The question is, how do we get these details in the first place? What do we do to make our writing sing?
For me, it's so tempting to write in the same places. Coffee shops, my house, etc. But these places provide limited environmental creative sparks. I've found that getting out and, ideally, even into a setting similar to the setting of my book, can work wonders. Suddenly I start noticing things like the particular song of the birds, the chilling effects of the breeze, old ladies' hats, and butterflies.
I've found that writing down these details, or even clever lines, as they come is key for me. I don't know about you, but if I don't write these things down as they come, I will lose the idea. This is especially true when ideas come to me late at night. I can't tell you how many times I've been about to fall asleep, when all of a sudden, some incredible line or idea will just pop into my head. I've even gotten some of my "first lines" this way.
Another thing I try to do is tap in to a similar emotional setting. It can be a challenge to write empathetically about situations we've never experienced, especially from the perspective of people we've never been. But for me, the trick is identifying a similar situation in my own life, even if it's miniscule compared to the "big picture" struggle my heroine is facing. For instance, a couple months ago, I lost my wallet. I felt so frustrated with myself for letting that happen, and I was also desperate to get my wallet back (which, thankfully, I did). When I finally realized it'd fallen out of my purse at a pet store parking lot, I was overwhelmed with feelings of thankfulness to the person who picked it up and turned it in--a person I may never know. I wish I had a way to thank them, but I don't. What a different perspective I got on random acts of kindness when I was on the receiving end in such a big way. Life's situations and experiences, such as these, allow us the opportunity to extrapolate our emotional responses and then give them to our characters. Start paying attention to your reactions, and then write those into the narrative. You may even want to just write a list of descriptive words you feel at the time so you can come back to those later.
I want to hear from you! What tricks do you have for making your writing shine and coloring the storyworld so it's particularly unique?
