Rajavelu T's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-tips"
How does a writer think?
A writer thinks from multiple points of view for every single situation
Let me start with an example:
A judge calls two people to explain a certain incident.
One is a writer, the other is a… let’s keep him as an accountant.
First, the judge asks the accountant to describe the incident of a motorcycle accident involving a mother and her child.
The accountant or any common man will describe it like this.
“It happened quickly. I saw the motorcycle coming fast and by the next second, it collided with the mother and the child. I rushed there and helped the mother to stand up and checked on the child. Other people who were along with me helped the motorist too. Hopefully, it wasn’t a major accident. Only a few bruises, that’s all.”
The judge asks, “Since you are a witness. Who do you think is the reason for the accident?”
“I am not sure who made the mistake. It’s a busy road, and it’s busy timing too. I’m not sure.”
Now the judge calls the writer to explain.
“I was busy pacing through the crowded street with two bags of groceries for my lunch. Suddenly, there was a blaring sound coming from the east. In a split second, the collision happened. Like everyone nearby, I too hurried to the spot to help them. As everyone was helping the young motorist and the women stand up, I noticed the traffic light was red.”
“The mother had clinched her child, safeguarding the poor little thing from damage, but she had received a huge bruise on her left hand, and her right hand still holding on to her child’s torn school bag.”
“I took notice of the young motorist who wore complete formal attire with swollen red eyes. His motorcycle was hot – must be on run for a long time.“
“I’m sure the time was closer to 09:00 AM.”
“I am glad to find out none involved in the accident were injured, just bruises on the hands and legs.”
“The judge asks, “Since you are a witness. Who do you think is the reason for the accident?”
“As I mentioned earlier, the motorist was in full formal attire with swollen red eyes. So, either he should be drunk or he must a worked an extended shift till morning. As it is clear right after the incident that the motorist is not drunk, that means must have had an exhausting work without sleep.”
“On the other hand, the woman is taking her child to a school that is nearby to the incident’s location. Since the time is nearly 9 AM, the mother might be in a hurry to make sure her child gets into school.”
“The blaring sound everyone heard is not the acceleration of the motorcycle. Rather, it was the sound made due to applying the motorcycle’s break suddenly.“
“Less than 10 seconds after the collision, I noticed the traffic signal showing red.”
“This is what might have happened.”
“The motorist having worked an extended shift without any ounce of sleep riding a motorcycle ahead of him was a signal crossing. Meanwhile, the woman is in a hurry to take her child to school, waiting for the pedestrian signal to turn green.”
“Since there is no CCTV footage to clear whether the woman crossed the road before the green sign, or the motorist failed to notice the traffic red signal.”
“We can't accuse both parties here. But, I deeply feel sorry for the child having the traumatic experience. “
Hold on!!!
Now you may think, not all writers are Sherlock Holmes!
The point here is, writers pay more attention to details. They never miss any.
Similar to this incident, if a writer convinces a story and executed it. For every dialogue written, the writer thinks and executes from every angle involved, to make sure the event is believable and realistic.
Let's imagine, a story has 10 characters. The writer thinks like each character for every situation involved.
The writer makes each character unique based on how they think, how they speak, how they walk, etc.
For making all these possible, all great writers are great observers.
Only when you observe things well, you can replicate those convincingly in writing.
So, long story short. A writer thinks from multiple points of view for every single situation.
Let me start with an example:
A judge calls two people to explain a certain incident.
One is a writer, the other is a… let’s keep him as an accountant.
First, the judge asks the accountant to describe the incident of a motorcycle accident involving a mother and her child.
The accountant or any common man will describe it like this.
“It happened quickly. I saw the motorcycle coming fast and by the next second, it collided with the mother and the child. I rushed there and helped the mother to stand up and checked on the child. Other people who were along with me helped the motorist too. Hopefully, it wasn’t a major accident. Only a few bruises, that’s all.”
The judge asks, “Since you are a witness. Who do you think is the reason for the accident?”
“I am not sure who made the mistake. It’s a busy road, and it’s busy timing too. I’m not sure.”
Now the judge calls the writer to explain.
“I was busy pacing through the crowded street with two bags of groceries for my lunch. Suddenly, there was a blaring sound coming from the east. In a split second, the collision happened. Like everyone nearby, I too hurried to the spot to help them. As everyone was helping the young motorist and the women stand up, I noticed the traffic light was red.”
“The mother had clinched her child, safeguarding the poor little thing from damage, but she had received a huge bruise on her left hand, and her right hand still holding on to her child’s torn school bag.”
“I took notice of the young motorist who wore complete formal attire with swollen red eyes. His motorcycle was hot – must be on run for a long time.“
“I’m sure the time was closer to 09:00 AM.”
“I am glad to find out none involved in the accident were injured, just bruises on the hands and legs.”
“The judge asks, “Since you are a witness. Who do you think is the reason for the accident?”
“As I mentioned earlier, the motorist was in full formal attire with swollen red eyes. So, either he should be drunk or he must a worked an extended shift till morning. As it is clear right after the incident that the motorist is not drunk, that means must have had an exhausting work without sleep.”
“On the other hand, the woman is taking her child to a school that is nearby to the incident’s location. Since the time is nearly 9 AM, the mother might be in a hurry to make sure her child gets into school.”
“The blaring sound everyone heard is not the acceleration of the motorcycle. Rather, it was the sound made due to applying the motorcycle’s break suddenly.“
“Less than 10 seconds after the collision, I noticed the traffic signal showing red.”
“This is what might have happened.”
“The motorist having worked an extended shift without any ounce of sleep riding a motorcycle ahead of him was a signal crossing. Meanwhile, the woman is in a hurry to take her child to school, waiting for the pedestrian signal to turn green.”
“Since there is no CCTV footage to clear whether the woman crossed the road before the green sign, or the motorist failed to notice the traffic red signal.”
“We can't accuse both parties here. But, I deeply feel sorry for the child having the traumatic experience. “
Hold on!!!
Now you may think, not all writers are Sherlock Holmes!
The point here is, writers pay more attention to details. They never miss any.
Similar to this incident, if a writer convinces a story and executed it. For every dialogue written, the writer thinks and executes from every angle involved, to make sure the event is believable and realistic.
Let's imagine, a story has 10 characters. The writer thinks like each character for every situation involved.
The writer makes each character unique based on how they think, how they speak, how they walk, etc.
For making all these possible, all great writers are great observers.
Only when you observe things well, you can replicate those convincingly in writing.
So, long story short. A writer thinks from multiple points of view for every single situation.
