What is so striking in Hopkinson's prose is her ability to evoke a new world, completely realized, founded in Jamaican folk tales and language rhythms. Through her words, the reader can envision the world of New Half Way Tree through all five senses. I was so pleased to find Hopkinson's mini-lesson on "How to Write Descriptively" as part of the Ted Ed series of lessons. Hopkinson deconstructs passages from several authors to determine how "to cast a spell, a momentary illusion that you are living in the world of the story." As she explains "ghost-quiet" is much more effective in the cited passage than "quiet as a ghost." The writer doesn't just evoke sound but through effective word choice can dictate quality of sound, touch, and motion in the passage:
"The world was ghost-quiet, except for the crack of sails and the burbling of water against hull." Tobias Buckell, Hurricane Fever
As Hopkinson concludes, the writer can use effective word choice to engage the reader's senses and then establish "unexpected connotations among your story elements and set your readers' brushfire imaginations alight."
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