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Listen. I’m a dialogue person. No two ways about it. I am certainly capable of producing nearly-purple prose, but that’s not my default setting. I still remember showing one of my first published short stories to my boyfriend like it was only June-ish of 2017 ago. After reading it over no less than four times, one of the many notes he’d scribbled in the bleeding-red margins was, You should write plays, referring to my nearly-bare descriptions and carefully constructed dialogue.
So why am I, of all people, writing a blog post on description? Because after recognizing this shortcoming, I worked hard to learn how to describe all sorts of nouns. Now I’m sharing that wisdom with you.
1. Use the five senses.
Yes, this tired old advice. It is so oft-repeated for a reason!
If you haven’t heard it before, the concept is this: when you need to spice up your writing with some description, sprinkle in details from each of the five senses: namely, describe what one would see, hear, feel, smell, or taste if they were in your character’s position. Obviously, not all of them will really apply at once, and you’d be overdoing it if you applied this to every paragraph.
So I will, as ever, give this my own twist. While reading back through your first draft (if you’ve read this blog post, you already know what I think you should do when you’re first getting the words down!), add a comment or a sticky note wherever you know you need additional description. Then write down all five senses and go through them like a checklist. Have you mentioned the smell of her perfume yet? Did you describe the feeling of your character’s sweaty hand struggling to grip the haunted house’s brass doorknob? When you’re sure you’ve mentioned more than two—and the paragraph reads well and doesn’t drag on for longer than it should—you’re ready to move on.
2. Begin with the mood in mind.
Attitude is everything, isn’t it? The same sunshiney yellow to one person will look garish to someone else. Or even to the same person, if you happen to catch them having an off day.
This one does require you to get in character a little bit, which is exactly why it works so well. Limiting yourself to what only your character would notice will often lead to bursts of creativity, and the specificity will create richer description. Is your character anxious? They might be comforted by the darker, quieter spaces of the room with small, soothing details to focus on—the glow of the lamplight and the softness of the blanket thrown over the sofa, for example. Or maybe your social butterfly character can give a detail from each corner of the room she flits over to in an effort to engage with every conversation.
Another benefit of this method is that every line of description does double duty!
3. Refer to outside sources.
Remember when you were insisting to whoever-it-was that you were making all those Pinterest boards for a reason? Well, turns out, you were right all along!
There are, of course, hundreds upon hundreds of images and links to references and blog posts like this one that list ways to describe anything from fabrics to nose shapes. You’ve likely stumbled across master lists from Tumblr that have plenty of resources already gathered—you just have to remember where you’ve saved them! If you don’t have a Pinterest account or would otherwise like to organize those links, consider starting a spreadsheet where you collect such resources and stick it somewhere you’re likely to see it—like on your desktop, in the same folder as your current work in progress, or wherever you keep must-not-lose information.
If it’s your setting that’s giving you trouble, why not sketch it out? We have a blog post all about it!
4. Metaphors are your friend.
Similes, too, but the word metaphor looks and sounds a little more erudite somehow, doesn’t it?
Comparisons are powerful. They make what might be strange and unknown feel familiar to your readers, and they are great for putting into words what you might otherwise find difficult to illustrate with words. This is especially useful when describing magic and magical happenings. Don’t be afraid of your own outside-the-box thinking, and certainly don’t be afraid to weave universal experiences—or as close as we can get—into your writing to connect with your reader. Even if your metaphor or simile seems too mundane, write it anyway, because (a) you can always edit, and (b) with perhaps the exception cliches, it is never a bad thing for your characters and situations to be relatable.
5. DEAR: Drop everything and read.
The elementary education degree gathering dust in my closet just shivered with delight.
Maybe you remember the above acronym or something similar while you were in school. Or maybe you definitely don’t because I know I certainly, mostly don’t. Either way, I promise, you were made to read at some point in your school day, and I’m here to tell you that your teachers had the right idea.
When your words are staring back at you so intensely that you feel like your brain is boiling, turn to a book and let your story simmer in the back of your mind instead.
BONUS: Set a timer for ten minutes and make a list.
Now, I’m a list-maker by nature—hence why every blog post I write for Writer’s Atelier winds up being some sort of list. If lists make you nervous, you might not be inclined to try this, but I’d encourage you to see what happens anyway.
When you’re in the revising phase and really stuck on how to describe something (although, truth be told, I use this to solve all my problems, writing-related or otherwise), get a fresh page in front of you, set a timer, and empty your brain. If you can’t think of anything, start writing ideas that definitely wouldn’t work until you hit upon something that does.
You might have to go another couple of rounds (with breaks in-between to recharge, of course), but you just might strike gold.
