A few years ago, I lost the sight of my left eye due to a detached retina.

The most obvious loss of sensory ability was stereoscopy–seeing things as three-dimensional. It took me a long time to regain my ability to park, and I still occasionally pour water outside a glass instead of inside. (I do better with wine because of its color). I’ve learned to compensate in a variety of ways.

This morning, in the shower, I was looking at the row of Armenian tiles on the wall. They have a beautiful pattern that I’ve always loved. Suddenly, the pattern took on depth for me; the lighter portions seemed nearer, and the darker, further away.

Shower tile

Shower tile

I noticed that there was some steam in the shower; that I wasn’t wearing my glasses; and that I was rocking unconsciously from one foot to the other. All three of these circumstances seemed to be contributing to the effect.

When I stepped out of the shower, I put my glasses on. The steam had dissipated. And I could see the 3D effect, but I had to defocus my eyes a bit, and rock from one foot to the other.

Apparently, my brain is compensating for the lack of binocular vision by using the different angles of view caused by my rocking to create a 3D sense in my mind. (I’m using “brain” and “mind” very loosely here; I actually see them as “hardware” and “software.” But that’s a topic for another article.)

What’s the application of this observation to book writing? Simply this: The more realism you can insert into your writing, the more your readers will like it. You can do this “binocularly,” by showing what you are writing about–describing relevant details as seeing them all at once.

Or you can show what you are talking about “monocularly,” describing your scene–or even your concept–from a sequence of different views. Some readers will relate more to sequential, rather than synoptic (seeing all at the same time), detail.

Filed under: book love • book writing • inspiration

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