has this ever happened to you you're writing an exciting scene between two people
but when one of your characters stares at the other you realize
you can't picture that person at all or have you ever ridden a character in a room
and it's just a generic room and none of the details are popping up so you end up listing off
furniture being vague in your writing is sometimes effective it lets your readers fill in the gaps
however there are other times when your lack of specifics can cause confusion or make the reading
experience less visceral if a reader is picking up your book to be transported to another world or to
be immersed in your story you can't just describe a room as a room or a person with you know eyes
brown eyes this is a problem i struggle with as a writer because i have two weaknesses that cause me
to falter the first weakness is that often i'm unable to picture the complete image in my head
a severe case of this is known as aphantasia people with advantages aren't able to create a
mental picture while you're imagining your story you might find your mind blind to certain visuals
this is a paralyzing feeling a common symptom of advantages is not being able to recognize
someone's face even though you recognize the person's name this sometimes happens when you're
writing you have a character but you're unable to imagine a face for this fictional person
the second weakness that causes my writing to suffer is that i lack the vocabulary to fully
describe a person place or thing what color is to a painter vocabulary is to a writer the more
words you know the more colors you can add to your story for example describing a flower as
red is not as powerful or specific as describing the flower as vermilion but it goes beyond color
describing someone as decrepit is more powerful than just calling someone old now
that i understand my problems and weaknesses how do i go about fixing these issues and improving
well when i'm writing the first draft i don't even worry about these details i don't let the eye
color of the characters or the layout of the room or the details of a shekhov's gun slow me down
from getting the story on paper first after i've completed my second or third draft and once i'm
confident that the story structure is strong and there is a satisfying ending that's when i'll turn
my attention to the details once i have the sketch figured out that's when i'll apply the color
but as i mentioned this is the part i have trouble with i have not figured out a foolproof solution
however i have found a few techniques to help me battle through my lack of mental images
and limited vocabulary the first thing i do is what many artists do i find references
if i'm writing a character i pretend i'm a casting agent and find photographs of people
usually actors models or celebrities of some sort if i need to describe the way the character looks
i'll reference these photos to make sure that the image of this character is consistent the
whole way through if i'm creating a setting i'd go to a location similar to the one in
my story to get a sense of how it feels if i can't travel to such a location because well
i write dystopian fantasy i'd find pictures on google to show me what the place looks like it
won't be the full experience but once i can see it in my mind my imagination can take over from there
as for increasing your vocabulary there's no quick solution learning a new word is like turning on a
dimmer switch not flicking on a light you need to encounter a word over and over again until
it sticks in your head the best way to increase your exposure is to write down any new words that
you are not familiar with read the definition and begin incorporating it in your own writing
don't wait to see it out in the world again if it's a unique word it could take
months and years before you encounter it again use it often so you become more and more familiar
reading is the best way to find new words but it's your job to admit you don't know them don't just
scan past them stop and mark them down i like reading on a kindle because i don't even need
to pull out the dictionary all i need to do is hover over a word and i'll get a definition of it
then the word is added to a dictionary for me to reference as a challenge for each writing session
incorporate one unfamiliar word a word that you didn't know before you started it'll go a long
way to growing your vocabulary but learning new words is not something you should rush
for the risk of using them incorrectly a vague description of a character an item or a setting
makes for a dull reading experience it's your job as a writer to immerse your readers in a story
when the moment calls for it make sure you can give them the details they need to visualize
the scene clearly in their heads we all have strengths and weaknesses as creatives
and not being able to fully visualize a whole world in your head is something most of us normal
people struggle with not only people with aphantasia so don't be so hard on yourself
identify your weaknesses and slowly strengthen them thank you for watching my name is elliot
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