A favorite blogger of mine (ethanrenoe.com) has recently posted a few pieces dealing with the idea of ‘zooming out’. In other words, instead of being hyper-focused only on the joy or difficulty in front of us we should try focusing more on the bigger picture. Zoom out. This idea struck me, and in many instances I agree. However, I find myself oddly in need of doing the opposite. In my life, and by extension in my writing, I think I need to practice ‘zooming in’ more. I am a busy person: mother, teacher, writer, homeowner, and a host of other responsibilities. Most of the time, my big picture is chaos. Organized chaos perhaps, but chaos nonetheless…and I am not one of those people who thrives on chaos. So, I find my only escape is to leave—usually headed to the nearest Starbucks (which brings us back to my much-referenced coffee shop habit). But perhaps there is another remedy: Zoom in. Be mindful. Focus on the very minute things—sights, sounds, smells, even the rhythm of your own breathing. For example, let us consider my patio garden. I have a vision in my mind—a dream really—that I have harbored for 25 years. I want an English garden. There are two problems with this: I don’t live in England, and I pretty much hate gardening. Also, my patio is about the size of a postage stamp. So, ok, three problems. However, each year I have wanted to lounge in shade-dappled glory in my gorgeous cottage garden and each year I have been annoyed and discouraged that I can’t make it happen. This week I dutifully went to the garden store, bought the requisite blooming lovelies, and began potting them up. And of course I got hot and tired and annoyed. The ‘big picture’ of my garden was a mess. I was angry. I even felt a little betrayed by Nature. But then I looked at the lovely hydrangea blossom at my feet. I peered closely at the curve of a piece of statuary. I traced the veining of a delicate leaf. In other words, I ‘zoomed in’ and adjusted my focus. Suddenly, from this vantage point, my garden was beautiful! It was the English cottage glory I had always wanted. And it hadn’t changed…my perspective on it had changed. This tactic, while helpful in viewing a patio garden, is even more meaningful in looking at life in general. I am so guilty of seeing all the myriad tasks I need to do and demands I need to meet that I miss the beauty of my daughter’s smile, or the warmth of a kitten curled up beside me. I need to zoom in. I need to focus on the details. The same can be true in our writing. When the over-arching width and breadth and depth of the work is too much…change your perspective. Work on the wording of just one sentence. Think about a single turn of phrase a character might use or a beautiful bit of descriptive imagery. Zoom in.
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Wendy Picard GorhamWendy lives and works in the midst of words everyday--English teacher by profession, and writer by passion! Archives
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