This is taken from my latest blog post. A little thing I did on Description.

"Okay. Let's start this off by clarifying a few things.

There is no real "right" way to describe something. But there is a wrong way.

I'm just some kid cooped up in his room attempting to be at least better than crap at writing.

and Cheesecake is just a wonderful desert.

So this might be a recurring thing with my little discussions with myself here. I'm going to list the three things that are required to not suck at describing.

"But Mr. Eagle Heart! You just said there's no "right" way to describe something! That should mean I can just go off and do whatever I want!" WAIT WAIT WAIT let me just stop you right there! Correct, there is no right way to describe something. But there is a way to do it without looking like a dumb ass.

Okay while I still have your attention. Let's get started.

The three keys:

Vocabulary.

Flow.

Imagination.

Alright, so now you know the three. They may seem strange but maybe once I explain I can help you understand.

So let's start with the first one. Vocabulary. Now you don't really need to have an extensive vocabulary to have this. You just need to have a good one, or something that can temporarily extend it a bit. Like a thesaurus. A good way to expand your vocabulary is to listen to a lot of music that focuses around telling a story and really paying attention to the lyrics. But an even better technique would be to look at something, anything, and describe it out loud in as detailed a fashion as you can. You'll find yourself eventually using words you didn't even know you knew.

Now before you go thinking "But if I use so many words that i'm not used to, people might not understand what i'm saying!" Well i'm not saying do something like this: "A man with an alluring tunic took an amble excursion down the thoroughfare." People just don't want to read that.

They want something that's easy on the eyes. Wanna know what I just said? "A man with a nice looking jacket took a nice stroll down the road." Much easier isn't it? Well this brings us to number two. Flow.

It's gotta roll right off the tongue, it can't be all over the place, otherwise it makes the reader do more work than they should. "Is there a way to remedy this?" You may ask. Well to you I say... yes! When describing an action, thing, or place. Try to look at it this way.

You're describing a forest in front of your character. You wanna put a lot of detail in to it, but are not quite sure how. Well just watch and learn.

"The trees were a bright green, showing that it was spring time and that there was rain aplenty. The bark was dark brown and full of ridges, the crevices showing that the trees were possibly very old. The ground itself was still a bit wet showing that it had rained earlier, and it was littered with various sticks and leaves making it difficult to walk around without making much noise.

It was quite peaceful, not a sound being made by anything but a few birds. The forest was giving the feeling that this place has been around for a long time, making it feel as if wisdom itself walked the very ground. This forest is known by many as a place of solitude and rest, a place many go to take refuge from the troubles of the world. Our protagonist figured that this place would be perfect as their new home..."

Like that. Now there is a time and place for description, places of importance should always get a couple to a few paragraphs. But a general area that's only going to be seen once or twice should probably only get about one. UNLESS there's something worth noting. Now you don't have to map it out the way I did, do however you're most comfortable with. But I guarantee you that order is the best I've found.

And finally, this brings us to imagination. A good writer needs to paint a picture, but with a few blanks left in for the reader to fill with their own brush. When describing you must be clear with what you're telling them. But not so much to where the reader is left with no room to imagine. Otherwise the fun of reading is nearly gone. Part of the fun of reading is discovering what the writer is trying to give them, with the writer being a guide. Yeah... think of it as that. A writer should only guide the reader to what they need to see. A writer makes the reader earn knowledge, rather than giving it to them.

Now this brings us to the final part of the blog. "Lyrical quote that relates to the topic."

This time it's from Dream Theater's "A Change of Seasons."

Innocence caressing me
I never felt so young before
There was so much life in me
Still I longed to search for more

But those days are gone now
Changed like a leaf on a tree
Blown away forever
Into the cool autumn breeze
The snow has now fallen
And my sun's not so bright
I struggle to hold on
With the last of my might

(TLDR STUFF: I told you sluggards to stop skipping the damn blog and read it! Get your asses back up there!"

Do you have any thoughts or questions for me? Or just want to call me a douche bag? Let me know down below. I read every single one, and I try to answer all questions to the best of my ability.

And remember, all of this is, and always will be, my opinion and thoughts on the subject."

Another great and informative post. I feel like I learn every time I read them. The most interesting part was the imagination bit, to be clear but give the reader room to imagine as well. I made the mistake of leaving no room for that in my latest story. You have my thanks, now I must rework my chapter.

2531123 Great post.

I struggle with descriptions. They often times feel to me as if they aren't adding any relevant information to the story. Oftentimes getting rid of them feels like optimization to me. Even when reading I often times just skip long descriptions.

My question is this: Would you still describe the forest in your example as moist / wet / after rain even if it wasn't relevant to the story (the story would work the same, even if the forest was dry)? Doesn't adding useless information distract reader from noticing the relevant information?

2533191 Depends on if it's going to get mentioned at some point in the story. Otherwise just leave it at "It rained earlier" people would get the idea. And yes useless information does, I talked about it in my OP.

Now there is a time and place for description, places of importance should always get a couple to a few paragraphs. But a general area that's only going to be seen once or twice should probably only get about one. UNLESS there's something worth noting.

This keeps things at a point where you're still painting a vivid picture without overloading on information.

Oh and for the thing where you skip over descriptions. I can't say I agree with it because that feels a little unappreciative of the work the writer put in. A good description is always relevant if you're trying to get immersed in the world that the writer is presenting. But how a reader decides how much is too much is subjective. Some may think a paragraph was more than enough, some may think it was too little.

People often forget that the reader is equally important to making the story good as the writer is. For the reader has to have the right mentality going in to the story so it does not effect how the judge the story based on a biased opinion. If you look at any story objectively, you may find yourself liking ones you didn't previously like.

2531123
I'm really late to this talk.

Description is more than just showing folks stuff.
It's also a way to set up a mood/atmosphere.

Let's say chars are entering a spooky forest.
If you want to make it seem creepy, you can describe the furtive rustling all around them.
Maybe there are red eyes peeking at them and fading away. Also maybe the char's heads and ears are moving around.

You don't have to say that the chars are nervous, you can show it.