LESSON ONE:INTRODUCTION (VISUALIZATION – Linda Rondeau)

Do words have power?

Good morning and happy September. Fall is just around the corner. And it is fitting a course on imagery should begin when green leaves begin to turn to a circus of color.

It is my hope for you that you will gain an appreciation for the gift of imagery.

We will talk about the role of imagery in your manuscripts, literary techniques, and appealing to all the senses, not merely sight.

Your job as a writer is to grab the attention of your reader and steal them away into your story. Our only mechanism is words. They need to be true, meaningful, and persuasive. A song by the Bee Gees says it best:

What is visualization?

Merriam Webster defines visualization as: 1) the formation of mentalvisualimages; 2) the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visible form.

These are abstract definitions. I want you to think in terms of the third definition: the process of making an internal organ or part visible by the introduction (as by swallowing) of a radiopaque substance followed by radiography.

In many ways the words on the page are like x-rays into our story world.

In other words, our language within our manuscript is like an isotope….it provides a means for the reader to “be there” sensing and experiencing the story as it unfolds.

Dictionary.com adds: to make perceptible to the mind or imagination.

The British Dictionary defines visualization as a “technique involving focusing on positive mental images in order to achieve a particular goal.”

Athletes use this technique quite successfully. During a recent golf tournament, I watched Jason Day visualize one of his shots. He was in the rough. He had trees and water between him and the green. He closed his eyes and I could almost feel him visualizing a high carry over the trees and water. After taking those few seconds to visualize his shot, he executed it and it landed effectively on the green. He two-putted to save par.

You will hear some writers explain point of view in this way: “Imagine your character has a camera on his/her head and you describe the scene from what your character sees through his camera lens.”

This course will go much deeper than point of view. We will explore how visualization and the use of imagery will enhance every page of your manuscript.

Let’s take a few moments to get acquainted.

1.Who are you?

2.What is your current work in progress?

3.What is the message?

4.What genre have you chosen to convey this message?

5.What do you hope to gain from the course?

Linda Wood Rondeau

Author/Speaker

God turns our worst past into our best future