From Texture to Text: The Feeling of it All

I want you to think about your favorite novel. Not the one you think is the best you’ve ever read or the one you feel should be your favorite because you don’t want to admit to yourself your favorite novel is something you’re secretly a little ashamed of. Think of the one that brings back that feeling you got the first time you read it, the one that transports you right back to the time and place you were at when you were first reading it. Picture your surroundings, the feeling you had. Can you remember what you were wearing? What was the fabric of the chair you were sitting in? Are you feeling that same feeling you had back then?

We all know that the best kinds of art can transport us to another time and a place. But there’s a special kind of experience that comes from a book that even years down the road, can transport you back to that first time you experienced it. This isn’t an exclusive feeling with books. Lots of things can instill a certain type of sense memory that transports us right back to that moment when we think about it again. There are songs that transport me back to snowy days in Tennessee, books that bring me back to the armchair in my childhood bedroom, and movies that remind me of the friends I saw them with.

This type of sense memory is a universal human experience, and we know powerful art can create these sense memories for us. These sense memories have so much texture and special meaning compared to other memories we carry with us. But is there a way of weaving those textures into the art you create? Now, I’m not going to be so bold as to claim that you can deliberately create sense memory experiences for people with the art you create. It seems to me that even if these sense memories are part of the human experience, they’re extremely individualized and not really something you can predict. But I personally believe that you can borrow some of the texture in your own sense memories and instill a tiny part of that feeling into your art.

Stay with me here, because I get that we’re journeying into some slightly mystical territory here. But the next time you sit down to write or work on any type of art you like to create, see if you can transport yourself to one of these memories. Once you’re there, note the feelings you have. Pay attention to the other senses. Memorize this special feeling that comes over you as you sit in this memory. What are the little things? Could you feel the warmth of the sun on your skin? Were there rain drops rolling down the sides of the car window? Could you feel the rough texture of the brick wall you were sitting on with that special person?

When you’re done, write down as much of this texture as you can. This will be a good writing exercise for you if you can get into the habit, because I promise you it’ll help you add texture into your writing that will elevate your prose. Because the next time you come to a point in your story where you want to instill a certain feeling into the audience, you’ll know how to do it. And I’m not just talking about the little details that you should be adding to your prose anyway. I mean trying to capture a feeling you had and infusing your prose with it.

If you do this regularly, you’ll know what kind of texture is needed for a sentimental moment, what kind of texture is needed in a quiet moment with nature, and what kind of texture you’ll need to capture the feeling you get while two of your characters are falling in love.

Now I don’t have any evidence that this works with my own writing since I’m biased. The times when I’ve tried to instill this texture into my writing works for me, but I’ve never had anyone point out those passages to me as being particularly powerful for them. One day maybe, but my sample size is quite small at the moment.

But instead, I’m going to have you listen to an interlude song on an EP from a band I love. The band is called, The Oh Hellos, and the title of the interlude is “Planetarium Stickers on a Bedroom Ceiling.” Here’s the link, now go and listen to this song before you read anymore. Go ahead, I’ll be here when you get back.

Now for me, when I hear this song, I not only get the imagery the title provides, but my mind conjures up so much more. The texture my mind fills in is a hot summer evening. The bedroom fan is on, its blades slowly spinning. Beams of light from the setting sun shine through curtains, illuminating little bits of dust that move lazily through the air. In my mind, I’m laying down on my bed, letting my head hang off the end so that I’m seeing the world upside down, the stickers on the ceiling below me.

Now, that’s my experience listening to this song. Tell me if you feel similarly? What imagery did you see? Was it anything like mine? Now I argue that even if my imagery is different than yours, even if the individual sounds don’t resonate with you the exact same way, the feeling this song creates feels authentic, right? It feels familiar. I bet we had similar feelings from it.

I’m convinced that the approach to writing this song must have been similar to what I’m trying to describe here. Because even if the end result summons different types of texture for different people, that sense memory, that feeling you get listening to it happens with all of us, right?

Sit with this idea for awhile the next time you settle in to create. Think about how it might impact the feelings you are trying to conjure in your audience. This is what creating art is, right? We’re in the business of magic.