‘I can see it all in front of me!’ I think that’s the best compliment a writer can get. He has managed to transport his reader away from his own life and into the story he has created.
A magical process that still gives me and no one knows exactly how it works.
How do you do that? transport your readers to your story? How do you make sure they see the images you see while writing?
How to Activate your Reader’s Brain with your Story ??
Every reader gets his personal image when the word attic room is used. As a writer, you have no influence on that. But you can influence the reader’s image so that it becomes more similar to the image you mean.
Below I give you three tips:
1. Use color
Yes, literally use color. But mentioning colors like “red” and “green” in your story doesn’t have much effect.
That’s because there are so many reds and greens. Each color has its own nuances and thus evokes certain images and atmospheres.
But if you make the pile of suitcases in the corner of the attic a dull brown, for example, you start painting the image in your reader’s head. His suitcases may have slightly different dimensions than yours.
There may also be more or less, but they do get a certain color.
The same goes for the yellowed sheets that you hang over the furniture under the sloping roof and the gold paint that you leave peeling from the forgotten mirror.
Good writers are good observers. How do you learn to observe (again)? In step 2, you will discover how to create clear and exciting descriptions that will keep your reader reading!
You may read : 5 Crucial Writing Tips for Dialogues You Should Know
2. Use form
If you let your main character walk into the attic, you are going to decorate that attic as a writer.
You could of course write: ‘There is a mirror in the corner’, but that is an announcement. That sentence is neutral, like a line in the newspaper.
It helps to activate the associations stored in your reader’s brain. Every reader has seen hundreds of mirrors. Help him.
Never mind that this particular mirror is framed in a dark brown wooden frame. Or that it is oval and stands on a stand. Or that the mirror glass is weathered by time.
If you can’t see a mirror in front of you, use the internet. Type in ‘mirror’ and ‘image’ and be inspired. Choose the mirror that fits your attic and describe it.
3. Use sound
Reading is a quiet activity, but stories are full of sounds. Also, the imaginary attic where your main character is located.
It is precisely in the silence that you hear better and sounds can be frightening. You probably know the feeling that your neck hairs are standing up. That you hold your breath to better hear what is going on around you. That you feel that your ear cups turn towards the sound.
Go to a quiet attic and listen to how many sounds there are. You will be surprised how it rustles, rustles and hisses. And how it crackles, creaks and moans. Sound is a powerful means of coloring your stories.
Besides you read how to Activate your Reader’s Brain with your Story … Also read How do you learn to write? This is What you Need and 3 Beginner Mistakes in Writing a Book.
