December 4, 2011

Inspiration comes from many different areas. Just the other day I was noticing the large pictures that are hanging in my office building. Each of them tells a story, a scene with just a snapshot. The old saying: A picture is worth a thousand words! So how, as a writer do you portray the scene so it doesn’t take a thousand words? With movies it’s easy or at least easier, like the picture you just take a video of it. With a book though, remember to describe each scene as a person would see it in their mind. You want to capture the reader by using as few words a possible, but so they can still see what you see. Remember, you don’t have to portray everything in the scene in the first moment. You can slowly describe the scene as the person is walking down the street (for example). Usually that makes the story more interesting. If you have a complete layout at the beginning of the book, or scene, there will be nothing to discover as the reader moves through the book. Again, think of a movie. Not many movies tell you the whole layout of the town right away. You find out who lives next door or what is across town as you watch the movie.