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Exercise #930: Craft
Posted 2/4/22
Descriptions may be the most important part of our writing. Disagree? While not as flashy as plot or as endearing as the protagonist, without details about how things look and where thing are your reader may easily “see” something completely different than you intended while reading your work. I think this is one reason I so often find a movie version of a favorite book is lacking something or is a major disappointment. When I read it, I came out with different conclusions than the producer or director.
Need an example? Try this - at the next gathering where you know some folks pretty well, ask them to close their eyes. Tell them to imagine that someone you all know has joined you. Then ask each one to tell the group which direction that person came from and what they’d been doing before arrival. It’s amazing to me how everyone always seems to have different images, even in a place where you think only one option is available.
That said, let’s do a description exercise. For this, you aren’t aiming for a full story or even a full scene, just a clearly detailed description of the “place,” “time” and “character.” Limit yourself to one character.
You may pick one of the following or come up with your own. If you are aiming for anything specific, ask at the bottom for your critiquers to comment on whether or not you succeeded. (Such as, you want to give it an eerie or scary feeling; did it work?)
Possibles:
* A deserted city street.
* A living room.
* A national park meadow or waterfall.
Critiquers, along with the usual grammar, spelling, etc, review, consider these questions:
* Could you relate to this piece? Why or why not?
* Was this piece helpful to you as a writer? Why or why not?
Word limit: 1200
Please use the subject line
SUB: Exercise #930/yourname
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