I’ve been there. But now I can solve
this dilemma in two words: Pay attention.
Many of my author friends have
lamented that they’d rather write a three hundred-page novel than a one-page
synopsis. Ditto for me. That’s because without the story’s juicy details, a
synopsis can be as dry as the white meat on an overcooked
turkey. So where do we get all those wonderful details? By paying
attention.
Paying attention isn’t limited to
what we see. Quite frequently I catch myself in a restaurant or in a line with
my ear slightly leaning toward a nearby conversation. This isn’t eavesdropping.
It’s research. Listening closely to conversations, wherever they occur, can
alert you to the distinctions of voices, accents, speech patterns, and even
mannerisms people use while talking (not to mention some interesting subject
matter). Lois Lowry incorporates details such as these so skillfully in her Gooney Bird Greene series that soon the
reader knows which character is speaking even before he is identified in the
speaker tag. Listening extends beyond conversations. Pay attention to the
sounds of nature, of music, of machinery, of windchimes.... Pay attention to the lovely and the
harsh, the symphonies as well as the cacophonies.
Details can be gleaned from paying
attention with all the senses. And they can be gleaned when paying attention when
we’re reading. Some folks might consider me a snob for saying this, but I
honestly do enjoy some books as much as for the way they’re written as for the
plot or theme. I agree that description shouldn’t take a reader out of the
story. But when skillfully done, descriptive details can plunge us more deeply
into it, even when we pause and re-read a passage because it resonates with us.
Of course, I’m not saying copy what another author has written and claim it as
your own. But learn her technique. When you’re enjoying a particular line or
passage, stop and ask yourself what makes it so enjoyable. What makes it stand
out--the writer’s precise word choice, his candor, his ability to mix the ridiculous with the sublime and elicit a laugh?
A final, very practical word of
advice about paying attention: As soon as you gather a great detail, write it down.
I’m currently trying to train myself to carry pen and pad with me at all times
because I’ve lost more good material to bad memory than I have to computer
failure. Lamott says she never goes anywhere—even to walk her dog—without a pen
and an index card. These days, those more technically savvy probably rely on phones
or tablets, but I’m not to that point. Whatever works for you, use it. Just
remember: Write. It. Down.
Remember what I said about a line or
passage that strongly resonates with us? This one from bird by bird...did it for me: “There is ecstasy in paying attention.”
Amen.
Can't get better advice than "write it down!" Even when I can remember ideas or concepts down the road, I often lose the turn of phrase that made the idea unique. I keep meaning to figure out how to record on my phone because so many ideas pop in my head while I'm driving. And I try to write them down - NOT good!
ReplyDeleteNo, Shel, I wouldn't advise writing while driving. Can't be much different than texting. :-) I've thought about using my phone also to record my ideas. Might try to develop that habit, although that would probably also be distracting while driving. Maybe we'll just have to hire a chauffeur!
DeleteI've been paying attention to descriptions lately--and I'm one of those lazy readers who often don't. I have taken note of several books that employ description in a way that holds my attention and make it integral to the story: Alphabet of Dreams and Shadow Spinner, by Oregon author Susan Fletcher, and The Man on a Donkey by H.F.M. Prescott.
ReplyDeleteMama Bird, it took me a while to train myself to slow down and appreciate the writing as well as the story. Maybe the fact that I have more time to read now has something to do with it!
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