Sometimes, my dayjob takes me to the far corners of the world. It is an opportunity to experience other cultures and meet new people. This time it was South-Africa, that was up for a visit. A place I had never been before.
The schedule of these trips often don’t leave much room to write, apart from the time I’m stuck in an airplane, that is. But, my writing brain is never far in the back of my mind, as I observe the landscape, read up on the history of the people and speak to the locals. With my heart close to nature, I enjoy the trips “into the wild” the most. I love to scan the terrain, spot wildlife, imagine how life could be when having to start an entirely new civilization there. How would people build? What idols would they worship? In my head dragons soar between the mountains, predators stalk the landscape, insects scurry along the ground as small critters feast on them and birds of all sizes observe everything from their viewpoints up high.
So, as I observe, my inspiration meter fills bit by bit. It helps me get ready to fill in the little details of my stories—to make the world feel more alive and real. Luck would have it that ‘Wavebreaker’, the second book in the Stone War Chronicles, plays a large part of the story in surroundings that are inspired by Africa. From deserts to dry grass plains filled with shrubbery. I’ll admit, the jungles of mid-Africa are kept for a latter book, but the savannas with their herds of animals make an ideal environment for what I have in store for the second main character.
I recently did a trip to Africa. Besides the friendly people and wonderful food, the trip also gave plenty of inspiration for my second book Wavebreaker.
As you can probably see, I’m certainly no professional photographer. All of the pictures are quickly taken with my mobile phone. I decided long ago that I would leave the art of capturing an image to others with a little (alright a lot) more feel for it. Still, I wanted to share a few images with you all. If only to give an impression of my trip. The images and my notes will help me remember all the fine details I encountered. Little reminders that will should assist in giving the reader another rich and worthy story to experience. Which reminds me, I better get back to it. 🙂
– A.J. Norfield
