I often say that I am a product of my environment, as colors
tend to have a dramatic effect on me. I’ve noticed the same thing happens to
readers; much of it is subliminal.
For example, suppose you have a scene where two people have
just entered a room. The walls are pastel, robin’s egg blue with bright white
trim. Photographs on the wall depict beach scenes and serene seascapes. A pair
of flip-flops is beside a cottage chair, and a beach towel is draped over a
white-washed kitchen chair.
Now stand at the threshold again. As you enter the room
again, the walls are covered in a burgundy and gold wallpaper. The trim is
walnut. Photographs depict black and white villages of times gone by, of a law
office, doctor’s office and five-and-dime from the early 20th
century. Beside an over-stuffed chair is a walnut curio table, upon which is a
crystal decanter. A dining room table sits off to the side; it is also walnut,
and the chair cushions are burgundy and gold.
How did you feel as you envisioned the first room? How was
that different from the second room?
A good writer can evoke feelings in the reader simply
through the description of their surroundings. The events that follow, however,
must tie into the scene that is depicted.
Has there been a scene in a book that has stayed with you
for years after reading it? How did the description affect the feelings it
invoked in you?
