Writing Workshop: Describing a scene

This week, I have a little exercise for you.

It’s entirely optional, since I have no way of telling whether you want to do it or not, and I haven’t (yet) developed the mental strength to bend people to my will.

Let’s just call it fun. It’s a lot less intimidating if we call it fun.

This week you’re going to be the writer. You’re going to describe a scene and create a mood but I’m going to give you some tips on how to do this so it doesn’t fill you with instant anxiety and thoughts of failure.

It doesn’t have to be long at all, just a paragraph or two is fine.

This is a technique I actually developed myself (although I’m sure a million others thought of it first) and it’s very simple.

We’re going to start with a collection of similar words. Mostly nouns and adjectives if you want to get technical.

I’m going to describe something mechanical, so the first words that spring (ooh, there’s one) to my mind are:

• whirring
• grinding
• cogs
• rust
• thrum
• buzz
• oil
• creak
• heavy

Ok, so we’ve got some words. Now the point of this is to create a scene and a mood. By thinking about a mechanical theme, you’ll see that we’ve already started to create a mood.

Let’s put some of this into a sentence or two.

The whirring of the turbines was a constant distraction to what the suited man was saying. A loud grinding sound stopped him in his tracks. ‘That’s not supposed to happen,’ he said, lines of concern creasing his forehead.
The strong smell of oil punctuated the air and a faint buzzing began to grow in the distance.

In the spirit of a Writing Workshop, I’ve just written that “live” and perhaps my mind is already attuned to creative ideas after years of practice (I sure hope so!), but have a go yourself and see what you come up with.

The idea is that by thinking of some words, you begin to focus your mind and harness your creative powers so that when you start to put it into sentences you’re already in the right mindset and the writing (and ideas) flow more easily. The more of your chosen words you use, the more you’ll add to the mood of your scene.

If you want a starting point, how about a simple beach scene – think about the smell of the air, seaweed, the feel of the sand. Or a forest, a city, a battle, a new planet, whatever you like.

Senses are very important in writing since we’re usually writing from a character’s perspective. It’s a good way to breathe some life into your scene. What can they see, hear, smell and touch? How do they feel?

Good luck, and feel free to paste your scene/paragraph into the comments below. In a real writing workshop, you’d be encouraged to share!

A. J. Austin