Using Photos for a Jump-Start

Heavy black clouds of dust rising over the Texas Panhandle, photographed by Arthur Rothstein in 1936. (Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA/OWI Collection)

I begin writing by looking.

Every book comes with its own set of possibilities and problems. The right format must be found. Fiction must be reconciled with sometimes pesky fact.

Elusive characters must be brought to life, and there is no one single best way to do that. More often than not, though, for me it’s a visual p...