help with descriptive writing

Think about description more as an extension of the POV character--what do they notice? What do they think/feel of what they are noticing?

Not only do you get more description in, you add all kinds of good depth to your characterization.

When my scenes lack sensory detail, I like to write an overly detailed description (just for my own benefit) of the setting. I relate to every sense possible and beyond, such as the emotion the setting brings to the characters or maybe memories or sentiments they have attached to it. Then, when I rewrite the scene, it's easy to work the details in.

Description is a function of POV. Get more deeply inside the heads of your POV characters and see (also hear, smell, taste, and touch) the world through their eyes, thoughts, and experience. The things they notice and the details they focus on not only bring your story to life, they should say something about the characters themselves, like a mirror reflecting back on them.

Jennifer, I just got a copy of "Description & Setting" by Ron Rozelle, from the Writer's Digest series Write Great Fiction. It has terrific ideas and exercises. It's in paperback, so if your library doesn't have it, you won't have to break the bank to buy a copy.

Hope this helps!

"Elements of fiction writing: Description" by Monica Wood is my ah-ha book.

There are online workshops you can take too. I have taken several with SavvyAuthors.com. They have a lot of wonderful blog posts too.

Go to a cafe/booksop/womehwre there are people

Take notebook

Describe he People you see (with economy!) the place , the sights, sounds, smells....

See the scene in your head, decide which details are important to set scene . Describe. But only the details you need to make it alove.

^ What IRU said.

This is how our brains work: when we see something novel, initially we consciously process the sensory details. But because it's not efficient for our brains to be constantly processing sensory input (unless there's something important present--a threat, a potential mate, etc.), we eventually let the details blur and reduce into generic concepts--cafe, tables, books, people.

You need to trick your brain into forcibly processing the sensory detail it's taking in rather than just filling it in with generic placeholders.

Go somewhere that's new to you. Look at new things. Focus on each sense: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch. If you normally sit in the corner, sit near the window. If you normally write on a laptop, bring a paper notepad. Force your brain to actively process things instead of falling back on habits and learned patterns.

Once you begin truly seeing and experiencing the sensory detail around you, it'll be easier to translate that into fiction. But first you must learn to see™.

(BTW, for some fascinating reading on how our brains work, I highly recommend David Eagleman's Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain.)

everyone nailed it, but to give you some supplementary advice I like to pretend Im wearing the eyes and ears of my POV during my revision. as the author we KNOW what happens, but this is different from what the character senses, which is the description. Make sure you also place description wisely, and not so it seems your adding it for description's sake! Describe where it is necessary, a good way to tell when it is necessary IMO is to pretend you are the character, and ask: "am I currently doing something that would warrant myself to notice my surroundings." Like, if I'm having an argument, I'm noticing the facial expressions of my enemy, my raise in body temperature, the swelling of that ugly vein on my forehead, not how rainy it is outside

Seconding IRU, next time you walk into a room, concentrate on what you see, what you smell, what you hear, and what you feel (temperature, air movement, etc).

Next, take a random scene from your story and imagine what your character is seeing, smelling, hearing, and feeling. You can't do the laundry list of sensory stimuli, so think of which ones you have just identified can be used to do one or more of the following...say something about that character (characterization), develop the mood of the scene (tone), develop tension (based on the reactions of the POV character, set the time of day, or provide any other aspects of story that are important. The POV character's emotional reactions to the senory input will develop the above, so the sensations are not just meaningless images but are embedded in the scene development.

Keep in mind, you can also set a memory for the reader that can be used as a writing tool later in the story. (the MC likes the scent of her man's aftershave, it makes her amorous. He says it's the only thing he will wear. Later, she smells another scent on him. The aftershave can be the focus of some initimate intensity in the early scene, and then it can used for some significant tension in a later scene).

Also, keep in mind the pacing of your scenes. Not every scene needs this kind of sensory development. If the scene requires a fast pace, getting too deep into the POV character's reactions to sensory cues could slow that scene way down.

Next, consider how setting can be used to develop the various aspects of story development. Concentrate on the scene location and surroundings to help develop tone, tension, serenity, intimacy, or whatever.

Not every aspect of description has to have a specific story-related reason for inclusion, but consider them as potential writing tools to enrich your scenes.

I'd also recommend you read A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman. It will get you looking at the five senses in ways you never imagined, and it's gorgeously written.

+1 to everything everyone else has already said. Even if I'm just sitting at my computer desk typing, sometimes I have to close my eyes and imagine myself in the scene. Instead of "she was sitting in a dark room", it becomes:

She was sitting in a dark room, so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. She was sitting on something hard and her legs were drawn up under her, causing them to cramp. The air was humid and oppressive. She could feel the sweat running down her forehead and she swiped at it with the back of her hand. She strained to hear any sound, but all she could hear was her own labored breathing.

JenniferGoodnight said:

I was wondering if anyone had any books or online workshops to recommend, or any other tips to learning how to write descriptively. I've heard reading/analyzing poetry is a good way to do this...

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So is reading any successful author with an analytical eye.

Look carefully to see how they deal with descriptive passages. For me, it works even better if I copy passages from the works of other authors. Somehow, I absorb technique better through my fingers than through my eyes.

What great advice everyone ^ had!

In terms of reading good writing, it's also important to read writing deemed good in your genre. If I tried to use romance-writing level of description in my action-adventure novel, I'd make an agent dizzy (and make her return the ms. quickly). If I were you, I'd print out a list of RITA-award winning novels, run down to my book store--oh wait, there probably aren't book stores any more Okay, maybe a used book store or thrift store that stocks romances for pennies each and try to find some of those titles.

Then, take four highlighter markers. Highlight with yellow, visual descriptions. Pink, taste or smell. Green, sound. Turquoise, touch/skin/kinesthetic descriptions. Mark up the books. Stand back and look at the colors--what are you seeing in general? What's the mix, what color predominates? Think about the scenes, one by one. Is it a getting-to-know you scene? A fight scene? A lovemaking scene? Do you notice a different mix of colors as the scene type changes? From beginning of novel to end? Is there a different mix of colors between romantic suspense, sweet, and erotic romance novels? Did you find yourself wanting to jump into bed with a hero, ever? Pay close attention to those descriptions--something the writer did made you feel that way.

I found this sort of close analysis tremendously helpful. It's not that you'll write down a list of rules and follow them strictly; it's that you learn from the process of doing, take it into yourself, and it will inform you next time you draft and next time you revise.

JenniferGoodnight said:

I was wondering if anyone had any books or online workshops to recommend, or any other tips to learning how to write descriptively. I've heard reading/analyzing poetry is a good way to do this... Not even sure how to start -- dialogue comes naturally to me, but description not so much.

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I was just discussing this same issue with another writer on a different board (dialog vs description). What you've said above is probably true for quite a few writers. With dialog, it is just getting down what the characters say. With description, it is a bit more complex.

I've heard that "a picture is worth a thousand words," so getting a really clear vision of the scene may take some effort. It is sometimes a bit easier to let things stay a bit foggy (in my case it is probably a matter of often being too lazy to get things in a sharp imaginary focus).

But, even if you do have a clear picture of the scene, you have to find a way to put that into words. And unless you actually want to use a thousand words (or more), you need to render the scene down to the key details. This is another area where I need some practice.

Anyway, thanks for starting the thread, and thanks to everybody else for the responses. This thread has helped me to take a second look at the descriptions I've been using in my own writing.

Check out writing scenes like Dean Koonts
http://masteredit.net/videoLessons.htm

And also check this out. Free writing lessons.


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