[Jill Malcolm]

A writer Observes

Christmas is upon us all of a sudden and it is hard to find time to write when the sun is shining and there is so much going on. If you can’t get to the keyboard here is a tip which will still help you gain writing skills. Practise observation.

Observation is not just seeing. It involves hearing, touching, tasting and smelling as well as observing your own and other people’s emotional feelings and reactions.

The skill of observation is perhaps the most important key to writing well. Observe, then find the words to describe the observation.

This does not happen naturally. You have to practice regularly.

Here’s a fun exercise for the holidays. Observe a Christmas tree using all your senses. Then examine your own feelings and observe other people’s reactions.

Good luck

 

[Robyn Welsh]

Hi Jill,

Thanks for this really cool reminder.   Even if you’re staying around home, it’s really refreshing taking a different walking route round your own neighbourhood. Good mindfulness and relaxation practice too, I guess.

When I was a young newspaper reporter out with a photographer, we’d almost  always take a different route back to the office from an assignment, deadlines permitting.  Many a good story or photo op came out of those ‘right place/right time’ detours.  I remember picking up a few good human interest stories that way as one of the Evening Post’s suburban reporters, way back in the 1970s.

It doesn’t have to be a shop owner chasing a burglar, a road accident you’ve just witnessed or three fire engines worthy of a U-turn and a full-on chase.  It might be elderly identical twin sisters out in their wheelchairs taking their twin dogs ( or cats on leads!) for a walk – who knows?  (Jeez, I just made that up!) But, seriously, you’ll know when you see it.  The buzz was stumbling upon the unexpected.  The biggest drama inevitably trying to find a telephone to get a couple of pars through to the news editor on deadline.  Then taking a different route back to the office to get the more substantial follow-up story and pix underway, deadlines permitting.

[Jill Malcolm]

Hi Robyn.

Thank you for your helpful input. It brought another thought to my mind: as well as observing detail so that we can write effectively, observing events we come across with a view to developing them into potential article also improves with practice. Curiosity and enquiry are essential tools for a journalist’s tool box.