TRICKS of a FEW UNUSUAL writersVLADAMIR NABAKOV was said to have an immense feeling for English words. He claimed that he knew a good word because when he heard it, he would either have a vision or have a VISION TRIGGERED. When he found a really good word, with a lush vision, then he'd use that word. HE said the word 'LOYALTY' was like a golden fork lying in the sun. Can you see how that might be? If so, then read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Nabokov
Seeing golden glints in words is certainly an unusual trick but Nabakov was always an unusual man, and after Lolita, a literary sensation so maybe we can trust him.
Try it yourself. CHOOSE some words that make you see things. Lush words. See if you can see visions in words. I picked a few that make me see things. MURDER. CONCUBINE. GLUTTONY. MAVERICK. WHOLESOME. LITHE. DUMPLING.
SO next time you want to give the reader, say an overdose of the impoverished character's slum room's seediness and want to say filthy, putty colored carpet, maybe try 'corpse-colored' or maybe dog puke would say it better. Or 'the carpets were the exact shade of rotten, human skin.' Seek the right word.
Maybe you want to go straight to the visions themselves without it being words so much. My pal the novelist (about to have a big sale,) says that her trick is to write in a way that will open the reader's third eye. She says one should bypass the mind and aim straight at the soul.
"Here are some of my mystical tricks: You want to help the reader to astral project into the scene. This is done by describing a small detail. Once it is in the inner eye, the rest of the picture flows from it. The detail about say, a vase of OXBLOOD RED DAISIES next to the body reflecting the bleeding wound on a character's neck, gets you right there. The light flashing on the IV bag, grabs you.
The eyes of your readers pull those readers in. You want them stuck flat to the page. That's where you want them. Living and breathing the five senses, standing right there next to your character. So the idea is, use sounds, smells, tiny little things easily imagined. Loose them to your craft, then drag them around in your story. The mise-en scene' sticks to the reader, warps through their mind. They may put down the book but they're still thinking about those IMAGES. Because they are not words, they are third eye images.
"Its a game, an art form. You are not telling a story, you are seeing how far you can take them out of themselves---out of the box of this reality. Out where they need to be to be free. It is your mission, your gift. Don't cheat them.
"For one of my chapters there was a feast. The food before the party was spread on all the tables, that wasn't the hook. The hook was the word "HOOTERS" (the caterer) written in script across the low cut aprons of the servers. Suddenly, you're right there. You can see it. The detail on the food is too much for the mind to capture, but the words across the aprons on top of the large bustlines of the servers is simple.
In one of my 'battle insect horror stories, ' the furry soft touch of the MOTH VILLAINs feelers and the whirring of these giant wings, sucks you into the battle. Right there, in front of you is a giant insect.
See how far you can drive the reader into the story on a third eye level.
http://www.writingonyourpalm.net/column010122.htm
has some wonderful techniques and suggestions.http://www.utoronto.ca/tsq/DS/07/087.shtml
is a more studious piece on writers.
TO BE CONTINUED . . . . .As I come across more secrets of writing.
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