Getting better at descriptive writing + Brown University Summer Program
Hello from Providence!
I’ve just finished my first week doing a writing course at Brown, and it’s been incredible.
The campus is beautiful. The people are fun, interesting, and international. I love my class. It doesn’t feel like lectures or as if I were in school; instead, it feels like friends talking about writing.
One of my favorite parts about this past week at Brown is that if you walk around anywhere on campus, it’s impossible not to find a friend. I always run into people, whether it’s at the ratty (the dining hall) or in the halls of my dorm. I love talking and meeting new people, so this to me is paradise.
One thing we do at the start of every class is a 2-minute free writing session.
I think the same applies to writing. Doing a 2-minute free writing session won’t solve all your problems, but no problem’s going to be made worse by writing it down. I recommend doing this whether it is right when you start or day or before work.
Something else I’ve been working on this week is getting better at describing the five senses.
I wrote this on Friday after being given a couple of prompts to choose from:
If you could have any view from your back porch, what would it be?
The view from my back porch would be a road wide enough for a car, but more accustomed to bikes, horses, or an ATV. The surface is soft and sandy, with visible footprints, and if you’re driving a car, bumpy. But most importantly, if you continue walking the road for 5-10 minutes, it leads you to a beach on the Pacific side of Mexico, Todos Santos. Every afternoon, I sit and watch the sky turn red and orange, at the wide, cold, and empty, to the point where it almost looks abandoned, beach of Baja California Sur. There are no clubs, no crowds, just the roars of the waves and the sounds of dogs panting.
I picked Todos Santos because I had it fresh in my mind after visiting recently. And because I want to live close to a beach.
If this is also something you want to improve, I highly recommend writing about something you felt, saw, heard, or tasted throughout the day. It helps build the muscle of writing descriptively.
📚Books I read and recommendations
No books finished this week. But, I’m 80% done with Iron Gold and The Housemaid.
💬 Thought-Provoking Quote
Here’s a reminder to stop taking things so seriously, relax, and have some fun.
“I don’t think existence wants you to be serious. I have not seen a serious tree. I have not seen a serious bird. I have not seen a serious sunrise. I have not seen a serious starry night. It seems they are all laughing in their own ways. We may not understand it, but there is a subtle feeling that the whole existence is a celebration” - Osho
see you next Sunday?