Painting

By C. LaRene Hall

I have never been a good artist. If I were to draw something, you would laugh for sure. I think most of you have heard that a picture paints a thousand words, but I want my words to paint a picture.

It’s not always easy to do. Sometimes in my mind, I can see the beautiful scene, but the description doesn’t always look like I want it to. I can picture the action, but the words are not always there. I know that if I keep working at it I can capture and manipulate words to create a vision for my readers.

Writing is an art and we need to communicate our emotions while creating suspense. If we use our senses to describe everything we can usually paint a clear picture. Everyone relates to the smell, touch, or taste of things.

Today while you are sitting at home reading this, I’m on my way to see the Volcano National Park near Hilo , Hawaii . After we see the volcano then we are going to the Rainbow Falls . Those of you who have visited this part of the world can picture it immediately in your mind. All it takes is mentioning the place, but if you haven’t been here then the writer is going to have to paint the picture for you.

A good exercise for every writer is to look at a picture and write about what you see. Eventually if you practice enough, you’ll be able to paint a beautiful landscape for your readers.