1

I'm trying to write a story in which the sun has essentially gone out and visibility is constantly limited, and sometimes completely gone. Being a very visual person, I'm finding it hard to describe things in a way that keeps the reader's interest.

The sole source of help I am drawing on so far is a sequence in Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon where the main characters travel through the core of the planet, most of the time in complete darkness. I feel like it is very well written and interesting, but I think I could be helped by more examples of such sequences.

Does anybody have some memorable or notable sections of such stories they could point me to?

A Blue Shoe
  • 11
  • 1
  • 1
    I'm sorry; Writers.SE considers questions on "what should I write" and specific research questions (e.g., "who's already done this specific thing?") to be off-topic. We're a Q&A site, and answering questions like this would basically mean being willing to answer any question imaginable if you only add "it's for a story I'm writing"... – Standback Jul 24 '14 at 21:44
  • If you're new to Stack Exchange, take our intro tour and peek around; you'll get a good feel for how we work. We'd love to help you with other questions. IMHO, the best questions are of the form "I'm trying to do X, but I'm failing because Y. How do I solve Y and do X?" - and I bet you might have a terrific question about writing without sense of sight, if instead of asking "Who's done this well," you (a) explain what you've been trying, and (b) tell us what it is about the problem that's proving tough for you. – Standback Jul 24 '14 at 21:48
  • (Additionally, a passage from the story with the question "How do I write without using any visuals?" would be a great critique question.) – Standback Jul 24 '14 at 21:49
  • Closing as off-topic, because it's asking what to write, and for highly specialized examples. – Standback Jul 24 '14 at 21:51
  • I'm wondering why my "looking for examples" question gets closed, but some others don't. For example: http://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/12464/examples-of-successful-rule-breaking-in-novels

    Is this not a place I should come to for help looking for inspiration?

     – A Blue Shoe Jul 25 '14 at 21:46
  • Tbh they're looking for a way to reword that other question so it doesn't seem to be inviting a list of examples. Mostly we want to avoid list questions. If you just rephrase your question to say something like "how can I write descriptively while blind?" then you'll be inviting answers for how to solve the specific problem you have, which will most likely include examples from other works that do it well, thus making both you and us happy. – Jerenda Jul 26 '14 at 00:24
  • 1
    @ABlueShoe Because not everything on this site is performed by utterly consistent robots. (Have placed the question you linked to on hold pending edits; it came up in a conversation in chat, along with this question.) – Goodbye Stack Exchange Jul 26 '14 at 01:58

1 Answers1

1

Why not just put a blindfold on and walk around your house for a few hours? Take notes into a recorder or a voice note app about what you're feeling, thinking, smelling, hearing, about whether other senses have sharpened, if you're slowing down, etc.

Additionally, the children's book Follow My Leader is quite good about showing how a previously sighted boy adapts to blindness.

Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
  • 74,970
  • 7
  • 123
  • 261