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Thursday, March 3, 2011

THE WHISPERING WINDS IN THE LISTENING SKY




Here is the article on establishing mood through description that I promised Shannon yesterday.

Look around you.

Hearts have grown cold,

ears dull,

minds impatient.

And this affects you as a writer just how?

Each page of your novel could be the reader's last ...

unless ...

unless you make your novel alive and alluring.

People pick up a book in a store, thumb through it, and read a page at random.

That is your only shot at snaring him/her into buying what cost you years of sweat and effort.

Make each page count. Make each paragraph breathe. Make each moment live in the mind of the reader.

Each of the senses should be touched by your words. And one of the ways you do that is to paint your locale with such brushstrokes of prose, the reader "sees" and "feels" and "smells" the unique flavors of your locale.

New Orleans :

Hollow-eyed mothers hugging hungry children within a block of spacious mansions, framed by lush bushes and gleaming iron lacework fences.

Decaying public schools slowly devolving into raucous social jungles and tribal warfare over gang colors and drug territory.

A hardened, jaded police department that in some seasons can be scarier than the city's criminals. Official corruption at every level. Murder rates ever soaring. And hot, steamy air you can wear 7 months out of the year.

And it is a wonderful place to live :

The morning mists parting as the St. Charles streetcar happily clatters through the shimmering fog under the avenue's great oak trees.

The second-line parade of trumpet blowers high-stepping intricate steps in honor of some event or another.

The mellow, haunting notes of Ellis Marsalis playing piano as you sit at Snug Harbor, sipping a drink light on alcohol, heavy on taste.

You must paint your reader into your locale with words that touch the taste buds, stroke their cheeks, and tug on their heartstrings.

Only then, with the setting so real that they hear the sound of throaty laughter and fine jazz, will the Stetson wearing, doomed hero, Samuel McCord, feel like an actual person to them.

Remember :

Each city whispers in its own voice. Your city. My city.

You know streets that whisper to stay away at night.

You know what scandal has stained some avenue beyond repair. You know what person's name is spoken in hushed tones long after he or she has died and been buried in your city.

Each city has its own personality. Like a human's, it changes with trauma, years of abuse, and moments of historic impact.

Lifting the veil from the distinctive features of the setting of your novel makes your whole narrative come alive for your reader.

But how do you do that verbal sleight of hand?


Details.
Some obvious to tourists. Some that you have to ferret out by research in the library, on the internet, or by listening to a local visitor to your setting.

Feelings.
How does your hero/heroine feel about those details? How have they affected the protagonist and those important to him or her?

Weave those details and emotions into a rich tapestry of irony and longing.

What shadowed corner of your setting is especially dangerous or emotion-laden to your central characters? Why?

Paint a passage where that tapestry flutters in the shadows, not quite completely seen but more evocative because of that.

Time.
What era is it in your setting? Has your protagonist lived through more than one era of time in it?

How has the passing seasons shaped his/her mind, opinions, and outlook for the present? For the future? How does your protagonist view his and the setting's past?

Master these points, and your novel will live for your reader.
***

23 comments:

  1. You're really great at establishing mood and setting, which is something I continually struggle with. Loved this.

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  2. Thanks, Jennifer. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Well, almost all ... Gypsy just raised her eyebrow slowly, letting me know weaknesses were not permitted for princesses! Thanks for liking my post. Have a lovely tomorrow, Roland

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  3. ...one trick I've learned, find a public place, anywhere as long as you're not alone, close your eyes...and listen, and breathe. Remember those sounds, the smells that tickled your nostrils, parents scolding their children, flaming hotdogs from a nearby grill, and get that on paper.
    That's the silver lining every story needs...how to breathe life into one's work.

    But from what I've read of your work, you already knew that:)

    Take care, Roland.
    EL

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  4. Hmmm....great reminder. Connecting the setting to the character emotional experience is key. How does he feel about where he is, what he sees, smells, hears?

    Awesome post!

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  5. Thank you so much for deciding to follow my blog, thereby helping me discover yours. I will come back later today to explore this wonderful site. My blog is about my life, not just writing, but I am working on a children's book for starters.--Inger

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  6. Elliot : You're right, old friend. Seeing sometimes gets in the way of "seeing." Strange but true.

    E.C. : Glad you liked my post. We are so in sync with our characters that we forget to clue in our readers! LOL.

    Flying High In The Sky : Always cool to see your name in my comments. I'm really happy you liked my post.

    Inger : I love the photos of your dogs. It is beautiful where you live. I hope you find something useful for you in writing your children's book.

