The Writer Brain
A thought exercise, and definitely not an opportunity for me to brag about my vacation.
This past Monday was my 7th wedding anniversary, and to celebrate, my husband and I took a short mini-vacation to a destination spa about an hour from my home.
The cool thing about this place (other than the fact it’s a spa) is that it is completely electronics-free. No phones, no tablets, no constant interruptions by life begging for your attention. It’s a very purposeful place to completely disconnect, and find the connections that have been in front of your face the whole time. We got massages and facials, ate delicious food, and they even left us truffles in our room as a little anniversary present!
Now I promise I’m not here just to brag about how great my mini-vacation was (even though it really was great). I’m here because I was explaining this to my husband, and I could feel the article bubbling in me as I was doing it.
The way the writer’s brain works in situations where it’s allowed to flourish is a very intriguing thing. I noticed myself, without a phone to distract me, constantly finding ways to describe my environment and feelings as if I were writing a novel about my current situation.
Trees became impressionist watercolors with hazy edges that bled into the blue sky. Bricks became sandstone pillars that hugged a crackling fire. Food became sumptuous, breath became spiraling cobwebs, and water became tempestuous relaxation. The oxymorons and metaphors were everywhere.
I even got to explain purple prose to him. He asked me to go deeper when describing the bricks beside the fire. I was curious what he meant by going deeper, so I asked how he’d describe them, only for him to pull out an overly flowery, too-detailed description that I liked, but was meandering. Getting to explain craft to someone who knows nothing about it was interesting, because it solidified my own understanding of why I do the things I do.
“Don’t go overboard,” I told him. “The only reason you want to lean into intense description is when the person, place, or thing you’re describing is important to the scene. Otherwise, you’re leading your reader into a tunnel of description with zero payoff. Trust me, they’ll hate you for it.”
So, the bricks only hug the fire, because that is the most critical purpose they served in setting the scene. Now, if there was something hiding within those bricks, maybe I’d point out the fact that one brick seemed more worn than the rest, the mortar holding it together with it’s neighbors crumbled away into dust. Maybe I’d mention the fact it seemed askew and dirtier than it’s neighbors.
Or maybe, I wouldn’t mention it at all.
It’s about context.
So what’s my context here? I mostly just wanted an excuse to explain some of the ways my brain works when it’s given the opportunity to. But partially, I wanted to guide y’all to this concept of purpose within the writing craft. Obviously, when writers create, we are doing so with purpose. But what about readers? Do readers notice these things we craft so purposefully, carefully, and lovingly?
Of course they do.
When done well, they don’t notice them actively. It’s one of those things that they realize at the end of the book and go “oh my god so that’s why!” It’s why a reader might guess a twist, figure out the culprit, or form theories about the plot. Writers are subtle manipulators (I mean this in the most loving way possible), and every single word we leave on the page serves to further whatever purpose we are striving for.
Getting to work those description muscles without anywhere to write them down was a great practice for my brain. If you’re a writer and you’re reading this, I encourage you to do the same. It’s like a workout for your brain, and even though you aren’t necessarily actively writing those words down, it’s still good to consider them and consider their purpose.
In the end, a relaxing adventure was just what I needed to get the writing gears moving once more.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this meandering description of the way my brain works, consider subscribing!
If you’re interested in reading the descriptions I create in my books, visit my website to learn more!
And finally, thanks for reading my words, in any capacity.
Love,
Tia