We have a special treat today. R. T. Lawton has FOUR series of stories running in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. How many people have that many going anywhere? And he writes both light and serious, current and historic, foreign and domestic. Recently we were e-discussing our writing and he made a point I thought was worth sharing with our readers. He graciously consented to do so.
Enjoy.

—Rob Lopresti

VISUAL IMAGES

by R. T. Lawton

We’ve all read stories where a visual image leaped off the printed page and became stuck in our memory or at least found a measure of resonance. One prime example from the past is the wart on the Miller’s nose in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. This particular wart had red hairs sticking out of it like bristles. Not a pretty sight, yet it created an unforgettable image for a multitude of students who were required to read Canterbury Tales as part of their English Lit assignment.

No doubt, you have your own images stuck in your head from some story or other which you have read. Go ahead, take a minute to reflect on some of your favorite stories by your favorite authors.

In any case, several centuries ago, whether it was intentional or not, Chaucer wrote a red-hair, bristly wart onto the nose of one of his story characters and it has left a strong visual image in the minds of several generations of readers. This is definitely a good ploy if an author wishes to be remembered for his writing. True, an author has to have more than just a strong visual image in his story in order to be remembered as a good writer, but we’re only talking about visual images for now.

For this blog, I propose that a good visual image is one that resonates in the mind of the reader for whatever reasons. And for simplicity’s sake, I put forth two samples of my own writing as modern day examples, not that I’ll be remembered generations from now.

In my first AHMM series short story, “The Bond That Keeps,” one of the clues for the reader to solve the mystery was a pair of tennis shoes hanging from overhead telephone wires. The dangling shoes were a picture stuck in my mind from the past, so I intentionally wrote that scene into the story. To my surprise, it was also an image already in the minds of several readers. I received lots of comments about how they too had seen tennis shoes hanging from overhead telephone wires, which they remembered upon reading the story. This image resonated with them and provided a personal bond to the story.

In my latest AHMM published series short story, “et tu Valentinus,” I purposely wrote in a Mock Orange potted plant which the main character had stolen for his wife as a Christmas present, but while he was on a Valentine’s Day “romantic cruise” with said wife, his burglary protégé was supposed to take care of this plant back at the apartment and keep it watered. However, in the story, the Mock Orange potted plant keeps showing up in disappearing glimpses on the cruise ship. Yarnell, the main character, sees this potted plant in various places, but before he can approach, it is gone, leaving him wondering.

Of course when the reader hears about the potted plant or the scent of oranges upon the air, he soon realizes that the protégé has sneaked aboard the ship and brought the plant with him. The plant has become a visual image stuck in the reader’s mind as a clue that the protégé is present. In fact, when the artist did an illustration for this story, she included the potted plant. There is another visual image running through the Holiday Burglars series, beginning with the second story, “Grave Trouble,” but I’ll let you find that image on your own and I bet you do. This image also appeared in the same illustration as the plant. Obviously it too resonated with the artist.

Now, for a 2011 Edgar Short Story Nomination example, I give you “Monsieur Alice is Missing” by Stephen E. Ross. As background to the story’s murders, Stephen provides a visual image of the Mona Lisa and refers to an incident where an artist drew a mustache and goatee on a print of the Mona Lisa. Oddly enough, the story’s killer draws a similar mustache and goatee on the face of each of his victims. Now, what reader can’t conjure up an image of the smiling Mona Lisa whenever that name is mentioned? And who hasn’t seen fake mustaches drawn on various photos as a joke? This visual image makes it very easy for the reader to remember the story. Did Stephen do it on purpose? I’ll ask him sometime.

Bottom line, it’s my opinion that a good visual image in a story makes that story more memorable, whether the author does it consciously or not. Readers, what’s your opinion? Authors, is it part of your conscious tradecraft?