Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Okay, so I've been asked before how does one go about writing something that reads as though it's real? Also, intimately related, how does one get "better" at writing? I've often simply said that one must write the most truthful and honest things that one can. No one else will believe it if you don't. Which is all well and good, until I found myself playing a little game in my head the other day and realized that I've been doing it for years. I think that it contributes to my ability to write.

The way it works is this: Observe someone (for preference, people are really complex) or something. Pick out one or two things about it that really stand out and seem to define it. Think about what makes those things so defining. Next, describe it, over and over again, in your head, until you (A) reach a description that as closely captures what you saw as possible and (B) remember the words you settle on to describe it. It doesn't even have to be a lot of words. Later in the day, you'll want B because the final stage is to compose in your head the way that you would write the description in a story. It doesn't have to be a real story, just a story.

The grocery store or a restaurant are good places for the observing. When you're stuck in the express line with only 3 items and some biddy up ahead is trying to pay for 47 items using nothing but coins, you've got loads of time to stare at people and not look weird.

So, here's a couple that I came up with the other day. (A) Her cheekbones are round, really round. They stick out in such a way that they pull the skin flat. They make her look ugly. (B) Joe tried to make eye contact with the bartender so he could order another drink, but the alien cast to her features was so distracting he wound up staring at her mouth in order to feel less uncomfortable. There was just something about the way her face was shaped that made Joe want to walk away. He left a single on the counter for a tip and went to find another bar.

(A) Expensive clothes and too much cologne. They talk too loud and travel in a self-important pack. (B) Tim kept his eye on the three young men wandering through the store. They didn't look like trouble, but they probably could be. They walked around like they were attached at the hip, with a swagger that tried to impress the notion of important business. When they finally brought a roll of paper towels up to the counter, Tim was agog. It took three of them to buy 79 cents worth of paper towels?

I guess it's a fun distraction that has the bonus of making descriptions more real.

~Serzen

So I came home from work last night and took the dog out in the rain. So this is the scene as I saw it:

Dave stood out in the rain, waiting for the dog to take care of his business. Hunger knocked in his stomach, rain knocked on the umbrella. Bright light from the garage lit the scene with faded white, casting long shadows. Thanks to the umbrella, Dave was an improbably oversized indigo mushroom stretching out across the wet grass. Finally, the dog found the perfect tree to pee on and Dave could go inside to rest weary feet.