. Mark out a section for each character on a large piece of poster board. 

2. Mark each section with each respective character’s name. 

3. Assemble your items in a way that reflects your character to you, then attach using glue, tape or thumbtacks.

4. For characters who have long life spans, select pictures that reflect them as they age and grow.   

5. Continue this process until the collage feels done. You can always add more later.

6. You can include all your characters in your collage if you like but that may require several boards or an entire wall. I try to stick to just the main characters, but it’s your choice.

7. Make your collage as general or detailed as you like. The collage is for you and to help you stay in touch with your characters.  

Does it do the job?

After you’ve finished. mount the board near your writing space and then step back. Does it work? Does it help bring your characters to life in your mind? If so, then yay, you’ve done it. If it doesn’t, try reworking it until it does. Character collages may not work for all writers. but it’s one way of keeping your characters fresh in your mind and inspiring you to write their story.