To be an author is to describe. No matter what an author's medium or genre the goal is to take an idea; be it a feeling, an image, a sound, a smell, or a sensation and communicate it so that the reader senses the same thing. The best descriptions are by no mean the longest, or the most eloquent. They are simply the ones that translate best from one mind to another. One of my favorite authors, Patrick McManus once described a walk through the woods as "splashing through ankle deep puddles of sunlight".
Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to capture and contain a description. One day as a child there was a peculiar and beautiful cloud formation over my parents' farm. I stayed and watched it in rapture until it was gone and then immediately rushed in to try and describe it in my journal. I wrote for pages but never quite managed to capture that feeling. The local paper simply published a full color photo but even that was a pale imitation.
On the other hand some experiences are easy to describe and relate perfectly. For instance I had to use a different rig at work today due to circumstances and experienced an entirely new sensation in the cab. I also relayed that sensation to my co-workers with a single sentence such that they immediately understood it in its fullness.
"Why does the Chevy smell like a pack of JuicyFruit puked up in the cab?"
Sometimes it is incredibly difficult to capture and contain a description. One day as a child there was a peculiar and beautiful cloud formation over my parents' farm. I stayed and watched it in rapture until it was gone and then immediately rushed in to try and describe it in my journal. I wrote for pages but never quite managed to capture that feeling. The local paper simply published a full color photo but even that was a pale imitation.
On the other hand some experiences are easy to describe and relate perfectly. For instance I had to use a different rig at work today due to circumstances and experienced an entirely new sensation in the cab. I also relayed that sensation to my co-workers with a single sentence such that they immediately understood it in its fullness.
"Why does the Chevy smell like a pack of JuicyFruit puked up in the cab?"
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