Snapshot

What did you see? What did you hear? What did you smell?
What did you feel? What did you¬ taste?


Writers are like photographers with giant zoom lenses, observing life in incredibly fine detail, pulling back to make sweeping generalizations, then zooming in again to make those generalizations come alive with detail. SHOW the image rather than tell. Don’t write about how bad your day was at school. Describe the inky pen stain on your pants, the scab forming on your grass-stained knee, the smashed peanut butter sandwich which was supposed to be your lunch…

EXAMPLES:
He thought he was the handsomest guy in the Western Hemisphere. He was pretty handsome too—I’ll admit. But he was mostly the kind of handsome guy that if your parents saw his picture in your Yearbook, they’d right away say, “Who is this boy?” I mean he was mostly a Yearbook kind of handsome guy. Catcher in the Rye—J.D. Salinger

Pieces of tree, pieces of metal, pieces of seat and wing gleamed in the moonlight. Some of the plane lights remained on, so what was left of the plane twinkled in a friendly way. The plane was immense. It seemed impossible that such a huge thing was ever airborne. It looked bigger and longer than a house, garages, and stable. Like some incredibly large, white celestial cigar suddenly ripped in pieces and thrown to the ground. Flight #116 Is Down—Caroline B. Cooney

Their bodies are discolored by paint. Some of men are huge and muscular to the point of deformity, their legs wrapped comically called braccae—breeches. There is no discipline among them: they bellow at each other and race about in chaos. They are dirty and they stink. A crone in a filthy blanket stirs a cauldron, slicing roots and bits of rancid meat into the concoction from time to time. How the Irish Saved Civilization—Thomas Cahill

The hands on the clock face of night
Strike the eternal moment,
Shiver two brittle shadows
Like bones strewn upon starkness.

The old man and his old hound
Walk the icy fringe, again,
To the boy who sleeps
Among the wind-licked stones.
A Place in Winter—Stephen M. Holt

THINK ABOUT:

* Think about or list the sensory questions. Answer them.

* What emotion, mood, or tone do I want to convey?

* How can I put these “answers” into my story?



A few words of caution:
Don't list each sense in turn. It sounds sing-songy and rote. It is far better to focus on the most powerful details, and the senses that lead the reader to your intended feeling.

Also, don't lock yourself into a tone. It's entirely possible that you'll sit down to write with a specific idea in mind, but find that it changes. That's normal. Part of the writing process is that the act of writing unlocks the subconscious, allowing old ideas and memories to take root in new, fertile soil.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Select a segment of your writing that you feel needs an emotional impact, suspense, or realism.

2. Either mentally or physically list the sensory details (various sights, smells, tastes, feelings, and sounds) of this segment. Zoom your camera in to see the close details, or zoom it out to see the big picture.

3. Use your list to determine the feeling you’re attempting to convey. For example, if you are looking to discuss regret—circle the sensory images that are connected to it. Likewise, do the same for any other emotion—joy, peace, serenity, etc.

4. Write and trust the process. Again, don’t be surprised or upset if you veer off the course. The act of brainstorming was still time well spent.

5. When you’re ready, copy and paste it to THIS blog. We all can learn from your wisdom!

USE THE FOLLOWING WEBSITES FOR WORD HELP:

http://www.msgarrettonline.com/descripwords.html

http://www.examples-help.org.uk/parts-of-speech/list-of-adjectives.htm

http://www.esldesk.com/vocabulary/adjectives