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How to be Observant
By Debbie Long
How to be Observant
© Debbie Long
www.designsbydebbie.ca
debbie@designsbydebbie.ca
A writer must be observant and aware of their surroundings. They must be able to walk through life with their eyes wide open if they wish to write well. They must be able to see, hear, smell, touch and taste the world around them.
How do you help children to become more observant? Before starting your writing exercises an old game is often helpful. Place a collection of about 20 objects on a table. Have the children study the table for a short period of time then go back to their seats and write down everything they can remember seeing. Some examples of objects are; eraser, pencil, paper clip, marker, spoon, keys, anything that is small but not small enough to become lost in the crowd.
Once that exercise is over, ask the children; Why it is important to be observant? Being observant is important for a writer in order to describe a scene, a character, or different situations in their story. Through good observations a writer can make a reader see what they are writing about as if the reader is looking at a picture book instead of words on a page. Good writers use picture words in their stories and are considered artists with words.
The phrase Stop, Look and Listen are important words in an author’s vocabulary. Before you begin to write, Stop and Think first. Writing for the sake of writing will not produce the results you want. Have the children use the brainstorming board and stop and think about the ides. Just like the game at the beginning of this article, it will help to picture details and form clear, effective ideas.
Other exercises that will help the children be observant are: having the children close their eyes and describe in detail the room they are sitting in. Have them describe in as much detail as possible. You could also try an exercise similar to the one above but with a twist. Have the children close their eyes and describe the person next to them. Have them include details like the colour of their eyes, the shape of the buttons on their clothes, the colour of their socks, and the length and style of their hair cut. You could ever go so far as to get them to remember the last thing they were seen eating.
Listening to the world around you is an extremely important part of being observant. If you can’t describe the sound of the ball hitting the bat or the shrills of the children laughing, how can you expect your reader to feel your emotions? How can you describe the sound of the howling wind during a winter storm in picture words if you don’t listen to it intensely?
People are a great source to listen to. Hear their accents, speech patterns, slang, or dialect. They will be able to bring their characters to life through their words.
Just as important are listening to the everyday sounds around you. Music in the background, the way a mother speaks to her child while shopping, the sounds different cars make and the chirping of the birds in the distance. All these sounds will help you make your reader feel as if they are right in the middle of your story.
About the Author
Debbie Long is a writer/illustrator and founding member of 'The Muse Program', a literacy program for children. Debbie has spent many years writing curriculum for The Muse Program based on the Board of Educations curriculum units. She has currently published her first children's book, in the Imagination Series, 'Short Stories with Imagination. The second is due to be released July 2005. For more details visit http://www.designsbydebbie.ca Permission to re-print this article must be granted by the Author by email.
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