Chris Matthews closes his Sunday Political news show each week by challenging his panel of political reporters to tell him something he doesn’t know. It is my favorite part of the show. It is appealing to be educated and ahead of the crowd with a particular piece of information. It works on Mathews’ show and it works in books as well – even fiction books. Or perhaps I should say, especially fiction books.
This week I did some bird watching. We’re fortunate here in the Olympic Peninsula to have a large population of Bald Eagles. There is a nesting pair near our home. The weather is starting to warm up and so are the bugs. While taking photographs, I noticed that the bugs were ‘bugging’ me – and the eagles. Periodically, one would fly off its perch to stretch its wings and avoid its tiny tormentors. Before flying from the branches, the soon-to-depart eagle would call to its mate who would join in the bugling. Not once did one of the eagles depart without letting its mate know it was about to leave.
We also live near the Olympic Game Farm where you can get up close and personal with all sorts of critters. My wife and I took a ride out the other day and were treated to some magnificent displays by peacocks. The males we would display their beautiful plumage before passing female peacocks. This was not unexpected. What was unexpected, at least to me, was the fact that the male peacocks also set their tail feathers ‘abuzz’ by vibrating them at a very high rate, thus providing both an auditory and a quality to their mating dance.
Adding little tidbits of information such as these can liven up your writing and make it more enjoyable. So, go ahead. Tell your readers something they don’t know.
Happy Writing!
Bob
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