When I was younger, I read just about anything and
everything. I devoured books, and I
drove my mom crazy by leaving them all over the house.
We had a close friend of my parents that had similar tastes
as me, and one day, I suggested that he read The Robe by Lloyd C Douglass. (For those of you who haven’t read it, I
highly suggest it!)
My mom’s response forever changed how I looked at books and
writing.
“Krista, he wouldn't like it. He can’t see images described in books.”
What? Books had
images? Sure, I knew that there were the
boring descriptions throughout every story I’d read. (And one of the reasons why I couldn't finish
Lord of the Rings). But I never
understood why. You see, I can’t see the
images either. When I read a book, I
might hear the voices of the characters as they converse, I might feel the
environment, but not once have I been able to ‘see’ what’s going on.
Some people describe it like watching a movie. They see everything they read, the characters
have faces, expressions. The setting isn't
just a landscape, it’s an actual place.
I've tried to practice imagining as I read, and there are moments when it feels like exercising my brain. I've gotten to the point where I can
occasionally glimpse shadows. I can see
snatches of colors. But that’s as far as
I get.
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| Picture taken by me! |
I know what you’re asking.
I write stories. How can I write
a description if I can’t ‘see’ it? One
of the more amusing responses from a beta after reading my White WIP was that
there was too much noise. It’s
distracting when there’s so many noises going on in the background, and she can’t
concentrate on what’s going on.
In my Red WIP, I have a large number of scenes where a
character is listening in to a conversation, but can’t see the people as they
converse. I think this is based almost
directly on the fact that I can’t visualize it, but I can hear the
conversations as clearly as if I was listening in too. In fact, sound is probably the most dominant
sense that I use when writing.
Interestingly enough, one of my recent betas has asked me to add smells
into every scene.
I don’t know what my characters look like, at least, for the
most part. I have to keep a list to make
sure that I don’t say one character is blonde in one chapter and brunette in
another. It’s been a struggle for me to
balance all 5 senses – hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell. But I think it’s something I’m improving on.
What about you? What
do you ‘see’ when you read? Is it like a
movie? Or an audiobook? What sense most appeals to you? And do you have any advice on adding
description?
I always make list of what my characters look like. It's more a continuity thing, even though I know such and such is a blonde there's other details like their favourite perfume or the style of clothes that they like which I find it harder to be consistent with.
ReplyDeleteI like sounds and scents to help create a place as well. I'm reading The Historian for the Readers Imbibing Peril (RIP) read-a-thon and there's some lovely descriptions of European cities in that which paly on a reader's other senses.
One of the pleasures of reading for me is filling in the blanks around what the writer gives you and knowing that although you are sharing something everyone else who reads the book will imagine something slightly different. I wouldn't see it's like a movie exactly, but if the writing's good I can imagine I'm there.
Have you ever tried writing a description of a place that you can see? or one that you've been to and know really well? And making a note of all the things that you can hear, taste, smell etc? That might help.
I like that idea, of writing a description of a place that I can see. I've practiced putting in subtle details, visuals I know should be there, but I think that would definitely help me to improve. Thanks!
DeleteI tend to 'see' the books. That's why movies never live up to my expectations. What you imagine is always going to be different from what others imagine. To counteract that, I've just had to see the movies and books as entirely different things, or I can't enjoy them. Once I did that, I'm able to watch even the worst versions of books, and still find things to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAs far as writing goes, faces are what I struggle with the most. I can usually see what they're wearing, and what the area looks like. I know what color of hair they have, but usually their faces are kind of blurry. To counteract that, I've gone on google and (for example) looked up 'blonde (modest) woman," and found a person that looks like what I want my character to look like. Then, I put them in a document and write a description. Then, if I am struggling to 'see' them, I go look at the picture. Usually that helps me to make them more real.
I've always been curious about people who can actually see what they're reading, especially once a movie come out. I know that sometimes it can create a lot of anger when characters' appearances are changed. For me, I get mad too, though when plot, emotion, etc get changed. I don't think I've ever noticed if the characters don't look 'right'.
DeleteI have to keep a list of descriptions of my characters but I very rarely describe facial features. Maybe the eyes and nose, but not much else.
Interesting blog topic – thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteDescription can be as active, as emotional, and as complicated as any other aspect of writing. To ignore description is to purposefully deny your reader another layer to your story – to make your writing less rich. Why would any writer want to do that?
How much is too much? When does description become boring? There’s no secret answer to that question. I think several factors are involved, including the writer’s voice and the specific story.
Some great suggestions have already been posted. A couple to add: use Pinterest to collect people pics. Or, if you have a lot of magazines, cut out a variety of faces. Sometimes it’s fun to find a picture of your character as an adult and as a child.
There are several great books on writing description, and one I’d recommend is WORD PAINTING by McClanahan. It is not a quick, easy read. However, you can skim the various ideas and when you find one you like, each chapter has several exercises.
Also—nice photo!
Thanks for your great advice! And I agree, it's the writer's responsibility to determine the right compromise between too much description and too little. I'll have to look into Word Painting. It looks like something I could benefit from.
DeleteThank you!
It's reassuring to hear that I'm far from the only one for whom reading isn't a movie experience. I can't tell if movie-reading is the norm or not, but I've been told it's what a writer's supposed to give the reader, and I don't see why that should necessarily be so, when some of us readers just can't see it that way, no matter what the writer does.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty good at seeing characters' faces and general appearance (particularly if I created the character myself), but it's hard for me to envision what they're wearing. My mind usually assigns each of them a basic, blurry idea of an outfit, and that's pretty much all they'll ever wear, unless a really big deal is made of their costume change.
Setting is hard for me, too. I don't usually see whole landscapes or rooms; it's more like a stage play, where it's just the necessary furniture and props scattered around the spotlight, with maybe a suggestion of scenery painted on the back curtain.
It's difficult for me to follow fast action -- fights or dances or a lot of people moving around at once. In my writing, it's a challenge for me to remember to include much character movement at all; I don't always remember the point. My imagination is a little like a radio. I hear the characters' voices (9 times out of 10, their conversations come more easily to me than anything else), and their movement is assumed, but I don't really see much of what they're doing unless I peer in close and concentrate.
I'll probably be learning how to balance what I naturally feel like including and what The People Need To Know for the rest of my writing career. And smells. I'm still trying to train myself to throw in some smells, too. X)
~Deshipley
I like that! My imagination is just like a radio too. I can almost only hear sounds and voices. I agree though, it's a balancing act, trying to put what is natural for you as well as what the readers wants. Thanks for stopping by!
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