Saturday, December 10, 2011

Through a Writer's Eyes

I've lived in the same area for almost the whole of my life. I've always been surrounded by the same scenery, seen the same people, and done basically the same things. I'm so familiar with my area that I hardly need to look out the car window to know what we're passing. Car trips get a little boring with not much in the way of inspiration. Well, they did.

Because we are a family of writers, there is nothing we like to study as much as writing (well, Shakespeare's plays might just beat it). So when Mum borrowed a book called Word Painting, we were hooked at once.

Unlike most writing books I have read, this one challenged us to think about how we describe things. It pushed me to think of new ways to describe the world around me. And at once, a new hobby appeared: Description.

If I am sitting in the car, absolutely silent, you can bet I'm thinking about writing. How can I weave that Hummer Stretch Limo into my next post? And doesn't it look like a hearse? I bet you could fit three people in there. Most economical. How to describe those tree branches reaching up to the sky like old bony fingers?

We drive along the same few country roads over and over again, nearly every single day. But there is never a boring drive. I'm looking at the world through a writer's eyes. The world can never be boring again.

3 comments:

  1. I do that to, I like to look at the world around me and see what words I would use to describe it.
    It's great practice for story writing :)

    How is your Dare Squad story go?

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  2. It's so interesting to see how different descriptions of the same object changes the mood and meaning. I'm sure it'll be great practice for adding lots of description in my novels. I have a habit of forgetting to add it when I first write the novel.

    My DARE Squad story's first draft is finished and is resting while I worked on the revision of my other story 'The Portal'.

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  3. It's soooo beautiful to look at the world through a writer's eyes. There is no more beautiful sight in the world. Thank you so much for sharing your sights!

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