At a Donald Maass Intensive seminar in San Antonio, a writer on the front row was enjoying the view of the Riverwalk through the floor-to ceiling window. On the far side of the river, two white-uniformed workers were cleaning the sidewalk of every spec of debris that had collected after the early-morning rain.
Maass, who’d also seen the workers, turned to face the class, then realized he needed to explain the breadth of his smile. “Down below,” he said, “two sanitation workers are sweeping. On the other side, a crane is standing on the rock, turning his head back and forth, supervising.”
He had seen something the aspiring writer had missed.
Natalie Goldberg said, “Writers write about things that other people don’t pay much attention to.” If that’s true, then our message must reach beyond what the average person would observe. Perhaps we need to take a second look, checking for what we might have missed.
After you’ve finished your research, how do you see beyond the facts and deliver a message that is fresh and insightful?
