Sometimes I feel that I do not spend enough time on description in my writing, so I want to try something new. Up to this point, the main focus of my writing is the plot and the movement of the story, but I feel that this might hurt readers' ability to immerse themselves in my story. In my head I can see, hear, feel, and smell the surroundings, but my readers cannot experience what is in my head, only what I put on paper. So I need to make a change.

I am thinking of starting a recurring blog topic where I write a few descriptive paragraphs focusing on setting the scene or describing feelings/emotions/experiences in a sensory way. I'm thinking I might call it "Sensory Saturdays" (a little hokey, but this is a blog, right?).

This Saturday will be my first Sensory Saturday, and I want to invite anyone interested to reply to that blog either with tips or comments on what I wrote or with your own senses-driven passage. I think that it would be great if we could get a weekly writing group where writers can work on developing their ability to write descriptively.

The quote "There is a time and place for everything," as well as the quotes that are, at least in my mind, connected to it (such as "everything has its place" and "all in good time") just popped into my head for some reason.

Now, I am used to things popping into my head. Things pop in, pop around, make random connections, and, with a disturbing frequency, make me wonder what strange neuro-pathways my brain has created in the last 20-odd years. How is it that one piece of random information, or one quick sentence, can trigger a memory or a thought that is completely separate from the preceding thought? Worrisome.

That rant is just one example, but I will now address the quote that popped into my head just now. It popped in, completely unprovoked, but before it had time to pop out I took a moment to consider it. And decided that I did not like it at all.

As I think about it, it seems like something a grandmother would say. Not a mean grandmother, but the type of grandmother who preaches patience and hard work and children being seen and not heard (the first two aren't so bad, but I prefer grandmothers who preach the virtues of cookies and homemade apple pies myself, and I'm not good at the seen-and-not-heard thing). If I were to live my life by the idea that "there is a time and a place for everything," I feel like I would too often use that as an excuse. "There is a time and a place to write." "There is a time and a place to get published." "I'll finish my rough draft all in good time." "This is not the place to take a nap"--okay, perhaps that one is one I should pay more attention to.

Although I can objectively see the value in "there is a time and a place for everything," I do not believe that I will adopt this as my motto. I think that I need a more proactive motto. One that will encourage me to work hard right now to achieve my goals.

And if anyone knows of a saying that can help me with that, please let me know. I could use it.

--J.R.