Writing Tips For Dummies

Writing Those Pesky Descriptions

  Writing Those Pesky Descriptions

Ever feel like no matter what you just can't write a decent description to save your life? Well, you, my friend, are not the only one. Sometimes I feel as though my descriptions are complete crap, but before I let myself feel too down about it I remember my own personal no-no’s.

These are a few things I do not like to see in descriptions.

1. Dialogue. Only very, very, good writers can pull that off. If you are a beginner I would leave the dialogue to the prologue. (See that rhyme I just busted? No well boo you!) I just feel like people are trying to cram the prologue into the description box or are trying to pull off two prologues when you add dialogue.

2. An action scene. To me it is almost as bad as the dialogue snafu. A reader doesn't want to try to figure out what is going on in some random part of the book when they are just peeking to see if the book sounds interesting. How would you feel if you read this as the description?

 I took this as my chance to end it. I gave a snap kick- I learned from childhood karate –to the gut. He tumbled backwards vomiting in the process. I heaved him up by the back of his shirt and threw him through the still open door.

“What was that all about?” Julie asked in small, scared voice.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What was that clown doing with his hands in your pants?” I thundered.

You are totally lost and it really doesn’t clue you in to what the story is going to be about, right? Would you have guessed that this was a fight scene in my boyxboy Until Death Do Us Part? No way! At least I wouldn’t.

3. Twenty Questions. Again maybe a really good author could pull it off, but a beginner should stay far, far, away. Ex. Will Josh move from his home? Will he like his new home? Will he like his new school? Will he get along with the students? Will he fall in love with Jennifer? Will there love last? Will Jennifer get knocked up? Will Josh stay?

4. Entire Plot Syndrome. You do not need to give out every single detail of what's going to happen in your story. Cover a few main points, but please, please, leave something to keep us guessing!  If you tell us that Maria is going to get bitten by a vampire, have his baby, bite Marco, fall in love with Marco, have sex with Marco, and then go back to the original vamp no one is going to want to read further; they already know what's going to happen!

As for how to write a description there is no template or pattern to follow. You just have to approach it trying to give as much usefulinformation as possible without giving away all the goods! 

That’s about it for descriptions. 

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So that wasn’t so bad was it? I wasn’t too cynical was I?