Let's Write. (Writing Tips and Tricks)

Description

Description

We all know what description is. We all know that very little description is confusing and/or sometimes boring and that too can also be boring and/or be confusing too (really Robert Louis Stevenson? Three pages for the description of the dark night sky in "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"? Too much dude, too much.) 

But just enough description can bring a world, a story, characters, thought and feelings to life. It can grab the reader's attention and drag them into your writing. Description is not only about explaining what things look like, but also about how they feel like, what they sound like and what they smell that. The description in your writing can literally make a chapter either good or bad. 

Here's a trick if you're having problems to describe moments you think are important: use sensory description. Sensory meaning all senses, sents, visuals, textures, taste, sounds. Don't be afraid to explain a feeling too. Don't linger too much on little details of the physicality of things if they don't need to be said too. Dig deeper.

I could write this:
                          The walk in the forest was nice. The air was fresh and the trees moved with the wind, my hand felt oddly hot against the barks of the trees I touched.

But I could also write this: 
                           The walk in the forest was nice. The cold breath of air on the exposed parts of my skin like my neck and hands stang at first, but it woke me up. The wind passed through the branches of the trees around us and it made this soft sounds. It was quite annoying in the beginning, but after a while, it was soothing, like I wasn't really alone. When I stopped and pressed my palm against the rough bark of a tree, I felt it dig into my skin. The trees' barks were mostly hard under my oddly warm hands even if they felt frozen, but some parts of the trees were covered in soft, dense, lichen of different shades of green and brown. 



Again, more depth to your story, to the moment, and it's easier for the reader to imagine and feel the moment they're reading, making them share that experience. Also, it makes it more "real" which can make the person more connected to the story, making them love the story you're writing. More words, and also more interesting to read!

But, as said before, too much is too much. If you're introducing a character for the first time for example, you can go on with the details and description of the person, but there are some small details you shouldn't write unless they make the character different, unless it brings something to the story. 

For instance, the character presented is this one:
                            Joe was a middle-age-looking man but his hair was of a dark brown that looked like it belonged to a celebrity and it was styled in soft waves on his head, the sides buzzed but not enough to see his scalp. His dark brown eyes were lined with dark long eyelashes and his eyebrows were the same color as his hair and looked like he took as much care for his hair as his eyebrows, or as to his whole physical appearance. He had a small scar under where his left eyebrow ended beside his eye, probably something he got into his childhood. And when he smiled, we could see his teeth, white and straight, forming the perfect smile he must show to his business partner to offer familiarity and trust, the same smile he must give to his one night ladies, the same smile he offered to everyone to foul them. He was tall and slightly muscular, but when he moved he was gracious and the perfect gentleman.  His blue suit was tight and showed off his form, his leather shoes showed off how impressive his bank account was, his briefcase showed off he had an "important" job and his temper showed off he was a rich man who thought he was entitled to everything or a man with good manners and good morals, that depended on your social class and what he wanted from you, or if you knew how to read his brown eyes.

That's a good description, but depending on what was the moment you met that character, you might not be able to say that, like if Joe was only seen entering the bathroom, he probably wouldn't have his briefcase and if the POV hadn't met Joe before, we wouldn't know about lots of these details, this description has a lot of "judgmental comments", and if we didn't meet, see, heard of him before, we can't totally say these things. Also, if the scar beside his eye isn't important to that moment exactly, it's not necessary to mention it. You also don't need to mention the color of his eyes twice and if you do, maybe it's kind of a catch sentence you want to bring back throughout your story and it's okay, but if it's not, don't repeat the color of the eyes all the time and if you do, find other ways to describe them. Maybe "dark chocolate eyes" or "dark mud brown eyes". You know, you can imply a lot with how you describe someone, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't describe someone I love with all my heart as someone with "brown-poop-looking irises surrounded by not white but yellow, as if drinking was all he did all his life". 

Try it, write a description of your favorite childhood moment with sensory words. Use scents, sight, and textures! It's interesting, but don't get overbored with it, it can get long and not very fun to read (For some readers at least. To me, three pages of the description of a door is wayyyyyy to long. Yes, I'm talking about you, J. R. R. Tolkien. Nothing against "Lord of the rings" tho, I loved the movies, I just can't read the books but I have admiration for people who can.)

Until next time,
Write on my friend.
-♥- Ellie - ♥-