Adding Vividness to Your Writing

Common questions writers hear are "Where do you get your story ideas?" and "How do you make your stories so real?" My answer to both questions is "Everywhere."

So where do I get my ideas? Everywhere and that is the truth. I read books, magazines, and newspapers. I watch television and movies. I listen to the lyrics of music. I admire art. I watch people. I see details. And when something catches my attention. I wonder why my attention is on that one piece. Then I wonder if there is a story there. Regardless if the answer is a yes or no, I'll file tha tpiece, that idea, that detail away for possible later usage.

Now granted, not all ideas make great stories. But some ideas by themselves or connected with other ideas have the possibility of becoming great stories. And that's what I look for - the possibility."

I once took a self-defense class. The teacher taught the three A's of self-defense: awareness of our surroundings, alertness to changes in our surroundings, and actions we could take to ensure our survival. The three A's can also be applied to recognizing story ideas and actions, expressions, or mannerisms that can enrich our writing.

Be Aware.

Awareness is being observant of your surroundings. Do you liek to sit and people watch? While you're sipping a latte at a local coffee shop before work, do you bury your nose in the morning paper, or do you people watch? Do you notice the man walking down the street with his dog? Is the man an elder dapper gentleman walking a young yapping golden retriver puppy?

Be aware of your surroundings and mine the area for ideas. Inspiration can spark from observing a person's mannersims to hearing an unusual speech pattern and wanting to capture that for your character. An idea can materialize while you experience a particularly pink sunrise, taking in your own emotional response and wanting your character to experience the same reactions.

By the way, your own reasons and emotions can be used in your stories. You yourself can provide a lot of ideas or details to make your writing more vivid and exciting.

Be Alert.

Learn to scrutinize beyond the obvious. It isn't enough to see a man walking his dog. See the details. Observe. How does the man walk? How would you describe his walk? Does he have a slight limp on his left side? Ever wondered why he was limping or was it temporary or did it hurt a lot? What kind of dog is he walking? How does the dog behave and how does the man react to the dog's behavior? How does the dog react to the man?

Take Action.

Ask yourself, "How can I use this in my current work?" Regardless of the answer, write your observations down. If you can't use them immediately, file them away - you may need them for a future scene or project. Or you can use these ideas to help your critique or brainstorming partners with their writing projects. Keep pen and paper with you at all times (or your Palm Pilot or Pocket PC) so you can jot ideas down as they come to you. Don't have room in your purse or pocket for that notebook? If you carry your cellphone with you, that is all you need. Most phones have a memo recorder function. Or you can simply call yourself and leave a message. The important thing is not to lose the idea that caught your attention. Trust me on this. There has been more than one time I regretted not jotting an idea down immediately. There have been times I can't recall that darn good idea.

What if?

Or do you find inspiration in music? I like listening to JOhnny Cash's I Walk the Line. One particular stirring stanza was:

You've got a way to keep me on your side

Just listening to the song causes me to wonder what kind of heroine could cause a bad boy to change his ways for her and only for her? Obviously, this was the plot of of Walk the Line. But isn't this theme also repeated with the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens in The King and I? This is also the same theme in Dirty Dancing between the two main characters Frances "Baby" House and Johnny Castle: played by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. The character to reform doesn't always have to be the male character. The "reformee" can also be the female character or both characters as can be seen with Ray and Eva in Deliver Us From Eva, starring LL Cool J and Gabrielle Union. There are a finite number fo plots in the world, but there are an infinite number of stories.

Ever find your attention caught by a conversation nearby (not that you were eavesdropping - it wasn't your fault they were talking loud enough for you to hear, right)? Make a note of what caught your awareness. Ask yourself "What if"? It can later be used as a conversation in your own story.

Build up your library of ideas. You may not be able to use tehm all, but you will be able to broaden your character and scene descriptions outside ofyour own personal experiences to maeka more enriching story.

Practiving these three A's and asking yourself "What if?" will enrich your writing, bringing you fresh ideas, and adding real-life details to your writing.