I hear you have to develop the ‘eye’ of a writer to be any good at it.
Have to learn how to see things other people don’t notice,
And pay attention to matters that don’t matter until you — the writer — say they matter.
Socks, for example: I’m sitting in a coffee shop noticing that people don’t wear socks with sandals.
Three ladies stand in line, waiting for their lattes. One of them is having soy milk with it. Soy milk? (I never knew a soy could be milked until I became a writer — developed a writer’s eye. But none of those ladies is wearing socks. Two with flip-flops. One with leather sandals. Not a sock in sight.
And then he walks in.
Tan shorts. Tank top. Brown sandals. Straw hat. And … black socks.
What’s up with that?
I turn my writer’s eye away from him, lest I be blinded by the sight.