Whenever I need to take a step back from my WIP and think through a scene, I do one of two things: look through the Pinterest board I made for it or make a book cover. Both of these things allows me to take a break from writing without actually taking a break from the story if that makes any sense.

Book covers are important to me, mostly because having one helps keeps me focused on the story and it gives me something to work towards. I don't write with the intention of being published (although it would be awesome to see some of my stories in a bookstore one day) but there is something about cover art that screams 'finished product'. I can honestly say that I wouldn't have been able to finish writing my first novel if I didn't decide to do some pretty cover art for it.

Most will look at this as a waste of time or another way to procrastinate but I find it very therapeutic and I talk myself through scene/plot points while I'm making them so I am somewhat productive in my procrastination.

I don't know how to use Photoshop so I use Lunapic and/or Pixlr. Both are free and super easy to use if you're interested in making your own covers.

Here is the cover for my current project:




Does anyone else make book covers for their WIPs before they finish writing them?




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