I met a person recently who bragged about being "totally unaware." It got me to thinking: is it good to be unaware of your surroundings and your environment?
When writing, the main characters must always be acutely aware. There are many reasons for this: their ability to notice things in their environment could lead to clues that the reader should know, particularly in suspense. It also fleshes out the story so the reader gets a sense of where the characters are and what their surroundings help them to experience.
For example, in Dylan's Song as Dylan Maguire is riding his horse through the bogs at midnight, he recognizes the fact that "the ground percolated; it lived and it breathed." Someone who is unaware would not notice the ground at all and lose the richness of the experience.
How aware are you of your surroundings?
