able to visualize writing
seeing images of what one is writing
sort of a meditative state of mind when writing
Having The Gifts of Words and Imagery~ Do You Have It?
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
October 9, 2008 1:27am CST
I think one of the things I'm blessed with is the gifts of words...uh, as some of my MyLot friends might testify to..LOL. Writing has become a source of joy for me. I've always considered myself more a fiction writer, and it wasn't until last year that I started on the non-fiction article route as well. Although I did once work for a local newspaper as both photographer and columnist.
On Saturday I joined up with another article/review website and am a regular contributer there. The idea is to do reviews of products, movies, music groups, heck you can even write up recipes there. I've had people comment on my reviews particularly over movies I've seen and own on DVD, and a few people have left comments that I was very descriptive of the basic plot of the movie I was talking about and felt so good about that....but it made me think and I wonder if other writers do this...visualize.
What I mean by that...I pick a movie I have seen, and it could be a movie, that I haven't seen in ages and decide to write up a review about it. But as I'm sitting in front of my computer, I can actually visualize the movie..I "see" it almost as clearly as if I were actually watching it. In fact, I was describing the plot of one movie...one that while it ends happily, it's a tearjerker...and yikes...I was sitting here crying over the movie that was playing in my mind.
To give you another example..I did an extended article for AC about the fur trade...now some may remember my discussion here about it which included graphic videos of animals being skinned alive...When it came time for me to write my article I could have re-watched those videos...but I didn't need to...the imagery was already there..something one can't really forget anyway as those videos still haunt me.
So if you're into writing do you have that experience as well? Of actually visualizing the thing you're writing about? Or am I ko-ko?
8 people like this
27 responses
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
9 Oct 08
Through here in mylot I have seen your writings and feel envious of the talent that is in you. Your abilities to create the story into something very much alive and catchy is something not every budding writers could come up with. I admit you are a gifted writer that could easily catch the readers attention with your exciting and thrilling plot. The ability to mince and mix your vocabulary is something I can hardly imitate in my ways of writing. Yes, you're very creative and it takes me a while to ponder on your discussions and at the end of the day ends up not responding, the reasons why I seldom respond to your post is because I feel outshined in many facets of the English language. How dare I respond if the quality of my words are far inferior from yours. I feel really lost in words and thought whenever I see your bombastic articles. I surrender I give way to others who are in parallel to your writing skills.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
9 Oct 08
Goodness zandi...I think you express yourself wonderfully!!! Never feel you can't join in my discussions..I would love to see your input. I let you in on a secret...my two cats have long declared their "mom" nuts...why? Often when I write I talk it out, out loud....somehow it makes the words flow better for me. So lots of times when I write I'm talking it out..and my cats just look at me as if to say, "Oh yep, she's wacky"
@nabrown1929 (11)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Zandi, don't ever feel you are not worthy to be heard. We all have a right to our opinions and you seem to express yourself very clearly. Writing skills are developed...yes there needs to be some talent, but we all need to polish our skills. Mine are very rusty...I love to write but have just seemed to be too busy for soooo long. This is a good place to work on and practice my writing. Thanks for sharing.
@grandpa_lash (5225)
• Australia
22 Oct 08
I don't have that clear visualisation you speak about, but without some sort of visualising it's hard to see how one would create. The sort of thing that came up for me in my song-writing is:
"In my mind I run my fingers over the face that I loved so well,
And the dreams and hopes of yesterday fill up my mind with that love again" ...
And although I don't actually photographically visualise, there is still a SENSE of the thing I'm writing about in the forefront of my mind. The songs that really worked for me, the ones other performers picked up on, were always those in which this process played a major part. Sometimes a song writes itself purely verbally, and although I can look at those songs now and still see the cleverness, they don't have the same bite.
Lash
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
25 Oct 08
I find lots of times when I'm writing or even painting I guess the only way to describe it is that I kind of go in a meditative state....I don't really "see" my ideas but it's almost like I'm "channeling" them. Yet when I write my movie reviews for that site I belong to then I really do "see" the movie in front of me...as if I were watching it...
