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How do you write a book and really allow the reader to immerse themselves into the story? Two different paragraphs side by side can mean the exact same thing, and yet one can be infinitely superior over the other. Why?
It has in large part to do with the author’s ability to translate the things that he or she visualizes into words. Painters and sculptors use their mediums to do the same thing, and the greats become masters of their art. The writer’s medium is language. [pullquote_right]By immersing yourself the scene. Close your eyes if necessary. Think about smells, textures, sounds, temperature, clothing, the blades of grass beneath the protagonist’s feet.[/pullquote_right]
Does that mean you need to carry around a thesaurus at all times and memorize the dictionary? No. Please don’t. It means that you have to learn to study the images in your head and then describe them in a way that not only sketches the outline of the scene, but drags the reader in and cocoons them in an imaginary world you’ve provided.
How do you do that? By immersing yourself the scene. Close your eyes if necessary. Think about smells, textures, sounds, temperature, clothing, the blades of grass beneath the protagonist’s feet.
For me, especially when writing is going well, I can see the scenes of a book play out like a movie in my head. Sometimes that’s a real pain in the ass since I can’t generally hit a mental “pause” button. But it lets me write in a way that telegraphs the action as it happens. I can feel the sun on hot sweaty skin, smell cologne or the rot of wet leaves underfoot.
What do you do if that isn’t the case? It doesn’t always happen that way. Often I find myself with very spare prose that needs more detail layered in. That’s when you’ve got to dig into your own experience and put your sensory memory to the test.
If you remember that your entire goal is to drag the reader in and make them live and breathe in the world you’ve created, you’ll find that building a world rich in visualization and sensory information becomes easier, more natural. It’s exercise for your writing muscles. The more reps you do, the stronger those muscles get. — Jennifer James
The lovely Jennifer James!! Mwah!
[box_light]This is the lovely and effervescent Jennifer James. When she’s not shepherding her two lovely young daughters or being bathed in chocolate and smexy by her handsome hubby, she writes smut.
Good ol’ fashion smut.
And it’s gooooood.[/box_light]
[box_dark] “The Love Kinection” by Jennifer James
Blurb: 
Love, romance, hearts, flowers, cupid…. Rubbish.
Abby Fine still hasn’t gotten over the pain of a year-old betrayal and plans to spend this Valentine’s Day drowning her sorrows with a ménage of men named Ben, Jerry, and Riesling.
Her plans are diverted when she drops and breaks her new iPhone and gives in to a momentary hormone surge, agreeing to let office hottie and tech god Tom Walker squirm his way into her condo to fix it.
Tom shows up with his Xbox, spicy Chinese food, and a habit of stealing kisses every time she lets her guard down.
Can a weekend of laughter, video games, and movies change Abby’s opinion of stupid Cupid?
Excerpt:
His hands crossed the gap between our bodies and rested on my hips. Backing away would be the smart thing to do. But hope filled my belly he’d kiss me again. The stupid part of my brain had taken control again, and I didn’t fight it. I wanted a real kiss. “So if you are in fact the geekier geek, what do I get as a forfeit?” he asked.
The shadow of stubble covered his chin and his upper lip, ran up to the short sideburns he wore. His ears begged to be nibbled on. What would that stubble feel like brushed against my skin? Dangerous thoughts, especially since my hands had somehow ended up on his waist and my fingers clenched his shirt. I looked at his arms, still surprised by the size of muscles when they flexed. If the biceps were any indicator of the body hidden under the cloth, it broke the mold of a stereotypical geek’s.
“Forfeit?”
“Yeah. You know, like a prize.”
“I think you already got a forfeit. You got to see me naked.” And all I’ve gotten is a few stolen kisses.
“That was an accident.” He grew hard against my belly. It pleased me to wonder what direction his thoughts had gone. I wondered if ice cream intoxication existed. “How about sex in my truck?”
“No. Car sex isn’t really comfortable. And who said anything about sex?”
“A man can hope. Besides, I know you’ve thought about it.”
“Have not.”
“Have, too.”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
He shook his head. “I promised to behave. You kiss me.”
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Want to read more?
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Oh, oh, oh, oh!!
I always forget stuff.
So, before I forget. AGAIN….. here’s a chance for YOU to win a copy of The Love Kinection! And there’s more. Oh yes… see these beautiful pictures bordered in green on the post? Those are trading cards you can get for the characters in Jennifer’s book. Need a reminder about hottie Tom or sexy Abby? Trading cards will keep your memory fresh. 
Aaaaand Ms James is offering up a set to a lucky contestant!
To enter, just to use the Rafflecopter widget, below!
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