The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting 7 Nov 2011

Okay! Everyone running along, doing your thing, getting those words out?

Here's a tantalizing extra. Over here, http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/julian_treasure_5_ways_to_listen_better.html
Julian Treasure talks about 5 ways to listen better. Fun talk, go ahead and listen, it's pretty fast.

And, now that you have heard it, put it to work in your Nanowrimo writing! After all, the only  sound in so many stories is the dialogue. But you and I know that there is a whole panoply of background sounds out there waiting for you to notice them! Yes, and for your characters to ponder over, too. That creaking sound in the backyard in the middle of the night, the pop-pop-pop of something in the tree in the front yard, the ting-ting-ting of the dripping faucet in the bathroom... add them in, give us some texture and depth to the world around your characters.

You don't have to add in the music like so many TV shows, but you can certainly add grace notes here and there. And sometimes even some music. Or just the crash of the climax, deafening your characters for a few moments with the tintinnabulation of the cannon fire exploding all around them?

Whatever you like. Remember the sounds of silence, and all those other sounds \too, and make sure your story has a healthy aural tapestry waving in the background. On a muddy pizza?

'saright?

original posting 7 April 2009

Setting the scene

Writer's Digest, November 2005, pages 22 to 23, in the Freelancer's Workshop column, and article by David A. Fryxell about scenes. How do you give your readers a feeling of place? Six points:

1. Start with setting. Like the establishing shot on a TV show, sometimes you can start with setting. Usually you need to have something happen relatively fast within the scene, but you can still say where things are happening right up front.
2. Be specific. Avoid generalities. Specific, vivid details make the scene feel real. The example David uses is don't write, "birds sat on the car." Be precise, "two goldfinches sat on the hood of a blue Mustang convertible." Which one gives you a feeling of reality?
3. Put it into motion. Let something happen on the stage, have characters interacting, and suddenly that scrap of setting description isn't static anymore.
4. Attach setting to dialogue. Someone says something, they said, and a little bit about the setting. The sugar of the dialogue helps the scenery description medicine go down?
5. Easy on the adjectives. Select strong details, and leave out the piles of adjectives and descriptive blather.
6. Use all your senses. Not just what you can see, but what you can hear, what you can smell, what you can feel -- and don't be afraid of using a strong metaphor.

So there you go. Now what to do about it? Well, as an exercise, take your work in progress, and look at that scene you're working on. Does it have a setting? Apply David's six points to help your scene really fit into the setting that makes it come alive.

And write!

Original posting 1 June 2008

Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld

You probably remember that we are walking through this book, and we've just talked about the setting for the scene (a.k.a. Chapter 5). Coming right behind that, we have Chapter 6 talking about senses. Sensual details -- probably the key tools for bringing your written world alive for the readers. And as Rosenfeld points out, that's not just sight and sound. Smells, tastes, and all of the wonderful feelings.

So the first thing to pay attention to is authenticity of detail. Things need to be realistic and believable. Blackberry pie doesn't smell like meat, and the senses need to be integrated and blended into the scene and setting. Don't just add them as gilding around the edges, make them seamless backdrops to the scene, characters, action.

Sight is probably our most important sense. It's also tricky because writers rarely draw pictures to go with the writing, and yet you want your readers to come away with the impression that they have seen what was going on. You need to provide mental images of the characters, the world they are in, their actions, and all of the other surroundings. You need to have a good visual idea to provide appropriate cues. You're going to run your camera (the point of view character looking around) over the world. Beware of what Rosenfeld calls double vision -- Jimmy saw something. We already know that Jimmy is looking around. Just tell us what he sees, don't make a big fuss about him seeing things.

Interestingly, Rosenfeld suggests that touch be the second sense that you try to work in. We all poke and prod and touch from our very first days as a baby. So put a little bit of practical touch into your story, but don't overdo it. Fidgeting and fumbling in the middle of dialogue is very common. Personal touches -- what a person is willing to touch and who -- also tells us a lot about the character.

Then there are smells. Smells are sometimes extremely evocative (note that doesn't mean they start fights -- it means they make us remember things and feel things). Memories and emotions get cued off of those little nasal neurons, so use them to dramatic effect. There are good smells and of course stinks -- er, Rosenfeld calls them bad smells. Choosing to associate certain characters or situations with certain kinds of smells can fairly quickly get across a judgment to the readers. The key here is to think about smells and use them in your writing.

Sounds. So often mysteries use sounds or the lack of sounds to help with setting, plot, and character. Wherever we go, sounds are a big part of the setting and the action. So make sure that your scene has the right acoustic background. "Sounds enhance mood, set tone, and create atmosphere, and should not be forgotten when setting the scene."

And last but not least in Rosenfeld's list is taste. Eating and various other times, we taste things. It may not be something that you want to put in every scene, but where it fits, let your characters taste.

[Interesting. I tend to think of the physical sense of motion as one more in this list. It's not just touch, it's the whole muscular balance physical feeling of doing things. Flying by the seat of your pants, putting your foot to the floor, and various other strains and struggles. Don't forget them!]

Rosenfeld points out that a lot of this comes naturally and in natural combinations. That pie that the character is looking at involves sight, smell, probably taste if they can manage to sneak a piece out, perhaps all the fun of cutting the pie and trying to lift out the first piece -- and the sound of the cook yelling as they find out that some one got into dessert before dinner! But when you go back to revise your scenes, make sure that you think about the various senses and consider the balance. Lots of talking heads? Get their hands in the mud along the streamside, and have them trying to catch frogs in the evening twilight. Or whatever, but put those senses to work.

And an assignment? Okay, pick up your favorite story and pick out a scene that you really think works well. Now go through it looking for each of the senses. How did the writer use the senses to set the scene, bring out the characters, make the plot move, and so forth? Did they skip one of the senses? Consider why, and how that sense might be worked into the scene. Suppose one of the characters has lost their glasses, has a cold, or otherwise is somewhat impaired today in sensations. How does this change the scene? How do you make the reader feel that stuffed-up separation from the world?

So -- a scene? Setting and senses, the background and the perception of the world. And next -- people! Character development and motivation.

When we write, we set dreams free.

Original Posting: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 04:09:34 -0400


Passive, but perhaps it's a place to start?

Take that first line (rewrite if you must those hoary grey words) and then continue the tale, enhancing our knowledge of who sniffs in the hospital and so forth.

Write?