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How do you write descriptively?

In: Creative Writing

Answer:

Description is a key part of writing. You have to be able to describe what you are thinking about in such a way that your readers can get a good mental image. However, you can't make it obvious that you are writing a description, because making a reader suddenly become aware that he/she is reading ruins the mood. Using "high-falutin" language is one way to be very obvious, unless you have a character who speaks that way all the time. Breaking up the action with long, boring descriptions is another way to ruin the mood. Here are some good tips on writing descriptively:

Use all the senses when you can. Instead of always writing about how something looks, try adding in sound and smell whenever you can do this without breaking the mood.
Give an overview. Start the description off by giving a broad idea of the thing's shape, outline, function, or arrangement.
Organize your descriptions. If you are using a fairly long descriptive section, try to go in some kind of order. Describe what happens in chronological order, or describe a journey from start to finish.
Divide it up. Divide a long description into smaller parts, and give them over a longer period of time instead of in one big lump. Divide the description of a large area or object into descriptions of the parts or areas making up this larger whole.
Compare and contrast. Try to compare or contrast your character or item or scene with somethiing that might be more familiar. One warning, however: stay away from cliches like "red as a rose" or "avoid it like the plague" - cliches will ruin the mood faster than almost anything.
Focus. Jot down your descriptions in your writing notebook, or on a separate piece of paper. Decide which parts of the description are essential to your story, and which would just be distractions. Write only the essential descriptions.

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First answer by Darksyde. Last edit by Darksyde. Contributor trust: 1165 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 21 [recommend question].

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