Ah but you see, I love your scene-setting. The descriptive element. Pared-down is all very well but you immerse us in the dimension of your life. Don't ever edit it out.
My favourite author from many years ago was Rosamunde Pilcher who used description so beautifully that I immediately felt I was settled with the characters, wherever they happened to be. It was invariably a world I wanted to inhabit - Scotland, Cornwall - perfect.
I've been writing a scene all morning based on your feedback Prue. A tight scene, as if I am sitting in a field with a magnifying glass, looking at everything, carefully. It's a push and pull, the details and the brevity isn't it? I'm trying to land in that middle sweet spot. So I'm going in the other direction first. It's been years but I too had a Rosamunde Pilcher phase! I feel calm and cozy just thinking of them. I feel like I know Scotland in September particularly well, after all these years. It's the scene setting, the details, the aga, the tea, yes! Thanks for the reminder xo
Thank you Heather ❤️ When I don't know what to write I sit and describe a scene. It's like a prompt, a mood, to get me going. I will never let go of that, it'll all I know!
Jul 27·edited Jul 27Liked by Lindsay Cameron Wilson
Precision or the art of précis. Eloquently dancing between the comforting blanket of the stream of consciousness being wholly enveloped , or the spare observer of that glimpsed experience. As a friend and I tit for tatted about our gardens yesterday, one being “full fat” and the other “lean and mean”. I love both.
ooh Inky I love both too! This morning I pulled a few weeks then stared at the hydrangea flopping over the remnants of an evergreen shrub. Full fat! I left the scene, it looked so lush.
I love your art! I love your recipe. And I sympathise with that struggle over descriptive colour vs pithy facts. Both approaches work in different situations. Perhaps your French teacher simply lacked the patience to listen to your mangled French. 😃 A lovely read. Thanks so much. 🤗🤗💕
Beth you're right, my teacher is a young guy ... he's teaching me to talk like him, which I have to take with a grain of salt! I probably need two teachers, the other one an older woman. wouldn't that be nice? I love balance in all things ❤️
I've never felt your writing to be heavy on description, Lindsay. In fact, I'm often impressed at how you manage to offer so much detail while also keeping the stories short and centered. But it's always good to reexamine and try out new approaches, so hat's off to you for that!
A few weeks ago, I was overrun with limes and thought I might make a sherbet or sorbet. Got the ice cream freezer container all ready to roll and then ran out of oomph. This post makes me want to try again, though I no longer have the limes that were previously calling out for attention. Sadly, no currants in my world either. Loads of mint and basil. Peaches and melons are in big right now. I feel a Google search coming on!
Thank goodness for Google. (And European friends! My Croatian neighbour knows how to use Everything! It is only recently that I realised that she too makes great use of Google. 😃)
Ah but you see, I love your scene-setting. The descriptive element. Pared-down is all very well but you immerse us in the dimension of your life. Don't ever edit it out.
My favourite author from many years ago was Rosamunde Pilcher who used description so beautifully that I immediately felt I was settled with the characters, wherever they happened to be. It was invariably a world I wanted to inhabit - Scotland, Cornwall - perfect.
I've been writing a scene all morning based on your feedback Prue. A tight scene, as if I am sitting in a field with a magnifying glass, looking at everything, carefully. It's a push and pull, the details and the brevity isn't it? I'm trying to land in that middle sweet spot. So I'm going in the other direction first. It's been years but I too had a Rosamunde Pilcher phase! I feel calm and cozy just thinking of them. I feel like I know Scotland in September particularly well, after all these years. It's the scene setting, the details, the aga, the tea, yes! Thanks for the reminder xo
I find beauty in being concise as well as the richness of detail. There is room for both!
Yes Clare there is! I am writing today trying to strike that balance. A lifelong practise. xo
I love your watercolour.. it’s spare tenderness, a lovely painting ❤️
However, I love your scene setting and all the layering that makes me enjoy your stories that settle me in a cosy feeling🥰.
I just picked black and white currants to try.
A wonderful recipe ❤️
Thank you Heather ❤️ When I don't know what to write I sit and describe a scene. It's like a prompt, a mood, to get me going. I will never let go of that, it'll all I know!
xo
Precision or the art of précis. Eloquently dancing between the comforting blanket of the stream of consciousness being wholly enveloped , or the spare observer of that glimpsed experience. As a friend and I tit for tatted about our gardens yesterday, one being “full fat” and the other “lean and mean”. I love both.
ooh Inky I love both too! This morning I pulled a few weeks then stared at the hydrangea flopping over the remnants of an evergreen shrub. Full fat! I left the scene, it looked so lush.
I love your art! I love your recipe. And I sympathise with that struggle over descriptive colour vs pithy facts. Both approaches work in different situations. Perhaps your French teacher simply lacked the patience to listen to your mangled French. 😃 A lovely read. Thanks so much. 🤗🤗💕
Beth you're right, my teacher is a young guy ... he's teaching me to talk like him, which I have to take with a grain of salt! I probably need two teachers, the other one an older woman. wouldn't that be nice? I love balance in all things ❤️
Yes. ‘Balance in all things’. Reminds me of the most excellent rule ‘Everything in moderation’. A good way to live.
I've never felt your writing to be heavy on description, Lindsay. In fact, I'm often impressed at how you manage to offer so much detail while also keeping the stories short and centered. But it's always good to reexamine and try out new approaches, so hat's off to you for that!
A few weeks ago, I was overrun with limes and thought I might make a sherbet or sorbet. Got the ice cream freezer container all ready to roll and then ran out of oomph. This post makes me want to try again, though I no longer have the limes that were previously calling out for attention. Sadly, no currants in my world either. Loads of mint and basil. Peaches and melons are in big right now. I feel a Google search coming on!
Thank goodness for Google. (And European friends! My Croatian neighbour knows how to use Everything! It is only recently that I realised that she too makes great use of Google. 😃)