BENEFITS OF WRITING SIGHT AND SOUND SCENES – Part II

As mentioned last week, today’s Readers are addicted to the visual and sound effects offered to them in every part of their lives. However we know that there is nothing to match the human imagination as we read the words of a novel that create our own sight and sound experience.

With that in mind, I will mention one other book which my students selected for class discussion from the World Literature list: The Call of the Wild by Jack London. I’m sure they expected this to be a “quick and easy” grade because it is short and most had read it before. I won’t add their classroom experience here, but only say that they got more out of it than expected. However, now that working with writers of various levels of experience, I’ll share several concepts about Mr. London and his writing expertise that can benefit us, today.

• London’s stories take the reader out of their comfort zone and force them to imagine, “What if.” Yes, the main character is Buck, the dog. Yet this character symbolizes a common mythic character who wins the day against all odds and returns to the peaceful bliss of nature. Did London develop this thread from reading such novels as Dickens’ Hard Times? Possibly. And it is alive and well today in the multi-media (magazine, book, film) super-hero productions.
• This novel falls into the genre of “animal fiction.” However its blend of parable, fable and allegory is another reason it has never been out of print since first published in 1903. These three genre categories are excellent venues within which to practice and develop writing skills.
• Finally, the bold content that almost forces Readers to feel the “flight or fight” adrenalin effect was part of London’s strategy to make a statement against what he saw as the destructive result of industrialization. His personal life experiences “in the wild” touched him deeply and he hoped others could appreciate its inspiration, beauty and value.

Most of us write and develop our novels to accomplish these same goals: offer examples of survival against all odds, inspire Readers toward happier, healthier lifestyles and (this is the BIG goal) never be out of print.

Now…keeping London’s Call of the Wild in mind—and the beauty of sights and sounds he experienced—consider the following book as a potential tool to inspire and develop your own creativity.

Art, Experience and Faith by William Tolliver Squires, a retired Art professor at the
University of Georgia and a current sculptor and painter, has been called a “guidebook of one artist’s evolving theory of his creative process.”  “Dr. Squires describes his early artistic career as…misdirected, without grounding in a mature sense of what is important in life and art. He now sees the best work of his life as…how the process is informed by a combination of his intuitive, spiritual self and his practical, rational self.”

I find it totally joyful when discovering additional ways to enhance my writing. It is even more exciting to share these tools with other writers! No matter what season we are in, or what genre we’ve chosen, ALL the tools to develop writing skills will help us produce the best book possible. Once that manuscript is completed then it’s time to publish! GO FOR IT! You’ll never regret it. ⚓︎

ABOUT ROYALENE DOYLE: Royalene has been writing something since before kindergarten days and continues to love the process. Through her small business—DOYLE WRITING SERVICES—she brings more than 40 years of writing experience to authors who need “just a little assistance” with completing their projects. This is a nice fit as she develops these blogs for Outskirts Press (OP) a leading self-publisher, and occasionally accepts a ghostwriting project from one of their clients. Her recent book release (with OP) titled FIREPROOF PROVERBS, A Writer’s Study of Words, is already receiving excellent reviews including several professional writer’s endorsements given on the book’s back cover.  

Royalene’s writing experience grew through a wide variety of positions from Office Manager and Administrative Assistant to Teacher of Literature and Advanced Writing courses and editor/writer for an International Christian ministry. Her willingness to listen to struggling authors, learn their goals and expectations and discern their writing voice has brought many manuscripts into the published books arena.