@byfaithonly (10698)
• United States
9 Oct 08
Not ko-ko or else I am too. A lot of my writing at AC has been my own memories and I've enjoyed writing them so very much more than the type of writing I was doing where I had to do tons of research in order to write a little bitty article. I have to reseach indepth in order to get that 'picture' in my mind in order to write about it.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I often have to do a lot of research with my AC article writing as well...but I'm glad I found this other "outlet" for writing where I don't have to do that and just do it from memory. As far as my pure fiction writing...all I have to do is tap into my imagination
1 person likes this
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
10 Oct 08
For me I think it depends on whether I am passionate about something or not...if it's just something that mildly interests me I just speak my thoughts and go on...but every now and then I'll hit a topic that is very close to home and then it is like a vein has been opened...thoughts and feelings just pour out and there's no way to stop it till it's run it's course.
[b]~~IN SEARCH OF PEACE WITHIN~~
**AGAINST THE STORMS, I WILL STAND STRONG** [/b]
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Oct 08
LOL--sounds like you become possessed...that happens to me too...especially with my fiction short stories...it's like for awhile there I'm completely obsessed with what I'm writing until it all gets down on paper or typed into the computer.
@makingpots (11915)
• United States
10 Oct 08
You are not ko-ko at all. You are a talented writer who has been blessed with a gift to make your writing even better. You use your talents well.
The closest I can come to relating to that is when I used to play competitive tennis. I would visualize how I wanted to hit the ball, see myself following through on my serve like I'd been coached, etc. I know it made a difference for me. It also helped me focus at times.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Yes visualization can come in handy for any aspect in life..I do that a lot when I have some humdinger of a cleaning project to do and is a bit overwhelming, so in my mind I visualize a strategy on how to tackle it...when I do, the task is SO much easier than going pell mell, willy nilly.
@paid2write (5201)
•
9 Oct 08
I can remember books and movies, but not enough to write informatively about them, without reading or watching them again. What I remember most clearly are my own life experiences, and I can write about things which happened to me, or places I visited, long ago.
Now I write many articles and I think I have an ability to use the facts I research and I can write about them comprehensively. I am pleased that I have sold articles about places I have never been to, or things I have never done. The power of words allows me to write enthusiastically on subjects that interest me.
I don't think you are [i][ko-ko/i]! I think you have a gift for writing and you can see in your mind what you have seen with your eyes.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I can often visualize about places I've never been as well...it does help when one can see photos of places..say areas of London, or Paris and one can take it from there...one thing that helps me with my fiction writing though..I often sketch things out...Like I sketch out the facade and draw up blueprint floor plans of a character's home ...that certainly helps....heehee
1 person likes this
@Kowgirl (3490)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Oh yes I do that when writing or reading. I actually thought everyone did.
This may be the reason I get so disappointed when I watch a movie that is
somewhat like what I wrote or read. The actors/actresses do not seem to fit
just right. I do like to do a little research so
things are quiet clear in my mind before I put words on paper.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
I'm a stickler for doing research in a lot of my writing too, whether for my articles or even my fiction stories.
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
10 Oct 08
I don't think I could write if I didn't visualize what I was writing about as I write it! It is sorta like a movie in my head -- and since its often rooted in dreams I have anyway, I suppose that must help.
I think it's part of why writing is fun for me. What I see happening as I write to express it is BETTER than the movies in many ways because you're the one making it as real as you can make it.
I try to put myself in the scenes as they happen, to try to feel what my characters feel. To attempt to get a hold on what sort of things would happen in the situations I write about, to imagine what these characters would do.
Like I said, I'm not sure if I could write if I didn't see it in my mind.
1 person likes this
@xParanoiax (6987)
• United States
12 Oct 08
Oh wow, you sound even more intense than I can be with writing, Pye!
I tend to get very focused, I can completely forget the rest of the world while I write. It's a very comfortable, quiet kind of feeling.
