Just like a book, I always carry a pen and notebook with me. Big, small, medium, or mini. Sometimes I use a notebook app on my phone. Ideas are constantly running through my mind. 

The wilderness is where I find myself most creative. With the breeze running through my hair or the waves crashing against shore. Perhaps there's mud splattered across my dirtbike gear or pebbles in my hiking boots. Maybe I'm sipping water from a glacier in Whistler. Or I'm floating down a river in Enderby, staring at an old rope swing. 

To me, imagery and nature are close allies. Nature is what decides my story's location. It's what sets the mood of my story. Of the playlist I create to match the mood. Foggy, mountainous areas with tall redwoods and pines give me a folklore vibe; Taylor Swift or something acoustic. Fields of wheat or lazy, hot summer days on the lake make me think country. Oceans and cities are pop music. Alternative is travelling across Canada.

Locations also help support how the lesson or theme will be represented. The geography of the locations is important. 

Take "Whisky Throttle" for example. It's the story I'm most proud of on Wattpad. It's a representation of hope, which is why the Bear Creek area and the Okanagan Trail Riding Association was chosen. Why I chose West Kelowna, my home. 

When you're learning how to ride a dirtbike or quad, failure is inevitable. When I was learning, I fell many, many times. However, it was hope that kept me going. There was always hope I'd make it around the track. That I'd conquer the mountains. All the blood, sweat, and tears would be worth it. 

I couldn't have chosen a better representation for hope in Maddox and Calla's story. 

Much like the hope of being able to ride a dirtbike, Maddox and Calla are faced with challenging obstacles. Ones that require hope. I like to think all the characters overcome the challenges these obstacles bring. All because of hope. No matter how many times they fell, they got back up and fought for the lives they deserved. 

Because just like riding a dirt bike, you have to keep pushing through life. Even when you feel like giving up.

Hope will always be there. A light in the darkest hours.   

Whisky Throttle started at the top of Blue Grouse Mountain. It has an impeccable view of Kelowna, West Kelowna, and Vernon. Of the lake and mountains. The beauty of the Okanagan Valley. I had been daydreaming while enjoying a cold can of lemonade, wondering what would happen if a young couple fell in love while pursuing their dirtbiking passions. From there, in my tiny notebook used to log trail routes, I outlines the major points of Whisky Throttle. I composed their names and which dirtbikes they'd drive. 

The best advice I can give to aspiring writers is to thoroughly analyze your story's location. 

Because once you have it, the story comes to life.