Setting the Scene

     I love where I live, and this Spring I have fallen even more in love with it.  I am surrounded by a variety of settings.  I can see everything from a bustling city to a quite small town community.  There are rocky river beaches and sandy shorelines along the ocean.  Every day I pass both developed neighborhoods and old farms and farm houses.  And to top it all off I'm surrounded by countless historical sites.  Having this huge variety is amazing as a writer.  Any time I go anywhere I can't help but create stories in my head to match the area I'm in.  I find myself asking what types of characters would live in whatever place I may be at the time.  I wonder at what sorts of exciting things could take place. 
     Lately I have been trying to focus on the little details that can pull a reader into the story, a lot of times that includes the character's surroundings.  As I drive across a bridge and see the waves splashing onto the rocky edges of the river I try and picture myself sitting there and think of all the things I would see, feel, and hear.  When I drive by the edge of a forest I think of what a person might experience while in those trees.  Would they be running from someone or something?  Could they be on a leisurely walk?  Or perhaps they are exploring and seeking some lost treasure.  I feel like this has opened up my mind's eye to a whole new level of writing.  Now I feel like whenever I go anywhere I have a new story pop into my head.  It sort of makes every outing a bit of an adventure.