I can be snapped out of it -- but usually very unwillingly, lol.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Oct 08
The mind is a powerful thing right? When I write it's almost like I go into a meditative state....it takes me awhile to come out of it to the real world...LOL
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
10 Oct 08
Hi pye, 
Congratulations on making 'the digest.' I know exactly what you mean, as I'm a very visual person too. 'Whenever' I do any writing, I picture everything in my mind, especially while writing poetry, or any type of fiction. I'm sure this could be carried over to reality writing too. There have been times in my life, when I've been thinking of somebody dear to me who's in a desperate situation. I've visualized what the outcome of their plight could be. If it's a negative one, I've actually teared up just at the thought of it. Great topic. Take care.
Congratulations on making 'the digest.' I know exactly what you mean, as I'm a very visual person too. 'Whenever' I do any writing, I picture everything in my mind, especially while writing poetry, or any type of fiction. I'm sure this could be carried over to reality writing too. There have been times in my life, when I've been thinking of somebody dear to me who's in a desperate situation. I've visualized what the outcome of their plight could be. If it's a negative one, I've actually teared up just at the thought of it. Great topic. Take care.1 person likes this
@someonesmom (5761)
• Canada
22 Oct 08
I can't say the type of visualization you've described here, has happened to me. It would be really neat to have this type of 'gift' though. I trust your friend in line was happy to see you.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
Hiya mom. Yes I sometimes "see" my friends, especially those I haven't seen in ages, and not necessarily in desperate situations, but all of a sudden I'll be thinking of someone and seeing them that I haven't seen or talked to in ages, and then maybe the next day I bump into them. That actually happened to me about a week ago. I was suddenly thinking of someone I hadn't seen in a year. The next day I went to the Post Office and she was there waiting on line with me!
1 person likes this
@littleowl (7157)
•
14 Oct 08
Hi Pye I am not a writer just the occasional poem here and there...yet when asked about something that I have to remember I do 'see' or visualize in my mind and can 'see' it as if it is a picture..when doing spiritual readings I actually am given pictures in my mind of places I have never known about but are only known to the person of which is different but really the same as it too is visualization but another word for it is the gift of 'sight'...littleowl
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
I didn't know you were into spiritual readings, you mean like scrying??? Oddly enough that is one thing I've never been able to accomplish. Weird no, considering I can visualize or see by other means
@littleowl (7157)
•
22 Oct 08
Hi Pye..no a spiritual reading isn't scrying that is something else eg like tarot reading, a spiritual reading is connecting to the spirit world through my spirit guide he then can show me things that I wouldn't know otherwise from spirit..also I have the gift of esp and telepathy, Tamara and I are connected that way and it can be quite funny at times we joke about it..and we don't need to be together to be telepathically connected it doesn't matter where we are!! bb littleowl
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
9 Oct 08
hi pyewacket yes I have it too, in fact just now I was thinking
about that discussion of yours about animals being skinned alive and I could see it here now, and feel nausea wellup in my tummy. You have the gift for sure . I love to write and am going to lookinto some writing sites once we get moved f rom here. I
would so love to get something published for a change.You are not ko ko at all.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
9 Oct 08
I remember you mentioning you had written some children's type stories..you should think about getting them published somehow
2 people like this
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
10 Oct 08
I do, well, I think I do. I was going to attend law school and I had to write a bunch of life learning papers for my B.A. course. A lot of my classmates asked me why I didn't write for a living. I never thought about it and I decided to do it. I write for a couple of sites that pay me, one is Associated Content and I love doing it. I see that you write for AC, what is your link? Here is mine. http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/42897/jeff_rogers.html
Nah, you're not ko-ko, just creative, embrace it.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
I just subscribed to you over there and sent a message...I haven't written in awhile at AC as I've been busy at another place. You can also find my AC "widget on my profile page which has a listing of my articles. What other places do you write for?
