Story Telling in 3D

By Debbie Roome

Those who know me well will be familiar with my love of travel. This dates back a few decades but recently has become a way of life. I’ll never forget the day that travelling changed from a postcard view to something more tangible. And no, it wasn’t the day I first climbed into an aeroplane or travelled to a foreign land. I had seen many glossy brochures of London and Europe and could recognise Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it was a flat and one- dimensional view.

 My perspective changed the day I went to a travel presentation that incorporated a movie on a large screen. It was many years ago so wasn’t in 3D but it was filmed by someone walking through these famous landmarks, climbing spiral stair cases, walking around the back of the buildings and across bridges. It brought travel to life for me, offering depth and an understanding of where these structures were situated, and their size and grandeur. With today’s genuine 3D movies, this effect is even greater and the goggles that give us a full 360 degree view of a movie are amazing!

I was thinking about this recently and realised the 3D principle can also be applied to writing. Do we give our readers a flat, one dimensional view of our characters and settings or do we take them on a breath-taking tour through their lives? Are our settings conveyed in boring prose or do a few skilfully crafted words give them depth and colour.

Our first drafts maybe rather flat and bland but as we rework them, edit them and polish them, let’s make every effort to introduce the 3D effect. May our stories be rounded, have twists and turns, and burst with texture, perspective and life. Our readers may never travel physically to the locations in our books. They may never shake hands with our characters or cry with them, but through our writing skills, they can become immersed in their world.