Picked up some new music lately, and certain songs have a tendency to kindle images in my mind.

So, I'm listening while I'm at work and I see this woman in my mind. She's standing on a plain, almost bare of plants, except for a few dry looking bushes. Her shoulder-length hair blows in the wind, a light brown and layered. Bright feathers are tied into her hair. She holds a staff, and stands confidently. Her eyes are a piercing blue. She wears multiple colored fabrics wrapped around her body.

Awesome image, I'm all psyched. So then I obviously want to know more about her, who she is, what her name is. Well, she won't talk to me, to my chagrin. But she draws something in the dirt at her feet. Kind of the right half of a heart, and then a dot in between the two points. The name Shepherd of Dreams pops into my head. Okay, I'm getting somewhere. But I still want her to talk to me, to tell me her name, not just her title.

Then I realize she doesn't talk.

*Slams hand on forehead* Great. Now I have a character in my head who doesn't speak. I have a feeling she's telepathic, but she sure as hell doesn't want to connect to my mind. It'll come slowly, but I don't know if I'll be able to write a book (and this has novel, not short story, written all over it) with the main character (or one of the main characters) being mute.

I do know, I like her smile, even if she does it when I'm asking her questions, and she's not answering. Ach, back to work for now.