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| Insecure Writers Support Group |
Our Co-Sponsor's this month are:
Murees Dupe
Alexia Chamberlynn
Chemist Ken
Heather Gardner
Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
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I have a confess to make. I'm not visual. Before you get worried, I want to assure you that my visual acuity is fine--unless you consider my cataracts, but they will be fixed later this summer. I promise. ;-) No, what I mean is that I don't connect to the world primarily through the visual sense. When I describe setting in my stories, I'm usually stymied for words. Sounds, on the other hand, are easy. That's why I find dialogue is a major jumping off point for my scenes. But grounding the action in a physical sense is a challenge. This is a huge insecurity for me.
One of my methods for fixing it is to us photos of settings that allow me to spend time digging deep. My main character is baker and gardener. I write contemporary, so I find photos to be a great way to dive into setting. Here's a few photos of my personal setting that inform my story's placement in the real world in Cherry Hill, Georgia.
Do you have any suggestions for how a non-visual writer like me can get more details and reality into my stories? How do you do it?
Beta readers specifically looking for that, reading it over and over looking just for that. I struggle with this too and those are what I've done.
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestion, Sara! I do <3 my beta readers. ;-)
DeleteGive the inanimate things in your scenes a job to do for the story, other than act as backdrop or props. Lots of stuff written about 'setting as character' which really boils down to seeing a place or thing from a character's perspective. I've read your work, Zan Marie, you're better at this than you think! I'm recalling your main character moving about her home and the evidence of her deceased husband. If the struggle is about finding the right words--for me, fight scenes don't come naturally--I study the writers who do it well. Just this weekend I read fight scenes in two different novels. One, I felt nothing. The other, wow. So I took them apart to see why one worked and the other felt mechanical to me. Terrific post, as always. Made me think!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cathy! That's high praise. I like all of your suggestions. Fight scenes! Yes, I have to write one for my third book. I'm not looking forward to it. Not at all.
DeleteI wish I had more help, but I suck at setting and usually have to rely on others to tell me when they need more. From the other comments though, you probably are better off than I am!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Loni! It's good to know I'm not alone.
DeleteI love Pinterest for creating vision boards for my books. I pin pictures that are related to the book, and then review them sometimes before writing setting details. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've just joined Pinterest and I'm still trying to figure it out. I'll add your suggestion to my ideas for how to use it.
DeleteI think using photos is a great idea. I'm a visual person, plus a musician so sounds come to me, but it's the other senses where I struggle.
ReplyDeleteDescribing smells is hard to me, too. Taste is easier. Touch is in the feel of the beholder in my opinion. So many to master, so little time. ;-)
DeleteI'm not good at translating what I see and hear into words. I think sometimes I try too hard to think "what would my character notice about this setting" rather than just describing its bare bones and then getting on with the story. As for translating what I see and hear, I think of how effortlessly someone like Agatha Christie, say, or Jo Bourne, falls entirely into the speech of the class/upbringing of each distinct character. I can hear all the differences, but can't seem to do it with my own characters as well...
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Deniz. It's a challenge and a task we have to master, isn't it?
ReplyDelete