Descriptions of the Unfamiliar

In my last post I talked about the difficulty I was having in describing an unfamiliar object which I had spent a great deal of time pondering. This created a unique dilemma in and of itself in that the object had become more and more familiar over time. Since this item plays a central role in my story, I wanted to make sure that I portrayed it correctly, but without including so much detail that it became a wash for my reader. Of course, that meant that it must be factually accurate as well, in case someone with more knowledge of the subject at hand decided to critique my factual basis.

The story is called, "The Viability of a Seed" -- so maybe you can see how I allowed myself to be caught up by something that only takes a few lines to cover. Was I right in letting myself freak out about what the seed looked like? I'm not sure I can answer that question directly. After all, without stumbling on the principle dilemma, I wouldn't have gotten to this point: a place where I can relish in the varying styles that you presented in response to my request for your own descriptions based on photo I included. Furthermore, the exercise with my daughter provided insight to us both. She learned a little about how her thoughts translate to other people, and I got to learn a bit more about being a good father and it actually helped me to see the seeds in a new light. Even more than that, it was nice to share my love for writing with my oldest child.

Before I reveal the description that I was able to come up with after the exercise with my daughter, I would like to share the descriptions that were added to the comments of the last post. Just to highlight here the different styles and approaches that different writers presented of the same objects. Some descriptions were short, some were slightly longer. Some referenced other items of pop culture, while others stayed true to the simple form of what they saw. Let's take a look!

Jim Murdoch illustrated:

"Three large seeds, like elongated Sugar Puffs, each with a claw-like nib on the end."

Clint the Cool Guy described them to be:

"like slivers of walnuts, or cocoa beans"

Lynn Mitchell painted the picture of:

"Three wrinkled three-fourth inch carmel-colored pods, each with pointy ends."

Before breaking it down further with,  "They look similar to broken pieces of pecan."

Lee jumped right into a metaphor with:

"Brown, wrinkled and seed-like, the three teeth of the Magi appeared in his palm."

Each of these descriptions has merit, and each was an accurate representation of how the writer saw the date seeds captured within the picture. Likewise, my daughter painted her picture of a single seed.

"It has a line on one side, which is bumpy. It's pointed on both ends but one is fatter than the other. The one side that doesn't have a line is flat."

This description made sense to her at the time. Although when I had her read it to her mother and have her guess what she had described, she learned that while it had made sense to her as she looked at it, it didn't translate as well to someone who had to guess what it was that she was describing. This also helped me to focus on the point that really mattered. I didn't have to paint the picture of the date seed perfectly in the mind of my reader to get the point across. Still, my description was somewhat on the lengthy side.

"The object he held in his hand was oblong, pointed on both ends, though one side was fatter than the other. It was a seed, nearly an inch in length, wooden in texture, and golden brown in color."

I suppose the point of this exercise is that we can all describe the same item differently and still succeed at our objectives as writers. We don't need to treat our reader like an idiot, but there can be some credence to portraying the facts of an important item as it relates to the storyline. It all comes down the the emphasis we put on that description.

In my draft of this story, a man looks at the seed in his hand before asking what kind of seed it is. He recognizes the basic element of what it is -- a seed -- but he instinctively asks for more information. I could very well skip the description altogether if I wished and the reader would be none the wiser. I suppose my reason for keeping it in the story is to show that while the man has wandered far from the ideals of his father, he still has some knowledge and even a bit of curiosity in the world he thought he had escaped.

Describing the Unfamiliar

So, you've taken upon yourself the seemingly simple task of writing a story that centralizes around an unfamiliar object. Once you've seen the item of interest, it becomes quite easy to identify -- but how do you relay that description to someone who is still unfamiliar with the object at hand?

I made quite a bit of progress on my project since my last post. Coincidentally, however, life has a way of complicating things. I've got to study for and pass a test within a very short time frame and my professional life is being turned completely upside down and inside out in the realization of a long-time goal of mine. The last month has been somewhat of an emotional roller coaster for me, but it does feel good to finally have the opportunity to leave the life of a contract employee and move on to the prospect of Civil Service employment. As a disabled veteran, it should have been easy by all accounts but it took five and a half long years of applications before I got, not one but two, offers.

Somewhere between here and the latest post on HuntingtheMuse I turned 30, held my annual birthday BBQ, and tried to make some semblance of effort towards a decent garden this year. The weather has been horribly uncooperative. Needless to say, I've been swamped. This upcoming test being a large part of my stress at the moment. So, yes, while I am very close to having the first draft of my latest project ready, I still have some ways to go before it is complete.

This is where you come in. Please comment on this post with your description of the items in the picture below. I would like to get an idea of how other people see them as I have become all too familiar in these passing weeks.

Stalled Projects

I'm a little flustered. I've got a lot of ideas streaming in for new projects, but my current projects sit untouched. I think about getting to it, I stare at my monitor for a while, and then I get up and walk away. WHY!? I have a feeling that the primary reason is self doubt. More than that, perhaps I just doubt the validity of the stories I've gotten myself into. I over-analyze everything. I pick apart the tiny intricacies of conversations, replay body language, and puzzle over the complete meaning of the 'scenes' of my life. Is it really any surprise that I would do it over the scenes of my stories?

I have a subscription to The Writer magazine and a few of the issues I have kicking around include pieces on how to reclaim your momentum and how to turn wayward stories around. Some even have the audacity to suggest that I can just give up and move on to another, more interesting story. Pish posh, I say! What a bunch of fuddleycrack. Maybe you can do that later in the game, once you've already proven yourself, but to do so now would be nothing short of creating a nasty habit -- at least in my case.

I guess it boils down to the point that I should know better. Since I can identify what I find to be wrong with my stories, I should be able to formulate a way to fix them or at least identify a point to go back to in order to take the better path. I guess it isn't always that easy, perhaps it was just a bit of wishful thinking. Maybe if I told myself that it would be easy it wouldn't end up being as hard as I'm making it out to be? Blah, sounds like a self-help book. That's not exactly what I'm trying to write here...

So how about you guys? How do you handle stalled projects, be them writing or otherwise?