Monday, June 16, 2008

Capturing the Uncommon Image


Have you ever noticed that writers see the world differently? I know, the majority of the folks who read this are saying, well, duh! Of course they (we) do!
But here's what I was thinking:
When a really good writer writes, she is able to free herself from the commonplace, to get out of the everyday. The writer sees what most people would consider the mundane with a new lens, one that creates an image that finds the little kernel of magic in the everyday and makes it into a picture that quite possibly remains burned into the synapses of the reader forever.
Maybe that writer sees the beauty, the humanity, the humor. Whatever they see, they are able to pull themselves out, to stand aside and focus that lens, to use their filter to show you the world in a new way.
Today, I'm trying to remember that--to see everything in my world through a different lens.
I think writers do this naturally when they are in the 'zone', but it's kind of interesting to do consciously. Maybe to switch lenses, instead of seeing the beauty, see the disturbance beneath the surface. Instead of the humor, see the pathos.

Marcel Proust said, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
I like that.

4 comments:

G.M. Malliet said...

This is why I so much love to travel (although I have to say I am not fond of packing). Distant travel keeps me out of the rut, seeing things in new ways, through the eyes of others.

Felicia Donovan said...

Perhaps this is, in part, why I'm so fascinated with the study of my canines. They have the unique ability to detect things we don't often see, hear or scent. Watching them gives me a different perspective and often leads me to wonder how they see things. If only they could meet my deadlines... Great post, Susan.

Mark Combes said...

I tell fledgling authors (as if I'm not a fledgling author) that they should take up photography. It makes you look at details and it's the details that make the difference.

jbstanley said...

Looking for a new view...I think that's why I'm a movie addict. A great film can somehow trigger writing ideas for me. Is there another art form that acts as a trigger for anyone else?