But what does that really mean? Isn't writing all about story telling?
Well yes, it is, but the words you choose can show your reader the story without telling them how they should see it.
Here's an example:
I occasionally treat family members to a view through the window of my journal-through-life. Sometimes it's to their liking, and sometimes it's not. One thing I can count on, however, is that my eldest sister will always love what I write - whether she gets it or not. (It's important to have cheerleaders - but its your loving critics who'll help perfect your craft.)
Once, after she had read (what I considered) an especially 'deep and reflective piece' I overheard her comment to my son, "Your mom doesn't see the world like the rest of us do. When I look at the ocean I see the ocean, because after all, it is 'The Ocean.' Your mom looks at the ocean and sees
tiny drops of water combining to create crashing waves, or the glint of the sun dancing off ripples like light glances off the facets of a diamond."
I smiled to myself and thought: Ah...then I'm doing my job...I'm a Writer; I'm supposed to show my readers the world they live in through a different lens - and in doing so, expose them to the wonders they miss when they see only the surface of what lies before them.
That brings us back to the writing rule: "Show, don't tell." The "showing" appears in your work when you choose nouns and verbs rather than relying on adjectives - by choosing object and action words you allow the reader to see the action in her mind instead of hearing about it through your eyes.
Look closely at the example my sister used and consider her words: 'tiny drops of water combining to create crashing waves' - notice the word 'tiny' is the only adjective in that phrase. Now look at the next one: 'the glint of the sun dancing off ripples like light glances off the facets of a diamond' - no adjectives at all in that phrase. The nouns (drops; water; waves; sun; ripples; facets; diamond) and the verbs (combining; create; crashing; glint; dancing; glances) paint word pictures in the readers mind - complete with sound effects.
However, she was describing the picture the writing had painted in her mind, she was not quoting the words I had written - she wasn't even expressing the content of my message. See for yourself. Here's the piece from my journal.
“That of which I am a part is more important than which part I play.”
I took the opportunity to drive over to the coast to sit by the ocean and think the thoughts it would inspire. As I sat there, my attention was drawn to the activity of the waves, and I wondered: what happens to the water that comprises each wave when the wave is spent on the sandy beach?
So, I watched; I learned.
Some of the water remains behind - filling tide pools, sustaining the life therein; some of the water absorbs into the sand eventually to evaporate when the tide moves out and the sun parches the beach; and some of the water withdraws back into the sea to form yet another crashing wave.
The cycle continues. Each wave in its sequence: beating upon the rocks and sand; hammering its force; expending its strength; exhausting its very being - and to what end?
Eventually the shoreline is shaped by the pounding of many waves - but the wave of the moment cannot see it. This wave sees only that which is as it crashes; it does not understand how its effort adds to and builds upon the work of the waves before it; nor does it appreciate, as it gives its strength to the sand, how those waves which follow will carry on its work.
When the wave crashes, its work is done. The end of its era has arrived. Yet, the sea does not rest. With the end of each wave, a new wave follows: some larger than the last, some smaller; some crashing against rocks sending their spray high into the air, some touching the shore with barely a ripple.
“That of which I am a part is more important than which part I play.”
Each of us is like one of the drops of water - the synergy of which comprises each wave. We may not see how our work builds upon the foundation laid by those who have gone before us – and we cannot fully appreciate the importance of the walls we have raised to leave behind as support for what others will build.
As our wave crashes on the shores of life with all our might and force: Some of us will remain on the beach to sustain the life trapped in societies’ tide pools; some will simply soak into the sand and dissipate – having tried once once or twice, consumed in the doing; but others will re-group to crash again and again to re-shape societies’ shore.
Our challenge is to raise our sights and recognize we're part of a larger picture. That society as a whole will be impacted for all generations because of the role we play in that which we are part of.
“That of which I am a part is more important than which part I play.”
So, the next time you feel like your best efforts are just a drop in the ocean – remember: it takes individual drops of water to comprise the mighty waves.
It painted such a vivid picture in my sister's imagination that she could 'hear' the crash of the waves and 'see' the glint of the light on the water - although I hadn't mentioned light on the water.
The point is not so much what she saw as it is that she saw - and she marveled - not at my writing, but at the picture inside her own head. That is our goal as writers: to show our world through a different lens; to paint a picture so vivid our readers are actually transported into the scene; to allow them to see beyond what they see with their eyes. Creation is a marvelous thing - as writers we are entrusted to unlock its wonder for the rest of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment