Sunrise Classroom #2 (BLUE)

Discussion Topic:

1. Was is it difficult to complete the above assignment (part two) without ‘explaining’ or telling the situation?

Yes, I'm a lousy sensory recording machine. Sense of smell is weak, sense of sight is too directional, hearing in a crowd runs everything together and I constantly try to interpret what my senses are sensing. There is still a heavy amount of telling, but when I think of recording in the sensory mode it helps to create a realism that could be left out of the telling. Describing a real scene was more natural than trying to think up sensory details to put into part one exercise.

2. Did the exercise trigger your imagination, make you want to write about any of the characters you reported on?

I have often thought of writing about The Dog Bar, where my scene took place, but never knew where to start. I knew it contained lots of material, but (light bulb comes on) never thought of trying to record as many details in all senses as I could in real time. I could do this same exercise at the same location many times, always with different results.

3. Which of the 5 senses focused on in this lesson did you find easiest to use in your Part one of the assignment? Which is the toughest to add in a story?

Sight and sound seems to come with the least effort. This is coming from a pilot/architect background. Touch is a bit more difficult to describe. Taste and smell are most difficult because the vocabulary hasn't been developed as much. I think a chef would turn that around.

4. Take a moment and look at a few of your pieces in your portfolio. Now that you've conditioned your mind to focus on sensory details, do you see any areas in your work where you might apply what you've learned in this lesson? Explain why or why not.

I didn't have to look in my portfolio to know that I've learned valuable lessons through this exercise. However, I did check out some representative samples and quickly spotted a few places that could use some sensory editing. The real value of this lesson's exercises is in a change of approach when writing. I've been told before to add the five senses into my writing. Ah, but showing is so much more effective than telling and the exercises have shown a clearer picture of how to squeeze more life into a story.