Kids Lit Quiz
I recently had the privilege of attending the International Finals of the Kids Lit Quiz. It was held in the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, and finalists even met Judge Albie Sachs and listened to a talk by him.
The Kids Lit Finals were tightly contested but towards the end, UK and New Zealand were neck on neck. Eventually, UK won thanks to their formidable knowledge about poetry.
After the tension of the Finals it was such fun to enjoy a lunch in the courtyard and listen to John, the author of the hugely successful Spud books. He is a scream!
The next day I joined the finalists in Exclusive Books in Rosebank, Johannesburg, and spent an hour with them work-shopping some writing skills with them.
Sharkey’s Son Teacher’s Guide
A young friend of mine, Emma Reid, is busy creating a Teacher’s Guide for Sharkey’s Son. She says it is funky and full of creative ideas. It will be published by Tafelberg. Look out for it.
Wow, I feel like I’m there!
Hi young writers,
Have you ever read a book in which you felt like you had been transported to another world? You could almost feel it, taste it, touch it and smell it. And that’s great because after all, why do we read books in the first place? We read books to escape, to find new adventures, to have new experiences … and to visit new places without ever leaving our own chairs.
We call this ability to make a story come alive and make us feel like we are there ourselves creating a sense of place. I’d like to share one of the tricks of my trade with you – how using your senses can help you to create a strong sense of place in your own writing.
Using your Senses
Using the senses is fundamental to any descriptive writing, especially if you want to create a strong sense of place. What are the senses?
- Sight
- Sound
- Smell
- Taste
- Touch
Let’s activate our senses now. Imagine with me…
What does a huge, enormous tree blowing in the wind look like? Can you see that in your mind?
What does a freshly baked loaf of bread smell like? Can you smell it?
What does an irritating, little dog sound like when it’s yapping at the gate? Can you hear it?
And chocolate? What does it taste like? How about pickles!
What does a rough, unplastered brick wall feel like? Can you feel it in your imagination?
Can you see how it is through these senses that we connect with the real world; so when you use the senses in your writing, you will help your reader to connect with your written world. Through the senses, reading moves beyond the mind and into the body itself – it becomes a physical, ‘lived’ experience.
When reading moves beyond the mind and into the body itself, this is called somatasthesia – which is made from two Greek words – soma (body) + asthesia (feeling) – which together mean feeling with your body.
Sensory Observation
How do you learn to use your senses in your writing? Well, you start by becoming conscious of what you are hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling all around you – you start to make sensory observations of your world. Read this example provided. It is a sensory observation of a town I once lived in – very roughly done.
Muizenberg looks like a once-beautiful, now faded, shell lying next to the Indian Ocean.
Muizenburg sounds like seagulls and waves.
Muizenberg smells like ozone and ice-cream.
Muizenberg feels like salt hardening the washing you left on the line overnight.
Muizenberg tastes like fish ‘n chips on a Friday evening.
Wherever you go, carry a little notebook and jot down your sense impressions, then try to craft them into impressions that are not clichéd.
What is a cliché?
A cliché is language that has lost its freshness and registers with a listener or reader as overused and boring. A cliche is a trite or over-used expression.
Examples: “the apple of my eye”, “dead as a doornail,” “avoid it like the plague”, “concrete jungle”.
So, once you have jotted down your sense impressions, check them for any clichés and then try to craft them into something special. You can describe any place you find yourself in if you use your senses – and help your reader to say “wow, I feel like I’m there”.
