Hold the Tree Pose for one minute on each foot and then...
Let's talk description. Everyone sees the world differently, and to make your book work you need to describe the world not from your point of view, but from the character's. This can be tricky. And it's one aspect of writing where a casual critique group will not help you because they don't know the character well enough to tell you when you're off base. In the worst case scenario you actually alter the description to suit a critter, agent, or editor without staying true to the character.
If you have a fighter who notices exits and all available weapons and then you fill in a flowery description of the lace doilies, it's going to look out of place.
Your Homework:
1- Pick a character from your line-up, either from your current WIP or another unpublished work
2- Go look at the scenes links (I didn't have time to obtain permission from the artists so I am sending you off-site to look at these pictures, they are G-rated).
3- Write one paragraph description/story of the scene. You can write a paragraph for each, combine the two, or only use one for your paragraph.
4- In the comments box leave your characters name, a one sentence description of the character, and your descriptive paragraph.
Scene 1: Temple Corridors
Scene 2: Beauty and the Beast
Hold the Tree pose...? At this time of the morning, I'm lucky to hold the coffee cup!
ReplyDeleteGood description exercise.
Balance and excercise will wake you up and make you feel better than the coffee will. A nice yoga or pilates excercise to wake you up, get the blood flowing, get the blood to your brain... wouldn't that be nice?
ReplyDelete<-- Me who hasn't worked out at all this week and what's to curl up and go back to bed even though it's mid-day. Cold weather kills me!
*yawns and stretches*
ReplyDeleteOh, fine, I'll do the workout. *grumbles and complains*
Character: Catarina Ferreira
The tall, beautiful wife of a powerful industrialist and terrorist.
The slim hallway stretched on forever, made up of simply carved pillars where sunlight shone brightly through the spaces. Large enough for an armed man to hide behind, the supported pillars looked ancient. The sight of dead leaves scattered along the corridor made Catarina's heart sink. Too loud. Perhaps she should travel outside the pillars, along the edge of the forest. She could spot any hiding men easier that way.
Very good, Glam! It conveys the sense of the picture along with tidbits about the character, she's watching for assassins. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteWhat? work? uh!
ReplyDeleteok
Character: Milo Burghley
He is a very gifted musician who looks ruffled and wadded up with chalk and resin in his hair and his clothes all askew.
oops, he's not a POV character.
I might ought to have done the tree pose and thought for a few minutes. Oh, well.
As I think about it, I only have one POV character.
I didn't say POV character, just write the POV from one of your own characters.
ReplyDeleteHmm... By brain is too fried to exercise right now. I think this will have to be a Thursday workout for me. Let me take a rain check...
ReplyDelete