UGH!

Her bedroom had enough frills and florals to make anyone want to strike themselves blind.

Moose Tracks

Through the glare of the setting sun I glimpsed a 1,000 pound moose as it meandered onto the road in front of me. Amidst a tempest of glass shards raining through the cab I watched as the hood of my foreign import folded like a novice gambler in a high-stakes poker game. 

Ken Chandler
Copyright © 2010

TOPIC: IMPRESSIONISM

impressionism was a movement in the arts about 100-150 yrs ago. it affected everything from paintings to music. we've all heard of Monet, Degas and numerous others. in music Debussy is one of my favorite impressionists.

impressionism paints a picture without mucking about with all the nitty gritty details. you look at a Monet and, without him drawing in exact lines, you know what the picture is. Debussy gives the impression of water with the way his music flows. it isn't about beats and rhythm, it's about the emotion.

in writing it's the same way. a picture means a thousand words. so too can a few choice words mean the world. we just need that splash of color that conveys more meaning than all the black lines in the world.

this is an example my screenwriting class uses. i did not write this, but it illustrates what i want you to do. first the black lines. second the splash of color.

"There are tables and chairs spread around the coffee house. The floor is tile and large posters hang on the walls. Yuppies drink coffee and talk, making the place noisy."

"The kind of place with enough wood, tile and posters to loosen any yuppie's tongue - and it's buzzing."

Do you feel the difference? now it is your turn. this is an exercise so you do not have to write a whole story if you do not wish to. just give us the impression. it can be of a place, a person, an idea, the choice is yours. impress us.