Lesson Learned - Again

I truly believe the best way to learn how to write is to talk and interact with other authors. When you bounce ideas off a friend, they can be helpful, but another author knows what questions to ask.


(See yesterday's posting) We sat at a table in Panera's as my friend told me her character was coming into a scriptorium. I 'saw' a huge room with a domed ceiling and lots of books and tables and chairs about. No. Her scriptorium was dark and small with only one tiny unshielded light bulb hanging from the ceiling. Wow! Now that's a big difference.


It screamed to me, 'description is important to get across the mood.' 


We laughed a lot. She could 'see' my scenario and I could now see hers. Her character comes in and up to a table where a snake was at. I saw the snake on the table. She saw the snake sitting on a chair. Again - Wow! What a difference. I was thinking of where a 'real' snake would sit. She was thinking of where her character would sit.


We laughed some more. Then we got to the dialogue. Now that she knew what needed to be added and how her character was interacting with the other character, she knew what the dialogue had to be. It turned out to be so much shorter than she thought, which was a good thing. But the dialogue was also more forceful, more dynamic since she could 'see' the entire scene, see how the characters were standing/sitting, and what now had to be said. 


A quiet afternoon turned itself into a great learning experience.


Life is throbbing.