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Birdie's Quill

Birdie

Moments in Time

I stared out at the pool. Rolled towels occupied chaise lounges lining the pool deck, and awaited hotel guests coming to sun themselves or take a refreshing dip. A mocking bird landed on the back of one of the chairs and eyed the still waters of the deep end of the pool.

“Would you like coffee or juice?” the waiter asked.

I glanced from the view outside the windowed wall to a handsome young man with dark wavy hair. “Both, please,” my husband and I said in unison.

Piano music filtered through hidden speakers overhead while my mind drifted to my novel. Three-fourths written, I’d brought along a hard copy to read on vacation to get an overview and make changes necessary for plot twists added later in the story. I’d hit a sticking point. A character had to be added or changed to make the logic behind my plot work. It was time to let it rest.

The waiter returned with our coffee and juice and my husband and I headed across the plush carpeting toward the breakfast buffet. Fresh pineapple, strawberries, melon and bananas added a variety of color to the stainless steel buffet table. I moved to the hot food and lifted the hood to one of the trays. “What’s that?” I asked my husband. A mystery dish shaped like taco shells but the color of eggs gathered in the bottom of the half-empty tray. I’d never seen anything like it.

He shrugged and we moved onto the next steam table dish. I lifted the hood enough to shed light on tiny cubes of potatoes, followed by trays of bacon and sausage links and biscuits and gravy. I carried my empty plate back to the yellow mystery dish when I noticed a sign on the ledge above the glass sanitation shield: Scrambled eggs.  “It is scrambled eggs!” I placed a couple of stuck together taco shaped scrambled eggs with cheese onto my plate with a few sausages and headed to the table feeling like a guinea pig. My husband’s plate held the taco eggs plus bacon, biscuits and gravy.

The waiter returned with more juice and coffee. I’d never tasted better orange juice. Fresh, not too tart or too sweet—perfect, one of the benefits of living in Florida. I cut through the taco eggs with my fork and took a bite. Not bad, but not good. The tasteless taco eggs needed salt and pepper or more. Humidity collected salt on the chrome top of the cut-glass saltshaker. I sprinkled the flavorful crystals across the dry, overcooked yellow surface. Nope, it didn’t help. The rubbery sausage topped off the dining experience and sent me back to the buffet for fruit. Why hadn’t I made that choice in the first place?

Soak in the Details
I could go on, but this example is enough. Did you ever find yourself in a place where you feel like you're passing time? Waiting to see the dentist or doctor, having your car fixed, or at a sporting event as a less than enthusiastic spectator? Even routine chores or errands fit into this category. My husband and I ended up at this restaurant because vouchers for breakfast were included with our room. He’s not much of a morning person, and over the years I’ve learned to sit quietly and let him wake up slowly. It gave me time to think and soak in the details.

It’s easy to go through life allowing the world to whiz by as we scurry from one destination and responsibility to another. Writers, take up this challenge. The next time you find yourself in a mundane situation, take time to soak in the details. What do you see? Hear? Smell?

The lack of aroma during my recent restaurant experience should have been a clue. No delicious mouth-watering smells to make me rush to the buffet. The lack of aroma easily transitions to food with no taste. One detail backs up another.

Engaging Details
When you train yourself to take notice of details, they flow into your writing naturally. If I hadn’t stopped to take in my surroundings, I don’t think I would have noticed the soothing piano music at the restaurant, towels on the lounge chairs or any such peripheral information like the mocking bird.

“Real world details flood our senses on a subconscious level. Good writers furnish these details with three-dimensional realism while moving characters within an imaginary world with an active voice.” In my book, Pumping Your Muse, each chapter deals with an exercise challenging us not only to notice details but teaches us how to incorporate them in our writing. “Routine sometimes makes us so familiar with our surroundings that we no longer take in the details. We drive to work and wonder how we got there.” The key is finding a realistic balance that engages the reader.

The Emotional Connection
Details not only set the scene but conjure emotional responses. Relaxation tapes include sounds like waves lapping the shoreline, birds singing, or soft music. When writing, engage the senses. Sounds, aromas and other sensory details like the use of light and temperature create emotional connections. Taking time to capture real life moments on paper develops the skill of paying attention to your surroundings and learning to verbalize the experience with vivid imagery.

Take tiny slices of life and capture them in words. Don’t try to write about your entire day. In fact, don’t pick the most exciting event, but instead choose the mundane or routine. Learning to grasp details to describe these situations helps pump life into your writing and connects readers to your world.

About the Author
Author and freelance writer, Donna Sundblad, resides in Florida with her husband, Rick. Check ePress-online for details about her recently released book, Pumping Your Muse. As an owner/editor of Team Spirit Critique and Editing, LLC, Donna helps other writers follow their dreams. Visit her website at www.theinkslinger.net for more information.