Day of the Otters

Last week we talked about the importance of creating a picture with words when writing fiction. I readily admit I’m from the old school and have a tendency to use quite a few descriptive details in my writing. I want my readers to be able to visualize the characters in the fictional world I’ve created. As a result, I depend on details and try to stay away from reliance on dialogue to create setting and mood. I’m not saying that my way is better, only that it works for me. In the last post I talked about historical fiction and the importance of reading and research about the time and place. But what if your setting is in the present, in a location that’s familiar? You might choose a place you’ve visited or perhaps your hometown. Where do the details come from? You might be able to do a little reading and research, but now you’re writing about what you know. Remember, this is what so many of us have been told to write about. At this point you’re pretty much on your own and have to depend on “the mind’s eye.”

What is “the mind’s eye”? First of all, it’s something we all have; and the good news is that it can be developed. It’s pure imagination! It’s what we see—a mental picture—as we imagine and create. When we write about setting or describe a character we’re using our “mind’s eye” to make the writing come alive. Let’s say you’re writing a story set in your hometown, a place you know inside and out. You close your eyes and try to visualize a picture of the place; the image is in your head rather than facts on a page. After all you don’t want to sound like Wikipedia. Your description will be unique, because you’re writing about your hometown as you see it instead of using factual information. Everything you have experienced in that place you know so well, both good and bad memories, will influence what you write. Now you’re writing about something you know first-hand, but your description of your hometown will be based on the details you have observed and the impressions you have collected throughout your life.

Now let’s go back to the question: Where do the details come from? Certainly, the writer can use his/her imagination and create details; just think about Science Fiction and the creative process of describing unknown worlds. But the details you are most likely to use in your writing will be based on observation. The people and the world around you will provide more than enough details to use in your writing. You simply have to develop the ability and the patience to see them. Get into the habit of paying attention to the world around you.

Yesterday I spent almost an hour on the Town of Beaver Trail near my house. I get many of my ideas there next to our one-lane wooden suspension bridge across the White River. It was Porsche Weekend in Eureka Springs, and the tourists were out in force; but around noon folks must have gravitated to the restaurants. Suddenly all was quiet. The fall color is at its peak, and I was entranced with the beauty as I strolled down the trail. When I got back to my car, I simple sat and soaked it all in. We’ve been short on rain lately and the water level has dropped considerably, revealing old logs and snags left from the big flood we had two years ago. I sat and looked at the water for a long time. The sun was making the water sparkle and the colors were vivid. The water reflected the brilliant blue of the sky. I suddenly saw the curve of an otter’s back as it approached the logs near the shore. The driftwood there reminds me of a jungle-gym with a complicated structure of broken limbs and trunk. I held my breath. A year ago I saw an otter at this exact spot and told everyone about it. Yesterday, the whole family was there: two adults and two adolescents. I watched them as they played in the water, catching fish and climbing up on the logs to eat them, scales and all. They fed on small fish for at least ten minutes and then decided it was time to go. I watched as they swam away up river to their secret den. What a thrill to see a whole family! When I got home my husband, the biologist, told me that I’ve seen something very special. But here’s the important thing—it would have been so easy to miss. I was reminded to slow down and make time to see the details that are all around us. At some point—I’m not sure when—I’ll use the otter family in my writing. I’ll be able to go back and see the river, the fall color, and the otter family in my “mind’s eye” and use that experience to create a time and place.