Capturing the scene

A new crop of writers adds a great tool to their kit

The dozens of pairs of eyes in the classroom face me with a mix of interest and worry. Is that panic in the face of the girl closest? I smile in a manner that I hope is reassuring, confident they will soon relax as they begin to explore the assignment. Will they realize I always describe this classroom as an example of an uninspiring space, with no paintings on the wall?

Sometimes the fun thing about teaching is when you get to share your favourite elements of writing with newcomers to the profession. This week, my new cohort of students is finishing their first assignment, about writing scenes. This is a visual element often found at the opening of a magazine article where a writer connects the reader to the story by sharing a glimpse that helps them get even closer to the subject, from a singer in their recording studio to a mother’s conversation with a fellow parent that led to an important decision.

The key is to capture a moment that illustrates some element of the story and also intrigues to reader. For new writers of scenes, it is also moment to work on your interview skills, powers of observation and even engage your senses to capture the details that make the story pop.

My new writers, who interviewed their classmates about a moment in their lives, found that the range of questions they needed to ask to fully capture those details kept expanding. What was the weather that day? What was your emotional reaction to the physical pain you experienced? All the details must be collected, whether small or large, to add to the scene, and then selected foe their relevance in painting the picture you want to create.

I share some nice examples of scenes but also one that I wrote In a fairly routine story where I describe a dish from a restaurant menu to bring in elements of smell and taste that accompanies that environment. While scenes are most common in the magazine field, I think they could also be used in other places, or even to spice up a story that might otherwise be quite pedestrian.

What piece of writing could you add a visual to in the next month that would help engage the reader?