Colouring-in.
How do you write a scene? Frantic tapping of the keys as the idea pours out of you? Or a slow steady approach, getting everything right as you go? Perhaps it’s something else entirely.
My approach is of the colouring-in style. Some might refer to this as layering, and others may just say they go back and do an edit.
Colouring-in for me means I have written the scene as if I have drawn a pencil line picture. It’s a sketch that shows where the scene is set and gets the action and plot progression onto the page.
Then I go back and start to add in the shading which is when I pay attention to such elements as:
- Smells, such as burnt toast, or petrol fumes hanging in the air
- Sounds, like the screeching of brakes, or maybe the crashing of waves
- A reference to what the characters are wearing, like a favourite blue skirt, or perhaps a pair of ripped jeans.
These details help to bring the scene to life.
Next, it’s time to add in the little habits and mannerisms of the characters, such as:
- Picking at cuticles, taking glasses off to clean them, running a hand through their hair.
And then it’s whatever activity the characters are engaged – the reader doesn’t want the characters to sit or stand like a statue. For example:
- Pacing, folding laundry, washing up, putting fuel in the tank, driving.
It’s also important, for this activity to progress in a natural way. So, if, for example, the character is driving, it helps to add in a gear change, or putting the indicators on, or pulling up at the lights etc. Even if the character is just lying in bed, you can still add in the rustle of the bedsheets as they turn over or have them thumping the pillow into shape.
These mannerisms and movements help ground the reader as to who is speaking and will add strength to the dialogue.
The colouring-in process allows me to review the scene through a variety of lenses. The result, (if things go well!) is a scene that has the depth needed to keep the reader engaged: action/movement, multi-sensorial description, mannerisms and habits of the characters, and story progression.
Sooo … Which approach do you use?