On the Periphery

Things change. Life throws us curves and changeups. It's good to have a place to vent.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Well, it’s fall. When I take the dog out in the morning, the grass is coated with frost and the nip in the air is fresh and clean. Sweet air is quiet, the sky dome so high that sound from the highway just goes straight up and doesn’t wash over my yard. When a car or truck does pass, it’s a quick, sharp engine sound that quickly disappears. Nice. I noticed this morning that the leaves are still falling, one at a time, but with their early morning ice coating, they fall hard, and instead of a soft, rustling sound, they hit the earth with a definite “thunk.” Interesting.

That "thunk" got me thinking. (Notice the alliteration?) It presented a different way of viewing and describing that eternal metaphor, the leaf gently breaking from its branch and wafting away into the air, floating toward death and a cold eternity. A rapid descent to hard ground, thunk, and it's over. That's what we as writers strive to do--to look at the world and refashion the images with which we are presented, twisting them to represent an emotion or an opinion.

Here's an exercise for you: Look around you for a common image. Nature is good, because it is constant, yet not consistent. Then write your scene, describing it in an uncommon way. Pick a mood or a personal epiphany and write to it. Then, when you are finished, do it again, but pick the opposite mood. It's fun, and you might find yourself looking at something you barely noticed before in a whole new way.

Labels: ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home