I’m a visual person, that is I like to see how things are done or look upon people with my own eyes rather than simply read about them or read how something is put together. When it comes to reading directions…let’s just say that my engineer husband and computer-programmer son are careful to read such things before they begin a project or try to operate new machinery. I, on the other hand, would rather figure it out by pressing buttons and holding things in my hands. I will read the directions if there is a chance I will break something. But give me hands-on instruction any day.

When I’m reading a book, I cannot see the characters (unless they are portrayed on the cover) but if the author weaves descriptions well, I can visualize the people and scenes as I read. Almost like seeing it playing out as a movie in my head. The same thing happens as I write. I want to be there, in the scene with the characters. But when I write, I need to see my characters with my eyes in order to describe them to readers who don’t have my Idea Board sitting in front of them.
(This is the Idea Board or Character Collage for my historical suspense Mourning at Midnight, which hasn’t sold yet.)

When I began writing twenty years ago, I just wrote what I imagined. I didn’t know I was a visual person back then and didn’t realize that my writing held little color and life. Thankfully, I’ve learned a few things since and one of them is that I need visuals!

For Michal, I do have a few pictures scattered on a bulletin board that I referred to now and then. But as I wrote other books in other genres, my friend Deb Raney introduced me to what she called an Idea Board. She sent me pictures of some of her Idea Boards, inspiring me to make my own. Right now, the Idea Board for my suspense Buried sits above my computer screen. It is time to replace it with Abigail.

So I’ve been casting characters. Much like a movie director searches for actors and actresses to play the roles in his film, I’ve been searching the Internet for pictures of Jewish actors and actresses to fit the roles of David, Abigail, and the many other members of Abigail’s cast. In the past, I flipped through clothing catalogs for my characters. This time I wanted each one to have a Jewish heritage. I was amazed at how many members of the acting community have Jewish roots. It was a fun discovery!

The hardest part has been finding men with long hair and beards. I suppose if I knew how to use Photo Shop, and if it wasn’t a lengthy process, I could have added the necessary beards or removed glasses, etc., but it has already taken me a week to cast my characters. I didn’t want it to take a month! (They would not have worn wire-rimmed glasses in 1000 B.C.)

And of course, the two starring roles, particularly David since he is in all three books, was hardest to cast. I had been through dozens of photos searching for the right actor when I complained to my oldest son, Jeff, how difficult this was. He thought about it for all of two seconds and gave me a suggestion. We didn’t know whether the man was Jewish or not, but he had played a Jewish agent in a well-known film, cast by Jewish director Steven Spielberg. I figured if Steve Spielberg could be satisfied by this guy’s image, so could I. Besides, he’s a perfect fit!

I’m still working on who gets the role of Nabal, but I’m nearly ready to put the Idea Board together. This is the fun part of writing for me and something I refer to constantly for inspiration. The cards along the side of the board in the picture were character cards I made with the details and motives of each character. I don’t always make these cards, but they do help when you’re trying to remember how tall your character is or what year they were born! Hair color and eye color are easy – I just look at the picture!

I’ve felt a little like I’m picking out the players for the movie versions of my books, though I have no idea if they would ever even be optioned for film. And if they were, it’s not likely I’d get to pick the lead roles. But I can for my books, so I will! :)