Writers have all heard about the "show, don't tell" problem. It's common for new writers to slip into the trap of summarizing events instead of describing specific details from the moment in which they happened.
For example, a new memoir writer might say they were tortured by their older sister.
A more experienced writer, on the other hand, would describe the taste of foot cream switched for toothpaste. Would name the smell of bleach in the spritz bottle next to the iron. Would describe taste of the chocolate chip “cookies” made just for them with salt instead of sugar.
For cartoonists, “show, don’t tell” is less of a problem. If you’re thinking like a cartoonist, you know intuitively that you have to show certain elements of the childhood torture.
In a visual language, it’s nearly impossible to forget that a scene needs to be grounded somewhere, and that when people talk to each other, they’re often doing other things and expressing emotions through their body language. The visual aspect is built-in.
So one of the first steps for new writers (of fiction or creative nonfiction) is to learn how to write a scene that’s grounded in sensory details.
The next step--and the skill that improves your craft in both writing and cartooning--is to think symbolically about which details you choose.
Exercise: Symbolic sensory details
Today’s exercise is one that Jeannine Ouellette posted recently. I tried it and really loved it, and I think it’s a great one to do every day. (Read the original exercise here!)
Steps:
Spend 5 minutes recording sensory details around you…sight, smell, sound, touch, taste. Record only external details (not internal ones like sadness or anger).
At the end of five minutes, choose the five most memorable/interesting details, and rewrite them using “I” statements. For example:
I am the cat stretching in the ray of sunshine.
I am the ice pellets banging on the window.
I am the smell of burnt coffee.
How do each of your five sentences make you feel? It could be an emotional feeling or a physical sensation.
Circle back to writing: How to choose sensory details
You absolutely need to include sensory details in your writing. But which ones?
First, ask yourself this question: What is the mood of this scene or this character? Then, try to choose sensory details that summon similar feelings.
Instead of saying explicitly that a character is relaxed and happy (or instead of giving a random detail about their outfit), you can level up your craft by describing, for example, their tabby cat stretching in a ray of sunshine.
The reader transfers the symbolic feelings generated by the image of that happy cat to the character/scene.
So don’t just throw detail spaghetti at the page in hopes that something interesting sticks. Being intentional about which details you choose improves your craft tremendously.
Love your writing advice!