I've been told by my critique group friends that my novel drafts read more like screenplays. I tend to leave out descriptive detail. Scenery. Observations about the color of the sky and what-not. I guess I do this because when I'm reading a book, I tend to rush through these descriptions. I like to visualize the scene in my own way. (Ok, I'm just impatient and want to know what the heck is going to happen next, paragraph describing the vanilla-scented, tiger-striped sunset be damned.)
But, with this in mind, I decided to turn my morning run into a mental exercise. I tried to take in my surroundings and memorize the details so that I could spin them into a blogarific descriptive (um, ahem) masterpiece:
The air hung damp, the morning's rain unable to cleanse the scent of dog droppings from the heavily traversed pathway. Rotting pine cones littered the path like bodies strewn from a blast; I dodged the carnage and the puddles, danced around the muddy smuck. Warning: Reclaimed Water signs hinted to passers-by that the puddles were not for playing in. Avoiding a gift from a dog that lay cementing on the sidewalk (who lets their dog crap on the sidewalk anyway?) I ran up into the grass, nearly stepping on a fried squirrel, its body shocked into the position of an electrocuted cartoon animal.
I ran past an assisted living facility where most days there was an ambulance parked in front. Today there were two bounce houses set up instead. I hoped the ambulance was nearby.
Crap, now I'm laughing. That's all I've got. BUT! On another note...the sun is out, the sun is out, THE SUN IS OUT! That's all the description I need to wipe the snark right out of my head. I'm all sunshine and rainbows now.
Speaking of sunshine and rainbows, I was going through my files last week and found two poems I'd written specifically to submit to Babybug magazine after they'd published something else of mine. They were ultimately rejected *sniffle, sniffle, weep* but they're fun and timely (and contain no references to electrocuted squirrels or dog crap) so I'll just publish them myself right here.
Blue sky sprinkles
Green grass crinkles
Birds stop to take a drink
Flowers bloom in red and pink
Bees buzzing in my ear
Whispering Spring is finally here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandy knees, sandy toes
Sandy hair, sandy nose
Bucket of water-
Watch me pour
I'm not sandy anymore!
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But, with this in mind, I decided to turn my morning run into a mental exercise. I tried to take in my surroundings and memorize the details so that I could spin them into a blogarific descriptive (um, ahem) masterpiece:
The air hung damp, the morning's rain unable to cleanse the scent of dog droppings from the heavily traversed pathway. Rotting pine cones littered the path like bodies strewn from a blast; I dodged the carnage and the puddles, danced around the muddy smuck. Warning: Reclaimed Water signs hinted to passers-by that the puddles were not for playing in. Avoiding a gift from a dog that lay cementing on the sidewalk (who lets their dog crap on the sidewalk anyway?) I ran up into the grass, nearly stepping on a fried squirrel, its body shocked into the position of an electrocuted cartoon animal.
I ran past an assisted living facility where most days there was an ambulance parked in front. Today there were two bounce houses set up instead. I hoped the ambulance was nearby.
Crap, now I'm laughing. That's all I've got. BUT! On another note...the sun is out, the sun is out, THE SUN IS OUT! That's all the description I need to wipe the snark right out of my head. I'm all sunshine and rainbows now.
Speaking of sunshine and rainbows, I was going through my files last week and found two poems I'd written specifically to submit to Babybug magazine after they'd published something else of mine. They were ultimately rejected *sniffle, sniffle, weep* but they're fun and timely (and contain no references to electrocuted squirrels or dog crap) so I'll just publish them myself right here.
Blue sky sprinkles
Green grass crinkles
Birds stop to take a drink
Flowers bloom in red and pink
Bees buzzing in my ear
Whispering Spring is finally here
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sandy knees, sandy toes
Sandy hair, sandy nose
Bucket of water-
Watch me pour
I'm not sandy anymore!