“Breaking Habits of Seeing” is a fun activity from Discovering the Writer Within by Bruce Ballenger and Barry Lane. Practiced writers make unique observations almost as second nature, but all writers occasionally fall victim to complacency. If you want to challenge yourself or introduce others to the process of making “writerly” observations, try this exercise. Later posts will then use today’s photography and associated freewriting as a way to engage in the revision process.
Breaking Habits of Seeing
Whether done alone, with members of a writers’ group, or with students, always remember to let yourself indulge in the playfulness of language.
- Find a small rock. If not, any small, natural object will do: a stick, leaf, flower, pine cone, etc.
- Generate a list of observations related to your rock. Go beyond the obvious. Keep passing the object around and adding to the list (if done as part of a group).
- Keep looking closer. Don’t stop thinking and adding the list!!!
- Now circle any observations that another person would not immediately see as obvious.
Consider what this silly exercise has to do with becoming a better writer. What do the lists reveal? Were your observations mostly obvious or were you able to see things in new and interesting ways? Do you make things hard on yourself or is it easy to let the observations flow? How can over-thinking harm your writing?
The authors of Discovering the Writer Within then write, “What makes familiar things worth writing about is that we are able to find a way to see them that makes them new, both for us and the people we write for.”
I’ve made a habit out of reminding myself that it’s my duty as a writer to try to treat my subjects in novel ways. If I fail to do that, I know I will fail to engage my readers.
Follow Through
It can be hard to make observations that go beyond the obvious. To hasten the process, you will do the following:
- Grab a camera and head outside.
- Pick an inanimate object, preferably something that is familiar to you.
- Set aside at least 15 minutes (it’s easy to get carried away with this one, believe me).
- Limit yourself to no more than one roll of film and/or 50 digital pictures.
- Make each shot as varied as possible. Aim for a variety of angles and distances. Better yet, if you have time, return to take pictures of the object as the light changes throughout the day.
Reflection
Freewrite for five minutes about the taking the pictures. What did you find easy or difficult?
Stay Tuned
You will continue to do more with your pictures for a future activity called “Twenty Ways to See an Elm Tree.” Photography and the revision process have a lot in common when it comes to re-seeing subject matter in a variety of ways.
This exercise shares the same basic premise as “Finding the Questions” as featured in the book The Curious Researcher. Many approaches exist to find what is interesting or unit about any subject. Never stop trying to bring fresh angles to your writing. Your audience will respond in kind.
Teachers Helping Teachers
Have you tried this or a similar exercise with students? I’d love to know so why not leave a comment below?
Hi Jeri,
Thank you so much for your comment on my blog, about the Titanic. It is something about my childhood as a bookworm which has always made me interested in historical events, and discovering the fine details that most people don’t know about. It’s a hobby of mine, I guess! I’m only glad to have a blog to share some thoughts about my research, and hope that someone out there benefits. If you ever want to read a book or two on the Titanic, I would wholly recommend 2 great titles written by Walter Lord. You can find out more about in my April 7th post. I appreciating you stopping by my blog!
~ Tarissa
Tarissa {In the Bookcase} recently posted..R.M.S. Titanic: 4 days until cast off.
What a great hobby to have! Really, most students in public schools don’t have that type of passion for learning and knowledge, which points to how little value much of society places on education. I’m going to see Titanic in 3D, so I’m pretty happy about that. Your blog is great!
A very interesting and useful concept. In fact, I participate in poetry/short fiction memes which draw inspiration from a random picture, a similar yet different concept. The diverse visions that people come up with, of, say a picture of a woman walking on the beach is really thrilling to read. Sometimes what you write ends up diagonally opposite to what you see in the picture. Thanks for visiting. It was nice meeting you.
I’ve also experimented with using images as writing prompts. I have a huge set of laminated magazine photos that I’ve used in the classroom from time to time, but also pull them out to see what kind of writing inspiration strikes! Thanks for checking out my blog. I’m glad I came across yours and hope you keep writing!
Usually when I write fiction it stems from a picture. It helps me to visualize so I can frame the words through it.
Jon Jefferson recently posted..Brewing:Experiment Ale A and B Finished
I have a huge stack of pics from National Geographic that I used to go through for inspiration, but I haven’t done that in quite some time. I need to try it again.