Hi everyone! I'm author and photographer based in Italy. After publishing my first two novels (The Silent Mask - set in Venice, and Death on Monte Bignone - set in Ligurian alps) , I'm now working on my third story inspired by the Aosta Valley. My projects often blend cinematic landscapes with emotional storytelling. I'd love to hear how others combine visual inspiration and writing - do you also draw from photography or real places for your scripts/books?
Cheers from Sanremo, Italy
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Welcome to the community, Franco Decker. Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...
And Stage 32’s next Community Open House is happening on October 29th (www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-s-october-community-open-hou...). It's free, and it'll help you navigate Stage 32 and connect with creatives and industry pros. There's going to be a live Q&A during the Open House.
Congratulations on publishing two novels and starting your third! I draw from photos, videos, real places, my life, history, and social media for my scripts.
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Ciao e Benvenuto ;)
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Thank you Maurice. I’ll definitely check out the blog and the Open House, sounds great.
Really interesting to hear how you draw from photos and real places too — I often start my stories from landscapes that stay in my mind for years.
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Grazie, Ugo! Nice to meet another creative soul from Italy :) Tanti saluti)
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You're welcome, Franco Decker. Great. And I'm a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. If you ever have any questions about Stage 32, let me or another Lounge Moderator know. We have badges on our pictures. Or you could email support@stage32.com.
That's a great method! I build stories around people, objects, and places in photos, videos, etc.
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Hi Maurice,
thanks so much for your message and for the warm welcome!
I really appreciate your support — and good to know you’re a Lounge Moderator, I might take you up on that sometime.
I totally agree about building stories from photos and places — that’s exactly how most of my ideas start too.
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You're welcome, Franco Decker. Hope you have success on here! I'll see you around Stage 32!
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I love to travel in scenic writing - can't wait to read your books Franco Decker! My book, Coffee Cups & Wine Glasses, takes readers into the Appalachian Mountains and introduces them to some hillbilly culture in absurd situations. Now that you mention it - the scenery/landscape is as important as what happens to the characters in the location. Thank you for making us stop to think about that!
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Hi! I often use Google Maps panoramas to find interesting locations and buildings.
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Thank you all for the wonderful comments and ideas here — it’s truly inspiring to read how many of us draw creative energy from landscapes, real places, or visual impressions.
@Debbie – your Appalachian setting sounds amazing, and I completely agree: scenery can carry the same emotional weight as a character.
@Arthur – I loved your Google Maps approach! It’s a brilliant way to explore atmosphere before writing.
As a photographer, I’ve visited many places over the years, and every trip leaves me with new images and emotions that later find their way into my stories.
It’s fascinating how visual memories can quietly shape the tone of a scene.
Great to feel this creative energy here on Stage32 — thank you all for sharing!
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Hi Franco,
Your journey sounds incredibly inspiring — especially the blend of photography and storytelling. I'm currently working on several screenplays, and I’ve noticed something: I often “see” individual scenes as cinematic moments — with angles, light, movement — but I can’t always visualize the entire film all at once.
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As both a photographer and writer — do you visualize your whole story as a film from the start? Or does it also come to you in fragments, like frames or stills?
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I’ve never seen this topic discussed before, and I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Warm wishes from the other side of the lens.
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Thank you, Nataly — such a beautiful question.
For me, a story rarely appears as a full film in my mind. It begins with fragments — a light, a sound, a photograph that lingers.
Later, those pieces connect, and the rhythm of light and shadow shapes the tone before the plot fully forms.
I think photography influences this a lot. Every photographer comes from a different background — for me, architecture photography taught patience and attention to details, light, and timing. Fashion, on the other hand, is much faster — it’s about instinct, movement, and what the moment reveals.
Maybe that’s why photography and writing feel like two sides of the same process — one captures reality, the other transforms it.
Greetings from Sanremo,
Franco