Part of being a writer is being an observer. As you walk through your day, you gather bits and pieces of impressions through all of your senses, most of which we forget as we round the corner. For example, as I walk to the store, I simultaneously hear the music pumped directly into my brain through my earbuds, overlaid by the jackhammer tearing up the sidewalk in front of CVS. The sun is hot on my shoulders and I sneeze from the dust being kicked up by the construction. Instinctively, I step back to avoid being run over by a bicycle, and to the side so that I don’t bang into the umbrella of the woman whose head barely comes up to my shoulder. She’s wearing a trench coat buttoned all the way up to her neck on this summer day: Why?
What detail will make it into my next story? I won’t know until I sit down to write it. In the comment box below, describe the moment you’re having right now. Not what’s going on in your head (worried about word counts, dinner plans, getting to work on time), but what your senses are telling you about what’s going on around you.
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About this blogA blog is an online conversation. This one is for students of writing and is an extension of our face-to-face classroom. Here is where we can continue a discussion started in class, ask questions, and test new ideas. Archives
March 2020
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