It is so easy to go through the world doing the usual things, and describing them in the usual way. But if we, as writers, want to describe things in an interesting way, a way that grabs the reader, then we first have to notice them in a deeper way than is usual.
You might see a striped fish swimming slowly through an aquarium. But watch for a while, let your eyes follow it, and you will notice more. You’ll see how the back has little ridges, like a slanted comb, and how one orange stripe goes right though the fish’s eye, giving it a bored, vacant look. You may see the way that light glints off the edge of a fin, and shines through the body of the fish so that you can see its heart, a dark pulsing spot beneath the gills.
Take notice. Then tell us about it so we can see it clearly, too.
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