FROM THE HANDYMAN: Observation
Get Your Nose Out of the Book!
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
This one is completely on the fly, folks...(That's what happens when you have a crazy-ass novel deadline....sorry).
Confused by my title? Yeah...happens sometimes, but you know, it generally makes sense in the end, so hold on and let's see where we go!
So, as writers a big part of our stock in trade is imagination, particularly if you--like me--are a genre writer. But in the end we all have to envision things that do not actually exist or did not happen the way we depict them. That's why they call it fiction. But creative writing is not all about making things up. What makes our flights of fancy work (yeah...I know, enough with the cliches already), but anyway, the reason the reader buys into them is because the other skill we need to bring into the process: Observation. No matter how fanciful our story we have to build the world it sits in with a foundation of recognizable elements.You might eventually turn them on their heads, but the reader still needs something they can relate to.
Pay attention, now...here's where the title of this article comes into its own.
We can't afford to get so caught up in the worlds we are creating that we forget about the one we are in. Not only does it have an adverse affect on things like relationships, muscle tone, and oh, hygiene, but you depend on the same imagery when you are too much inside your own head. Now I'm not just saying this to get you up off your butt, I'm telling you to get out there and do field research. People watch, have a conversation, take note of the actions and expressions that are the silent component to human interaction.
Plan a field trip once a week or once a month, whatever fits your schedule and go someplace unusual, take a notebook or a camera...heck, take a friend and compare notes afterward. Take the time to experience someplace unique pay attention to the way the light hits water or the way children or animals...or grown adults play, or court, or whatever life presents you with.
Every experience is distinct and individual. While it is common for many people to scowl when they are angry, not everyone necessarily does. Music heard in an orchestra hall is going to have a much different impact than a concert at the beach both in the performance, the setting, and the collateral sounds that serve as a undertone. Think layers and dimension and life. Find new ways to say the same old thing to make it fresh and new and visionary because your worlds are only as notable as the effort you put into creating them.
Have fun! Live out Loud! Paint a picture with a thousand words or just one, to twist my final cliche for the evening...
Now...back to my novel! (passed 60,000 words today on Today's Promise, the final novel in the Eternal Cycle series...on the shelves in May! Did I mention my mega-insane deadline?)
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail
This one is completely on the fly, folks...(That's what happens when you have a crazy-ass novel deadline....sorry).
Confused by my title? Yeah...happens sometimes, but you know, it generally makes sense in the end, so hold on and let's see where we go!
So, as writers a big part of our stock in trade is imagination, particularly if you--like me--are a genre writer. But in the end we all have to envision things that do not actually exist or did not happen the way we depict them. That's why they call it fiction. But creative writing is not all about making things up. What makes our flights of fancy work (yeah...I know, enough with the cliches already), but anyway, the reason the reader buys into them is because the other skill we need to bring into the process: Observation. No matter how fanciful our story we have to build the world it sits in with a foundation of recognizable elements.You might eventually turn them on their heads, but the reader still needs something they can relate to.
Pay attention, now...here's where the title of this article comes into its own.
We can't afford to get so caught up in the worlds we are creating that we forget about the one we are in. Not only does it have an adverse affect on things like relationships, muscle tone, and oh, hygiene, but you depend on the same imagery when you are too much inside your own head. Now I'm not just saying this to get you up off your butt, I'm telling you to get out there and do field research. People watch, have a conversation, take note of the actions and expressions that are the silent component to human interaction.
Plan a field trip once a week or once a month, whatever fits your schedule and go someplace unusual, take a notebook or a camera...heck, take a friend and compare notes afterward. Take the time to experience someplace unique pay attention to the way the light hits water or the way children or animals...or grown adults play, or court, or whatever life presents you with.
Every experience is distinct and individual. While it is common for many people to scowl when they are angry, not everyone necessarily does. Music heard in an orchestra hall is going to have a much different impact than a concert at the beach both in the performance, the setting, and the collateral sounds that serve as a undertone. Think layers and dimension and life. Find new ways to say the same old thing to make it fresh and new and visionary because your worlds are only as notable as the effort you put into creating them.
Have fun! Live out Loud! Paint a picture with a thousand words or just one, to twist my final cliche for the evening...
Now...back to my novel! (passed 60,000 words today on Today's Promise, the final novel in the Eternal Cycle series...on the shelves in May! Did I mention my mega-insane deadline?)