I admit, I don’t exactly write about trees, but I do love them, and they can do a lot to set the mood. This is why I chose, in my novel KATERINA’S WISH, to have a great cottonwood standing over the location where so many important events and decisions take place in the story.
Trees have so much to offer! I love the shapes their gnarled branches make against the sky, and how different types of trees seem to have different personalities. I love all the different colors and textures of trees, in all the different seasons. I also love the way trees shape the light. In the fall, the sunlight coming through the yellow leaves is rich and golden. In the height of summer, it is cool and muted.
Have you ever noticed that trees have their own smells, too? Willows have a tangy smell that almost stings the nose as they dry out after a rainstorm. A grove of aspen or cottonwood trees gives off a sharp,slightly dusty smell, while pines and spruce have that fresh, cool scent of evergreens. I love hiking in the mountains, where my nose picks up the changes as I step from one environmental zone to another.
And there is nothing like the sound of wind in the trees, whether it is a gentle breeze or a biting cold winter wind making the evergreens whistle.
So, here is why trees belong on my “Love to Write About” list. Like many other objects out there, trees do so much to create SETTINGS. My mother, who is a painter, always says that to be able to draw or paint something you first have to be able to really SEE it. Writing is much the same way, except that writers can rely on more senses, so for us to create settings, we need to SENSE them at many levels.
Trees wonderfully evoke all the senses, in ways that can really build setting and mood:
- The SIGHT of the colors, textures, and lighting effects
- The SOUND of wind in the branches
- The SMELL of the forest or the glade
- The FEEL of the cool shade, the rough trunk, the smooth leaves
- The TASTE...well, maybe I wouldn’t take it that far, unless I was in a sugar maple grove!
You don’t necessarily want to use all of these all the time, but consider all the ways you might use trees if you write.
On a nice day, go enjoy the trees.
If you like to write, use this as an exercise. Write about the mood created by the tree. First, just write down your impressions quickly, without thinking about your words. Later, think hard about what words most exactly capture the mood created under the tree. If the mood was subdued and subtle, what words capture that best? If the leaves were a swirling, wild riot of color, how can your language capture that? Look for words that FEEL like the setting, let your language become sensual. It’s just an exercise, so unleash your creativity without inhibitions!
And if you aren’t a nature person, there are other things out there with similar effects. Consider the following in the same way:
Tall downtown buildings
Art or dinosaur bones at the museum
Hot dog vendors on the street corner
Lakes, rivers, or ponds
Playground equipment at the park
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