Red Writing Hood: A Walk in the Woods

Prompt: Good writing plants the reader’s feet into your story. Good writing is also concise. So when you’re trying to decide where to spend your words – where to use the most imagery and details and senses – I say setting is where its at. Close your eyes, paint the picture in your mind, and then use your words to paint it for me.

This is the visualization that I use sometimes when I need to relax. Which is every five minutes.

The lush emerald of the forest beckons me, and my bare feet are relieved to step on the softness that is my path. The soles of my feet sink blissfully into the moss; looking down, my eyes follow the dark green fuzziness that has crept up the sides of the trees.

I look ahead of me. The trees on the edge of the forest where I stand are saplings and young trees reaching for the last bits of sunlight. I begin to walk down the path, and I look with wonder at that which is before me. The young trees give way to tall and sturdy trees that extend high above me. These older trees have joined hands, and their branches have created an unbroken, verdant canopy. I become enveloped in a pool of twilight. Birdsong echoes around me, circling, as if everywhere at once. The path extends into the center of the forest, where there is a small clearing around an enormous and ancient oak tree.

As I step into the clearing, a hush falls. I sit at the foot of the oak tree and feel cradled in the arms of the Mother herself. I close my eyes to listen to the breath of the trees and the heartbeat of the Earth.


...and if I'm not relaxed by this point, I have to break out the emergency chocolate.