I’ll be the first to admit that I’m terrible at writing descriptions. Like can’t you guys just read my mind?! I’m working at getting better and adding in more details so the reader can picture the scene as clearly as I can.
Now my hope is I’m not going overboard. (Can’t I just make up my mind?)
But describing a room is much easier when you yourself have been in it. (Or in something close enough). Trying to describe a castle when you’ve never been in one is another thing. Thank god for the internet. But even the internet can only go so far. (Or maybe I just suck at searching).
Another thing: I don’t want to bog down my writing. I don’t like it when other authors do it, so I ain’t going to do it. I have a very short attention span; write it quick and succinct so I can picture it and let’s get to the action!
Am I the only one that thinks that way?
Right now, in my novel I have inspiration/motivation for, I’m struggling with putting description/breaks between dialogue. I don’t want to add too much; after all, the reader should be able to understand who’s talking without me constantly saying so. But I also don’t want the conversation to stall or the reader forget what was talked about (does that happen?)
Anyway, all your tips, tricks, etc. around description are greatly appreciated!
And who knows, maybe someday soon we’ll add some snippets into these thoughts.
Cheers,
Taralyn
I think looking at description as a tool rather than a necessary evil might help. You can use description to include exposition, to show what your character thinks of the world, and the biggest thing for me is you can use it to set the mood and pacing.
It's technically a screenplay tip but I think it works for novels too; that describing an action or a moment should take as long to read (or say aloud) as it would take to actually happen. So if I have someone wandering in to, say, the coliseum in Rome, I might take a page or half to describe them gawking up, craning their neck, feeling the wall, etc. Depending on the character they might trip over misshapen steps, or sneeze in a dusty room, or impatiently shoulder past a crowd of tourists. That way you're using description to your own advantage. And even if a reader wants to skip to the dialogue to find out what happens - I'll admit, I've been there with novels before too - they still have something to look back on if they get confused about placement.
As a fellow reader/writer who finds descriptions slow I tend to use descriptions sparingly (which I'm also trying to change). Unless it's an action packed opening, I start setting a scene with description, to paint the white canvas where the character is in and then I write whatever I want.
But for the edits and subsequent drafts, I try to slow down and visualize what's happening as I read through. Is there an object that suddenly appears in the character's hand but wasn't established before? Can the object's existence be implied or would I have to add a line or two earlier to make sure it didn't suddenly manifest from another dimension (unless that's aspect of the world, then all for it!).