BENEFITS OF WRITING SIGHT AND SOUND SCENES – Part IV

Last week I mentioned that one of my favorite places to settle-in and be inspired is the Children’s section of my local library. They have an oversized, puffy rocking chair in one corner and a beautifully carved wooden rocker at the center where various people (sometimes authors) come and read aloud to groups of children. Being in this environment offers me the opportunity to observe the child’s world of uninhibited actions and reactions—their spontaneous abandon to the sights and sounds the experience and imagine.

Researching the benefits—and detriments—of Sights and Sounds can greatly enhance the authenticity of our writing. Here are a few things I’ve learned:

SOUND…

• Specific sounds can “re-pattern” the brain’s ability to organize time/space/spatial perceptions.
• Since the 1990s research is building to confirm that some of Mozart’s music may also be beneficial for developing spatial intelligence.
• Making music and listening to music that contains and repeats specific tones and “hertz” (Hz) can be excellent stress reducers.
• Congested, loud “music” and/or sounds (TV’s, radios, computers) can be highly disruptive, and may damage the cochlea of the ear.
• For centuries, Native Americans have utilized drumming and pipe/flute sounds to bring rest to the ill, peace to overactive children and harmony/rhythm into their families.

SIGHT…

• In February of this year, author Steven Ingrahm self-published a book titled When Nature Speaks. I am excited to get my hands on a copy because of his clear understanding of the discovery every writer must come to in order to develop their best work. Ingrahm states, “All of a person’s [Reader’s] senses can be stimulated at the same time, when they surround themselves in nature.…[we] all live under the same stars.”
• Cursory glances at our environment leave writers in the depths of famine especially when attempting to connect to Readers they hope will become Fans. You’ve read the words before in my blogs: DETAILS—Readers need detailed visual descriptions in order to see what you want them to see—yes, even within short stories or novellas.
• Humans require light in order to see. As with sound there are frequencies of light (wavelengths) which give our brains information through the lenses of our eyes. Those who write in the Sci-Fi genre will benefit greatly by researching concepts space/time and “the speed of light.”
• Most great artists will agree that the use of “white space” is also quite valuable. Researching this concept from an artists’ perspective has given me new insight into the value of what, when or IF I reveal something in my novel.

This month we’ve talked about how (1) the beauty—or harshness—of the environment we create for our characters often gives the writer the contrast needed to carry the story. (2) There is great value in reading the works of other authors—in multiple genres—or open our eyes to other perspectives and the ways they express Sight and Sound. (3) Utilizing the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) is not enough. We must tap into the other senses of pain, balance, motion, temperature and intuition/perception.

Finally, my friends, take your daily does of vitamins and build your physical strength. BECAUSE, once you’re published, you’ll be “out there” marketing your book(s) and enjoying being discovered. ⚓︎

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.