AUTHOR'S CORNER:

INSIGHTFUL ME

What is the difference between a writer and an ordinary person?  What is it that makes a writer a writer, when most of us are capable of stringing sentences together on a page?  The difference is that a writer has a certain something that keeps the reader hooked right up until the end of the story; a writer can capture the imagination and awaken the senses in a way that most can't.  What is their secret?  Insight!

You see, when a writer describes a scene, they don't just describe a flat screen scene, they describe the scene in a deep, meaningful and imagination intriguing way.  For example, they don't just say the sky was dark - therefore it was night; instead they may describe in this way - The skies darkened and the clouds gathered around the moon, leaving only a slither of moonlight that shone through them like a guiding torch!  Giving the reader an accurate if not fanciful picture of how that particular night may seem.

When a writer describes a human interaction, they don't just say Jane hated Peter because he was bad; instead they might say - Jane felt a surge of loathing that was comparable to nothing she had felt before, her emotions ached and tinkered between the two worlds of love and hate, her heart ached for him, yet her senses rejected him and her pride forbade her to need him!  She felt a pain in the base of her throat, and it was the pain of one whose words were stuck and far too painful to let out.  Her eyes skimmed over him with lust and regret and her memory replayed the pain he had inflicted upon her!

This description conjures up the reader's own emotions, because it is not human to have a one dimensional emotional process i.e. when we hate, there is usually love, regret, pride and anger in the mix.

When a writer wants to describe passion; they don't simply say Jane felt randy and therefore wanted to sleep with Peter; instead they may say - Jane felt a heat in the pit of her stomach and with it her heart raced and her mind went into over- drive; her body desired him, yet her mind told her to hold back.  She knew that if he came near her she would simply give into him and let go of all her inhibitions, yet to do so would only bring shame upon her; what would he think of her, if he knew she was so easy to have?  Thus describing the turmoil one feels when passion overtakes, for where sex is concerned, one is consumed with two things, desire and guilt!  

I COULD GO ON....BUT YOU GET THE PICTURE!

HOW TO BE AN INSIGHTFUL WRITER?  OKAY, HERE ARE SOME TIPS:

1.  When writing consider what you are writing about and try as much as possible to imagine yourself in that very situation.

2.   When you are writing about an inanimate subject i.e. a house, try to visualise this from top to bottom, imagine what the colours are, the style, the smell even; it is always a good idea to search the internet for images of houses according to the style you are describing.

3.   When writing about emotions, dig deep into your own emotions and try and live those emotions and don't hold back; we all experience those deep emotions and as readers we love to read about them, it's a kind of bitter/sweet memory!

4.   When writing about human interactions, be they funny, sad, happy or angry, try to remember that humans interact in a complex and deep way, one word sentences is not a realistic description of human interactions, and none emotional rational answers are not realistic of human interactions, we are not robots!

5.   Dig deep and analyse your reader's psyche; if you are writing a romance, understand that the type of person who is reading it will be the kind who is thrilled by love, by deep emotions of lust and desire. The same goes if you are writing a horror, your reader is intrigued by the supernatural, by the thrill of the unknown.  As is writing a contemporary women's novel, which involves emotions of women and their feminism, your reader is inspired by strong emotions, by cleverness of women to manipulate in a man's world!

6.   Don't be afraid to express your art, because words are the most powerful expression of art!