Do you use images to inspire your writing?
I plan to have horses in the series I'm working on (necessary due to the end of technology based on electricity or controlled explosions). I was doing a little research about what breed and found this picture and now I'm hankering for the time to write about this beauty!
https://www.holistapet.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/piebald-horse-1.jpg
BTW, though the url for the picture says piebald, I don't think that's right, at least not according to the article. "Piebald" apparently means black-and-white only.
I don't think that's right, at least not according to the article. "Piebald" apparently means black-and-white only.
What article?
According to this one ( https://grammarist.com/usage/piebald-skewbald-pinto-or-paint/ ):
A piebald horse is a horse with colored splotches on a white background, primarily black splotches on a white background. The skin under the darker splotches may or may not be pigmented, the skin under the white background is not pigmented.
Primarily black is not exclusively black.
More generally piebaldism is a form of partial albinism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piebaldism
Piebaldism refers to the absence of mature melanin-forming cells (melanocytes) in certain areas of the skin and hair. It is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of melanocyte development.[2]: 867 Common characteristics include a congenital white forelock, scattered normal pigmented and hypopigmented macules and a triangular shaped depigmented patch on the forehead. There is nevertheless great variation in the degree and pattern of presentation, even within affected families. In some cases, piebaldism occurs together with severe developmental problems, as in Waardenburg syndrome and Hirschsprung's disease.
Piebaldism has been documented to occur in all races, and is found in nearly every species of mammal. The condition is very common in mice, rabbits, dogs, sheep, deer, cattle and horses—where selective breeding has increased the incidence of the mutation—but occurs among chimpanzees and other primates only as rarely as among humans. Piebaldism is unrelated to conditions such as vitiligo or poliosis.
I was going by the article that I got the picture from, although the link I posted is just to the picture, which calls the horse piebald despite what's in the article, thus my disclaimer. This is the article: https://www.holistapet.com/horse-breeds/piebald/
I did look at another article or two and got the impression that the "white splotches on black" is the generally accepted but not universal version. Both "piebald" and "skewbald" are strictly about coloration, not a breed.
I did look at another article or two and got the impression that the "white splotches on black" is the generally accepted but not universal version. Both "piebald" and "skewbald" are strictly about coloration, not a breed.
As per the second link I posted, piebaldism is actually a form of partial albinoism. It can affect any horse of any breed and any color.
You have to distinguish between piebaldism and piebald as a recognized color/pattern for certain breeds.
A horse with either can accurately be called piebald.
Looking at the article you were referring to, I think you need to pay attention to this:
When it comes to horses, a piebald horse is an exclusively black horse with white spots. British English uses this term the most often. In North American English, piebald horses are sometimes called "pinto."
In point of fact, as someone from the US, pinto is the only term I've heard for a black/white horse not suffering from piebaldism.
Thanks. I mostly just love the image and the thought of taking inspiration from it when I get to that point. Beautiful picture, beautiful animal. I'll probably use "skewbald" in the description because it seem to fit with common usage, it's an unusual term readers might enjoy learning, and I like the sound of the word!
I can think of three possibilities.
1) Human male and piebald mare.
2) Human female and piebald stallion.
3) The story is purely about equines with anthropogenic values and eroticism.
;-)
AJ
Pam Uphoff has intelligent, magical, telepathic horses in her "Wine of the Gods" series. They become friends with magical, telepathic humans, but they're focused on horsey things - including breeding the "dumb" horses. I thought her approach was fun, and it may end up influencing mine.
A bald pie doesn't have a top crust. Probably works better for frozen confections that didn't have to cook for considerable time, like cheesecake type pies or ones with ice cream.
Do you use images to inspire your writing?
As references for descriptions, sometimes. For inspiration, not really.
Often I see a movie, a poster or book cover showing characters in a story I have already read, and they are sooooo unlike how the characters are in my head that it's really jarring.
But if I see the movie casting or book covers before I read the story, then the characters playing in my head look like those depicted.
A few times characters in my own stories are so real to me that I have a very strong idea in my head or how they look and dress. And sometimes that is influenced by people I've seen, often just characterful (clothed!) pictures of people I've seen online.
I wonder if putting pictures of the story characters in a preface on SOL would help the audience all think of the characters the same way and draw people in?
I wonder if putting pictures of the story characters in a preface on SOL would help the audience all think of the characters the same way and draw people in?
I can think of reasons not to do it. The author might consider their lead female to be absolutely stunning, while someone seeing the image might think she's overweight and tarty. Sometimes it's better to let readers give their imaginations free rein.
AJ
I'm with AJ on this one. I use pictures for some of my main characters because it helps make them real to me and, I hope, helps me lock in their personalities, strengths, and values so that I convey them consistently. If I do that, then I hope readers will construct whatever picture they need to go with the descriptions I give so that the characters come alive to them.
AJ's example fits perfectly for me. One of my main female characters is someone I describe as thinking of herself as overweight, but the her male lover sees her as gorgeous and "Rubenesque." I've got a picture for her that conveys this to me, but readers might easily look at it and see something entirely different. So, picture for me, descriptions in the book, and hopefully readers create their own!
