Enchant Me

by Margie Senechal

We talk a lot about inspiration on this blog. Kristi loves her playlists--creating one for each project. And while I usually find one or two songs that sort of fit my work-in-progress, I never find an entire playlist.

I'm more of a visual person, anyway. When the girls were little and got stuck on a word, I couldn't tell them what it was by having them read it to me--I had to look at it. "Wait until we come to a red light." Because for some reason, they always got stuck on a word while I was driving.

So, my inspiration or things that keep me on track are visual cues.

My current WIP, Chrysalis, is the story of a young woman emerging from the cocoon that is her life.
 
When we meet Analise, she's surrounded by empty suitcases, disbanded dreams, and an expiring passport. She's stuck in a life she didn't imagine when she obtained her passport and she doesn't see a way out.

A chance meeting has Ana reevaluating her life and her choices or lack thereof. If she wants to start living "her" life, she'll have to find the inner strength to break out of the shell and emerge a strong butterfly.
 
I knew there was a love interest--or an interested love. And when I saw this meme with the Tangled picture, I knew who my hero was from the words. Before--I had known that he'd had a crush on Ana for a long time, but this brought it home for me.


Another visual cue is that on the top of each chapter I write, "Enchant Me". Because that's the goal of this book. I want to write an enchanting book in the vein of Sarah Addison Allen or Suzanne Palmieri. So, yes, I'm putting a little touch of the mystical within.

I do have a couple of songs that make me think of Ana when I hear them on the radio and I printed out the lyrics--again with the visual.

Kelly Clarkson's Breakaway, Anna Kendrick's Cups and the newer Fight Song by Rachel Platten.

And just for the record, yes, I made coaster out of these memes, along with a couple of others that have copyrights, so I couldn't share them here. And I have them propped up around my desk to inspire me:)