Thinking Deeper to Develop Writing Skills, Discuss Options

[Guest_Nina_*]

I would like to pick up on a comment Fran made in her Flash thread talking about the character moving from river bank to boat, using the branch of a tree overhanging the water.

The bounce required a bit of planning - needs pace but yet to show readers what is happening very clearly.

Now I'm still very green when it comes to writing prose and have a long way to go in terms of learning and improvement.  How do you learn to get the balance right, becoming more aware of how you are writing?  I tend to just write what I'm thinking or seeing, rather than taking an objective step back to consider the readers. I feel perhaps that my writing is still too distilled, missing out on the little details that bring a picture to life but I just don't think about it when writing. How do I develop that skill?  When does conscious become subconscious or is it a case that you either have the ability or you don't?


Nina

[Guest_Toumai_*]

Hi Nina

Thanks for posting this discussion.

How do you learn to get the balance right, becoming more aware of how you are writing?  I tend to just write what I'm thinking or seeing, rather than taking an objective step back to consider the readers.

Well, I am not sure my advice is valid - I am hardly an 'expert' myself (one published short story hardly counts, lol).

I also write what I am visualising. I see the action a bit like a movie. Sometimes I re-run it so many times it's a good thing it isn't a video tape cos it would be worn out. Often details change - I think of it a bit like Robert Altman letting his cast improvise for a movie scene (Gosford Park etc).

I feel perhaps that my writing is still too distilled, missing out on the little details that bring a picture to life but I just don't think about it when writing.

The difference is that the readers cannot 'see' the scene as the writer does. We have to give them a few very close details to let their imaginations take flight. Sometimes it is worth going back over an action sequence and just adding something very small - the angle of sunlight striking the river, or a face; an item of clothing or a book  - because once the reader has some detail their imagination lets rip and fills in the rest as if by magic. Of course, their image may be utterly different to your original (scary! ) but so long as it works for the purpose of the overall story they can picture it however they wish.

How do I develop that skill?  When does conscious become subconscious or is it a case that you either have the ability or you don't?

I am sure you can develop the skill. I think the innate skill useful for writing is the imagination and visualisation (which are very useful indeed) - pretty much everything else can be learned.

You already do the main thing which is to read and read - and read critically. It's hard to see why something 'works' because one gets wrapped up in the imaginary world. Sometimes it is easier to read a poor piece of writing and the problems glare.

The next thing is to practice. Flashes are good for confidence in ones imagination, but perhaps also try writing some other stories to see how they feel.

Fran