One of the keys to writing well is being able to extract things from what’s around you. If you’re always looking for interesting things, you’ll have interesting things to say. You’ll develop a stockpile of things to order in a new way or you’ll be able to take something everyone has looked at before and see it in a way no one has. Those moments, those things you have to say that no one else does are what makes you you and makes your writing worth reading.
Here’s an easy exercise to help you practice seeing things. It’s easy because I don’t think it’s all that subtle, but it still takes some work because it’s hidden within a lot of other things that are going on. That’s how life works, and that’s why people notice so little. The effort you put into noticing things is what will set you and your writing apart.
This week isn’t another ten-minute exercise, so you don’t need to stare and try to pull as may observations as you can out of it. All you have to do is to take a minute or two to look at this picture and see if anything stands out for you. There is something I think is very obvious in it (then again, I’m the one who arranged this shelf this way, so I already know the answer):
Did you take a fair amount of time and try to figure out what the hidden symbolism is? Do you think you have the answer? Good. Here are some clues to help you check your answer or to help you along if you’ve looked at it and have no idea.
- It’s not on the top shelf.
- The clock has nothing to do with it.
- The dog has little to do with it other than its orientation.
- One of these things is very unlike the others.
If these clues aren’t enough, here’s the answer. The DVD box set (which stands out because of its color, but it actually makes sense in the context of the room because it’s sitting beside a Cleveland Ballet poster that’s not in this picture) is of Natalia Osipova, a ballerina who’s known for her lightness and legendary—not a word I use lightly—leaping ability. Both of the birds are facing her and watching her fly.
In a more literary sense, when she dances, even the birds look up with envy. You can see why in this short clip:
If you notice things like these, you’ll be able to create them in your own works, so never stop looking at the world around you.
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