Muse Food – Rainbows And Other Meanings
An exercise expert I follow posted a video in which she described her skin as being ‘orange.’
That one throwaway sentence greatly decreased my enjoyment of the video. And it made me view her differently.
(big sigh)
In contrast, a gardening expert recently talked about how she loves rainbows.
That throwaway sentence greatly INCREASED my enjoyment of that video.
(smiles)
Words matter. They can have multiple meanings and be loaded with emotion not at all implied by their definitions in a dictionary.
Choose the words in your story carefully.
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Muse Food – Bison And The Unexpected
If there was a bison background character in one of my stories crafted for North American readers, I would likely merely mention there was a bison. I might call him majestic or large or hairy. But I wouldn’t go into much detail.
If I was describing THIS bison, I would likely devote some space to describing his horns.
Why?
Because they aren’t typical for a bison. They aren’t ‘normal.’
And because they aren’t normal or expected, they stand out and they warrant mentioning.
Mention the unexpected in your stories, especially if that unexpected detail is important to the plot or character development.
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Muse Food – Fences And Barriers
These beautiful barriers were erected around an often visited historical site in Kuala Lumpur.
They communicate a few things.
The first and foremost, it IS a barrier. That means unauthorized people should keep out of the site. That’s the primary communication of a barrier or a fence.
The barriers also tell us the site managers KNOW it is a tourist destination. They KNOW visitors to the city will be disappointed that it is under construction. They KNOW these visitors will still want to be take photos.
And they value visitors to the site and to the city.
The pretty barriers relay pride in the site. The site managers care enough about the site to make it pretty.
The images are drawings, not photographs. That relays the site managers care about the arts. They didn’t send a construction worker out to take photos. They employed an artist to sketch it.
And these barriers tell everyone this construction will be happening for a while. It isn’t an overnight closure. The site will be closed for weeks, maybe months, maybe years.
The type of fence or a barrier in a story is important. It communicates much more than ‘Stay out.’ Make your choice of fence or barrier intentional.
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Muse Food – The Details Few People Notice
I recently shared this photo with you.
What you might not have noticed and I only noticed because I enlarged it on my screen is the millipede on the fallen tree trunk in the upper left hand corner of the photo.
Writers do this ALL THE TIME. Mystery Writers are especially skilled at this. They weave little details into their stories that might seem like throwaway lines, lines that don’t mean anything.
Yet they very much mean something. These details can be foreshadowing. They can hint that all is not normal in the world (The movie, The Sixth Sense, did this very well.). They can be the clue that solves the mystery.
Care about the little details. They are often the difference between a good story and a GREAT story.
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Muse Food – Lighting And Setting The Mood
As anyone in a wintery climate will tell you, lighting influences our moods.
Currently, in my part of the world, there are fewer hours of daylight. And this causes big issues like depression, increase in suicide rates, overall grumpiness.
Lighting in our stories sets the mood also.
A scene set at night, in the darkness, automatically becomes more dangerous and mysterious than a scene set at noon, under a blazing sun.
Rain and gray clouds in a scene bring with them a sense of dreariness, of sadness.
A scene set in an office, under harsh fluorescent lights, is colder, less personal.
Lighting matters.
What is the lighting in the scene you’re currently writing or reading?
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