Exercises In Imagery

Exercises In Imagery

1. Close your eyes and concentrate on a place you have seen or visited, or saw in a film, as a starting point. Pretend your mind is a sound camera taking in a scene. Are you getting all the sensations the camera can get: The weather, the noise level, the color of food, flowers, clothes, people, their complexions, body language, and conversation? Then give your camera the ability to catch scents: grass, perfumes, fresh paint.

Keep your eyes closed and go over this type of exercise every day to get better at this conjuring. The imagination is like a muscle, and its important to give it a workout every day, preferable at the same hour.

Finding which time of day is your most relaxed and/or productive is important for your writing schedule. If you know when it is, you might schedule your imagination exercise at this hour. It's not exactly what Pavlov had in mind, but starting the muscle's performance as soon as possible is the best aid for developing discipline.

2. Let's go on the assumption you're getting pretty good at scene evocation. Now let's add some flame to your fire. focus in on the people in your scene; overhear a couple talking, and pretend they are your hero and heroine. Often a scene brings the characters together for a purpose, which is a nice uncontrived way to have them meet and even have some kind of work or hobby in common.

3. Looking at the rules of romance, set a scene, which will be your major one, at each plot point. for example: (a) see a scene of heroine's background (her apartment, and you meet her roommate); (b) see a scene of her at work, meeting the hero, sparks flying, even though they're immersed in a conflict, a misunderstanding, or whatever keeps them from getting together; (c) see the scene where they work things out--usually another career involvement situation/scene; (d) see the scene where they resolve their misunderstanding and commit themselves, usually to marriage plans.

4. You can choose only three or four vivid and important details from the scenes to write down and depict the moment to the reader. The impressions must seem STRONG and VITAL to you; if they aren't, don't choose them.

Example: The way his hand trembles as he tentatively offers her the engagement ring, then, realizing how very much he desires this, firmly grasps her hand himself and tenderly, gently slips the ring on her finger.

Start practicing now!

Page uploaded: June 3rd, 2003

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