Shouts From Down Under

Writing = Illumination

When someone writes a word or words, and a reader understands them, it's a form of mental telepathy, like a flash of light.
The light shines where we direct it, the effectiveness, be it bright or dim, depends on how well we get across our idea, and of course, how bright it was in the first place.
But the flash has to have existed to us first.
People who nick other's literary ideas, unless it's a different take on it, I believe, are lame and destined for failure.
We can only scrape up the passion and endurance to do justice to our own stuff.

So let's not have ourselves on, as we say in Australia.

Our idea has to be just ok doesn't it? Just average. Yeah?

NO!

Our idea/s have to be fantastic. That's my thinking anyway. Maybe I'm immature far as writing goes, unpublished, so far, and all that.

But I feel that the idea or basis for our synopsis has to be BRIGHT to start with, otherwise how can we expect to have any wow factor to transmit to readers?

It's like that with everything in life. And words are the description, the colour, the tone, expression, the...everything that you need for a blind person to know exactly what it is YOU'VE seen. Not just blind, but a receptive reader, receptive and hungry for more. Receptive to every effort and attempt that you as a writer can think up, to paint every view, to fill satisfy every sense.

When I'm reading, I am delighted very much if the author uses a completely unexpected way to show me.
Show not tell being the latest models paint scheme for writers, and yet after a bunch of showmanship in writing, sometimes TELLING can be used to good effect. This works only because you the reader are already impressed by the story.
You give permission gladly sometimes, when a simple statement in the work just tells you straight.

John Grisham nails this with a combination show/tell knockout.
I recall his four word sentence that explains completely that a boy was frightened beyond his limit.
Not even enough time to have dry lips or be shaking. Nope, this fear was primeval and bad as it gets. Caveman fear. Jungle fear. Reptilian.
"He wet his pants"

Anyway, enough on that potentially incorrect track; I'm just thinking aloud really.

Today's Sydney Illumination comes from the magician's wand called an iPhone 4S.



Sparky