Are you listening? Do you see?

This morning when I opened my back door to let my dog out I was greeted with happy, carefree birdsong. It was beautiful.

As a writer, I try to be as observant as possible about the ordinary things in life because that’s what bonds us most as people. We all can experience the joy of listening to beautiful birdsong, we all can appreciate the nodding wildflowers alongside the road, we can all inhale the sweet fragrance of freshly cut grass (and if you’re not allergic, enjoy the aroma).

I was thrilled a few weeks ago when another writer said I was the Queen of show don’t tell. BTW, show don’t tell is big in writing. It draws the readers into your world through their senses.

So? Are you listening? Do you see? Can you get a whiff of that fragrant grass?

I love to scrutinize what I see, hear, smell. In January I stayed at a luxury hotel for a weekend. In the foyer was a large table with a huge floral arrangement, all done in different types of white flowers. It was lovely, and actually looked so perfect it appeared to be silk flowers. But it wasn’t. I walked over and touched the velvet soft petals and inhaled the mix of floral fragrances. It was a wonderful sensory moment.

Who knows, perhaps some day in my writing I’ll be able to use that moment when I paused to appreciate the work someone put into arranging those lovely flowers.

And that, my friend, is one way to connect with your readers: reference common experiences in your writing. Use the ordinary in life as your word palette.

In other news, I apparently didn’t dry Bayle well enough after her bath on Saturday.