BASIC TIPS FOR ASPIRING WORDSMITHS

Writers Are Keen Observers

Being clued in on what goes on in life requires a writer to pay close attention within and outside one’s world

This scene triggered the romance novelist in me. I could swear the two were whispering sweet nothings to each other. This is the keen observer and writer in me reacting while my husband stood by, scratching his head, wondering what’s the excitement about the nuzzling horses.

Observing allows an aspiring writer to witness a tiny piece of real life as it unfolds before one’s eyes or consciousness.

This is in contrast with reading that could offer a wealth of knowledge and open up a world full of second-hand experiences.

Observing life, in this context, is paying attention — dispassionately, as opposed to being nosy or gossipy — to what goes on in one’s environs and in other people’s situations.

To cite a few examples of detached observation from my cache of experience (with one exception) as an observer are the following -

First scenario:

• You’re in a fast-food restaurant on a weekend afternoon. You see families with young children happily and boisterously eating.
• You’re in a posh restaurant on a weekend evening. You see couples, maybe families with children, as they dine.

Notice the differences, if any, between the demeanor of the family members while eating?