THE SMALLER DETAILS...
When I was much younger, Dad was building us something -perhaps upgrades to the cubby house beneath the cypress tree?. Anyway he went off to answer a phone call with the strict command 'No one touch the axe'.
Hmm....of course I touched the axe. And need I say there was blood. I remember telling my brothers and sister 'Don't tell Dad I touched the axe.' I don't know how I was going to explain the bloodied axe, the missing slice off my thumb and my brothers excitedly looking on the ground for the 'remains of Vicki'.
Mum and Dad didn't need Sherlock Holmes to realise what had happened. They simply observed which child was bleeding and needed to be taken to hospital....elementary.
Observation is vital to a good writer. It's noting and adding those small details that add depth and flavour and life to a piece of work. Doesn't matter whether it's a novel, short story, poem or script...the smaller details are necessary. And unfortunately often over looked.
I recently read a novel (won't mention title or author)- and the setting was Paris, France. The author had lived in Paris for quite a number of years, becoming a part of the city and lifestyle (author's quote) and frankly I found the story very disappointing. The setting could have been any city, in any country. Throwing in a few phrases mentioning the Eiffel Tower, fromage and chocolat - does not create a setting.
From my visit to Paris I remember the cobbled narrow streets, the chic women who navigated these streets in killer heels, dogs being allowed into restaurants, croissants for breakfast, lunch and dinner until I no longer wanted to see a croissant, the cool marble floors of the Louvre worn smooth by millions of footsteps, the colourful merry-go-rounds at every corner, pissoirs and parks, delightfully ugly gargoyles on Notre Dame...
Details are important. They shouldn't be red herrings (Don't you hate it when the author focuses on the red coffee cup, and you know that it is a clue, perhaps a vital clue and you finish the novel only to discover - nope, the red coffee cup was simply that, a red coffee cup).
Good observation makes good writing. Not only to create a landscape, but to add depth to a character, flavour to a scene. And if you build on those small details, you create something strong.
So listen to a conversation, note how a person speaks, what they are wearing, how they are walking. Really see a place the next time you get out and about. Use your senses, use your skills.
Isn't that what being a writer is all about?
Hmm....of course I touched the axe. And need I say there was blood. I remember telling my brothers and sister 'Don't tell Dad I touched the axe.' I don't know how I was going to explain the bloodied axe, the missing slice off my thumb and my brothers excitedly looking on the ground for the 'remains of Vicki'.
Mum and Dad didn't need Sherlock Holmes to realise what had happened. They simply observed which child was bleeding and needed to be taken to hospital....elementary.
Observation is vital to a good writer. It's noting and adding those small details that add depth and flavour and life to a piece of work. Doesn't matter whether it's a novel, short story, poem or script...the smaller details are necessary. And unfortunately often over looked.
I recently read a novel (won't mention title or author)- and the setting was Paris, France. The author had lived in Paris for quite a number of years, becoming a part of the city and lifestyle (author's quote) and frankly I found the story very disappointing. The setting could have been any city, in any country. Throwing in a few phrases mentioning the Eiffel Tower, fromage and chocolat - does not create a setting.
From my visit to Paris I remember the cobbled narrow streets, the chic women who navigated these streets in killer heels, dogs being allowed into restaurants, croissants for breakfast, lunch and dinner until I no longer wanted to see a croissant, the cool marble floors of the Louvre worn smooth by millions of footsteps, the colourful merry-go-rounds at every corner, pissoirs and parks, delightfully ugly gargoyles on Notre Dame...
Details are important. They shouldn't be red herrings (Don't you hate it when the author focuses on the red coffee cup, and you know that it is a clue, perhaps a vital clue and you finish the novel only to discover - nope, the red coffee cup was simply that, a red coffee cup).
Good observation makes good writing. Not only to create a landscape, but to add depth to a character, flavour to a scene. And if you build on those small details, you create something strong.
So listen to a conversation, note how a person speaks, what they are wearing, how they are walking. Really see a place the next time you get out and about. Use your senses, use your skills.
Isn't that what being a writer is all about?
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