Submission 2: Observation – the importance of detail
Submission 2: Observation – the importance of detail
“Learning from other writers is important for every writer, not just those starting out. Each of us see the world from a unique perspective and observing and describing every detail will give a fresh insight to your writing.
Listening to Michèle Roberts and Tim Pears, what do you think is the importance of detail to their storytelling? What sort of detail are they talking of? What effect does it have?
(Text: © The Open University; Images: © The Open University/Getty Images/Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert (Roberts)/Rory Carnegie (Pears); Audio: © The Open University/Michèle Roberts/Tim Pears)”
Submission Answers:
…what do you think is the importance of detail to their storytelling?
Michèle Roberts explains taking her writing style to a sensory level through her use of details, allowing her readers to witness what she witnesses in her storytelling, a “witnessing camera”. Tim Pears explains all his writing are details revealed bit by bit, small things revealed in sentences…
What sort of detail are they talking of?
They are speaking of characters details and the world they are actively working towards building in the mind of the reader, through storytelling.
What effect does it have?
It engages the reader’s imagination and participation.
“Heightening your observations”
“Developing your powers of observation and including a high level of detail can affect your writing style – for the better.
- Read back through the notes you have made so far and the character sketch you wrote in Developing a character from your notebook.
- Now try to add to your notes and sketch, making your observations as detailed as possible. Think back to the person you observed and see if you can remember more precise details about that person.
This closer scrutiny and attention to detail might also spark ideas for a story.
© The Open University”
My submission
“Sarah, a young woman with a gentle face and soft easy smile, keeps her curling golden brown hair in place using a white beanie with warm coloured stripes. Staving of the early morning cold en-route to her website design job she wears a neat thin long army green jacket, its faux fur lined hoodie falling wayside. Shielding her eyes from the pure white sunlight, she looks down her long pointed nose, concentrating while she waits to cross the traffic junction.”
“Learning from other writers”
“Learning from other writers is something all writers do, not just new writers. There are great benefits from reading. Seeing how someone else has written a description and brought a character to life can help you to see how you might tackle it yourself.
You have seen this already with the extracts from George Orwell and Zoë Heller that you read in Reading characters. Now take a look at these extracts from Graham Greene and Kate Atkinson. Note in your journal the main ways of portraying character that each writer uses.”
Comment Submission
Spicer in Brighton Rock; the character shows confusion with his repeated thinking – he’s caught in a spin. In addition, the beings around him reinforce that fearful confusion, “the seagull… like a scared bird caught in a cathedral”.
Victor in Case Histories; By sharing details of how Victor spends his time, we are able to create a clear picture. By giving clear sight into how they met and what he thinks of women we can conceive the image of someone who is alien to women…or rather thinks women alien to him.
“Comparing characters again”
“Reading other writers is an essential part of your own development as a writer.
You have seen different approaches to character portrayal in the extracts from Orwell and Heller, and as well as in the extracts from Greene and Atkinson.
Now reconsider your character sketch:
- Is there an opportunity to add the thoughts of your character?
- Can you situate your character in relation to a particular location?
- Does what your character says in their dialogue tally with what they think, or is there a discrepancy?
- Can you smuggle in some details about your character’s back story, their life prior to when we meet them?
- Can you try to infer how your character acts in the world – for instance, are they overwhelmed or in some sense out of control (like Spicer in the Greene extract) or are they hapless (like Victor in the Atkinson extract)?
There are, of course, many more options for how a character might operate in the world – they might be optimistic, miserly, whimsical, stoic. There are many other possibilities.
It is important that you now build a habit of reading to see how other writers have revealed their characters. Don’t rely on these two readings, or on the previous two. Look for the way characters are revealed in all that you read. You can choose your own sources and examples; read as much as you can.
© The Open University”
“How can I be original?
The more you read, the more you will learn about the various techniques of portraying characters. But on occasions an anxiety can arise from your reading: how can I possibly be original?
Originality
Originality for its own sake often results in ‘false’ writing: real people are seldom either so self-conscious or remarkable that they think and speak in entirely new ways. On the other hand, attempting to convey or describe something as accurately as possible will very often result in striking or fresh-sounding expressions.
Observing precisely how something appears to you, or how it might appear in the eyes of one of your characters, will often result in you writing something original. How? Because every person observes or perceives things – the world, themselves – in a different way.
Does it matter if you don’t know many interesting words?
The language you already know and use is vital: it’s a thumbprint of who you are. All the words you already know are potentially interesting, if used well, and all have interesting origins. Where they come from can say a lot about what they mean. Use a good dictionary so that you can find out where ‘ordinary’ words come from, and see what other meanings they might have.
- Get into the habit of looking through your dictionary whenever you can, noting in your journal words you like and word-derivations that are interesting to you.
- Start to keep a note of words you hear in conversation, and in everyday life: the phrases, words and speech patterns people use.
- Think about words you particularly like and why. Keep a note of them, where they derive from, and why you like them. They needn’t be ‘exotic’ words, but perhaps ones you liked because you heard them used in a surprising context.
- Be wary of using large, Latinate or multi-syllabic words gratuitously. Make sure that such words earn their place in your story. If in doubt, use the shorter, more commonly used word.
- Be wary of using hackneyed terms or phrases, clichés and the types of phrases that are too familiar.
Plain language, deeply understood, is ample to convey the most sophisticated and complex meanings. Often ‘ordinary’ words are made vivid and memorable by appearing in unexpected places, or by being used in surprising ways.
© The Open University”
” Familiar words in unfamiliar places
Where have you noticed ordinary words used in interesting or surprising places?
‘The sea fog began to lift towards noon. It had been blowing in, thin and loose, for two days, smudging the tops of the trees up the ravine where the house stood.’
(Pritchett, V. S. (1980) ‘On the Edge of the Cliff’ in On the Edge of the Cliff and Other Stories, Chatto and Windus: London, p.3.)
In this passage, the writer V.S. Pritchett is describing fog in an unfamiliar and unexpected way – but does so using ‘ordinary’ words to create a fresh and imaginative picture.
Try describing something familiar with one or two ordinary words that you wouldn’t normally use in that context. Share your example in the comments.
© The Open University”
Submission
As the temperature of the world rose, so did the humidity – each factor egging the other non-stop. The humans had created a broiler – Earth 2023.