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
22 Oct 08
Rough Edge.com http://www.roughedge.com/cdreviews/ and Need an Article. I'll check out your AC page and help with some page views.
@nabrown1929 (11)
• United States
11 Oct 08
You are so blessed to be able to recall and visualize like that.
I am trying to work on visualizations...I seem to be able to imagine things in my head but to actually visualize them in motion yet, I don't know.
In one of my self-help groups, I am working on word-pictures to describe how I am feeling and that is a big challenge. It is like telling someone a story about something they can relate to and making them feel the same emotion.
I may start a discussion about this later.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
I guess the only way I can describe my "visualizations" in writing is similar to the dream state, except I'm awake...LOL
@tess1960 (2385)
• United States
10 Oct 08
I too can visualize things but not as clearly as you describe here. You may have what is referred to as a photogenic memory. You may also just be a very visual person and once you see something and feel it the emotion stays with you. Either way I would love to read some of your AC articles as I am an AC CP also. Here is my page:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/tess1960
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
21 Oct 08
I just subscribed to you over at AC and sent you a message. You can find my AC widget on my profile page here which will lead to my page at AC..Yes I probably do have a photographic memory...and no pun as I am a photographer
@underdogtoo (9579)
• Philippines
10 Oct 08
Sadly, I am not one of those who have that gift. I have a hard time visualizing and my words often don't come out the way I want them. I envy those who seem to effortlessly flow and glide without friction or resistance. Cheers!!
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
10 Oct 08
One good way I found to keep words flowing is to talk them out loud....somehow that helps me a lot...of course my two cats who listen to my ramblings might think I'm nuts..LOL
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
9 Oct 08
Hey pye, No you are not crazy. When I did write since I
haven't in a long time I was also able to visualize the
things that I was writing about. That's what makes a writer
a good writer! That is important so that you can remember
the details so that you can describe them. Even when they
may be graphic or upsetting you will get the most vivid
descriptions which to me of course will get you the best
article. I think that is a very important this for a writer.
You have to have good visualization in my opinion to be
a sucessful writer. I don't think many people know this.
In order to tell your story or to make a point the more
information that you have to back up your points the more
important your story or article will become to the reader.
So what you are doing is obviously making your article
come alive which is more enticing to more people.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
10 Oct 08
Have you ever "dreamed" one of your stories? Sometimes when I'm writing a short fictional story I get stuck...can't figure out for the life of me where to take the story and it ticks me off..LOL. So go to bed and sleep...then BOOM...I wake up, grab my notebook that I always have nearby me, and start scribbling away like a demon but half asleep...finish, put the notebook back and go to sleep again. When I wake up hours later, I look at those scribblings and they are so on the money I don't have to change a thing..so I must be dreaming my stories at times...LOL And I find some of my stories kind of possess me...LOL
@pehpot (4762)
• Philippines
10 Oct 08
I do have that kind of imagination. I actually love reading that watching a movie. When I do read I can imagine vividly what is happening on the book. I can imagine up to the last detail, as like you, it is as if a movie is shown in front of me. What I lack though is the talent to transfer my imagination to words. I lack that gift
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Yes I have that kind of imagination too when I read and it's like having a movie in my mind as I read
@belk89 (1103)
• Philippines
9 Oct 08
I have several poems that i personally composed but when it comes to writing i dont think i have the talent lol. I admire people who have the talent to write though. My husband wanted to write a script but since he is busy with his current job he plans of doing that when he retire.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
10 Oct 08
I think you should encourage you husband to write a tad bit on his script everyday..even if it's only one sentence...what kind of script is he writing anyway? for a movie? Play?
@thinksf (152)
• United States
10 Oct 08
I believe I have the gift of words, I suppose. I have an English degree, if that says anything. I am mostly a documentary writer though, not fiction, so I don't have much use for fictional imagery- but when documenting, I like to be as descriptive as possible.
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
14 Oct 08
Do you do storyboarding type thing? I find even when writing fiction if I literally sketch out some of my ideas it helps better
