Breaking away from my clay and cramped fingers, I sat down to get in an episode of my Japanese drama series. The lives of two friends go down different paths at the same school as they try to find their way away from their hometown.
The way one girl held her smile over a simple bowl of udon that she made for her friend who was sick made my chest lift. Not only she did find happiness in making one warm bowl of soup, she found happiness in making something for her friend. It was one of the unspoiled moments, like when you find a clearing in forest and nature doesn’t know you’re watching.
I think working on those small moments with words and being able to feel the gestures of my characters will be my next focus. In the past, I’ve focused on improving character dialogue but I need to pull a Hemingway and get to the heart of my words with as few adjectives and adverbs as possible. I need to find the bowl of soup or that smile in my words.
Trying to pare down sentences is never easy. Poets contemplate this same dilemma. Using words effectively to evoke emotion without over flowering language can take time and practice. But I’ve come up with a plan. I’m going to take some of my paragraphs from pieces that I’m working on and I’m going to practice.
Maybe I can add this into my own daily life so that I get to the point without sounding robotic. Sometimes saying a few words versus over explaining is more effective. One thing I do know for certain is that this will take lots of practice and lots of time.
If you want to give this same exercise in your own daily life, then give it a try. Use this as your own prompt. Practice by rewriting some of your own, and remove those “extras”. Then, try another paragraph and another. You can keep going with this exercise all week if you really want to get carried away.
I might have time for just one this week with my schedule and mad rush before an event. I’ll try to post when I have time this week.
My Monday through Friday posts will return regularly at the end of May!
Imagine Inspire Create: 52 Weeks of action and gratitude is available at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S6XCLFY/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_Q7MHM9CFBSASDG56YMJQ
Get closer to your writing goals with my Writer’s Journal filled with writing prompts and exercises. You can find a copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0931QRL7C/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_VTHN0QSHXRYK6RJ1XSWQ.
Writer's Block Inc 