    You can download the first 3 chapters of my children-to-adult fable, THE BEAR WITH 2 SHADOWS, for free to see if you can find inspiration there :

    http://www.amazon.com/BEAR-TWO-SHADOWS-ebook/dp/B004MDLWD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1298074015&sr=1-1

    You can download for free KINDLE FOR PC at this link :
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_85832051_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=auto-sparkle&pf_rd_r=03VXA5HYM0DHDMD8CB9B&pf_rd_t=301&pf_rd_p=1285988362&pf_rd_i=kindle%20for%20pc

    Inger, do come back again, Roland

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  7. Great writerly post. Details (or rather, adding life to your story) is always important.

    Sorry about that (mis-) post earlier today on my blog, I'm being haunted by blogspot gremlins (they love messing with scheduled posts, drafts and suchlike).

    Also, I'd love to be part of your blogtour, just let me know when! (she says casting a leery eye on her schedule, as if it might leap up and bite her)

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  8. Tessa : Thanks for the kind words. Anytime between now and April 1st (whatever works best for your much-too-crowded schedule.) My email is in my profile. Email me with your address, and we will discuss what subjects you might like to bring up (I have a possible list.) I also with email you my book, THE BEAR WITH 2 SHADOWS.)

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  9. Wow! I love this! Never thought of someone just picking up a book and thumbing through it, but I do that too sometimes. Need to pay careful attention to my pages now!!

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  10. There's always something I take away from your posts. This is it for today:

    'You must paint your reader into your locale with words that touch the taste buds, stroke their cheeks, and tug on their heartstrings'.

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  11. Fantastic! I'm revising right now - so this is helpful.

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  12. Wow! Thanks for that. *sigh* New Orleans sounds ultra interesting from the way you write about it. I live in Adelaide which is basically a city made up of inter-connected country towns. I don't even KNOW how I'd make THAT interesting.

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  13. Colene : One day while I was thumbing through a book, considering whether to buy it, the thought came to me : just how riveting was every one of MY pages? THAT was a humbling thought and genesis for part of this post. I'm really happy you enjoyed this post.

    Wendy : That my words give you something to help and inspire you in some small way really makes my afternoon!

    Margo : Good fortune in your revising. Brrr. Revising always is a challenge to me!

    Shannon : Adelaide has its secrets, gossip, and scoundrels I'm sure. The very inter-connectedness of it might lend itself to tales of humans clustered too close to one another, knowing too much about one another -- leading to your Main Character's desire to leave to where no one knew her name -- until she found herself a stranger in a city where no one gave a damn about her. The descriptions that evoke all stem from the heart in conflict with itself in some way. Roland

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  14. Hey, you're really good at this. You could bring about mood no matter the location, I'll bet! Do you know of any writing exercises that would assist us in putting together a neat mood?

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  15. Shannon : Descriptions that evoke stem from the character thinking them.

    Alice, my Victorian ghoul, would see a bustling modern city street with waves of panic, too many people, too crowded in together.

    Victor Standish, who's lived on mean city streets, would see it another way : dangers to avoid, restaurants to visit late at night for dumpster-munchies, sights to show Alice.

    Samuel McCord, 200 year old Texas Ranger, would see the image of the rustic way the street was a 100 years ago superimposed on the dirty urban sprawl of the present -- with a bit of a pang of remorse for all that "progress" has cost the city.

    Same street, same moment, different descriptions evoked by different perspectives and mindsets.

    Character comes first. Descriptions flow from that. Hope this helps. Roland

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  16. Great post! You've given me lots to think about. :)

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  17. Thanks, Melissa : I'm glad my post was a help in some small way, Roland

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  18. Roland, great post. One thing I've found useful is writing flash fiction. It really focusses the mind on concise writing and making every word count.

    Thanks for an interesting and stimulating article.

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  19. Love this:


    Look around you.

    Hearts have grown cold,

    ears dull,

    minds impatient.

    And this affects you as a writer just how?

    Each page of your novel could be the reader's last ...

    unless ...

    unless you make your novel alive and alluring.

    WELL SAID!

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  20. Tony : You're so right. Flash Fiction is a demanding discipline that builds prose muscles for sure! It is much the discipline of writing haiku's. Thanks for visiting and commenting.

    Angela : I'm glad you liked my beginning so. It means a lot this morning ... for some reason I was beginning to feel isolated. Your words made my morning, Roland

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  21. Well, done, Roland,

    Another note worthy post on writing with emotion, style, and imagination.

    You never cease to amaze me.

    Michael

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  22. Thanks, Michael. I tried to help Shannon as much as I could. On the tail-end of my work gauntlet, this was a challenge. Have a great weekend, Roland

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