Description

Description: Visualization of the Written Wor(l)d

Despite likely having learned the word itself at a young age, the writing technique we know as description often proves more difficult to master than many of us anticipate. On the surface, it appears simple: it only involves imagining a scene and listing its visual elements, doesn’t it? Not exactly, as it turns out, because descriptive writing stems from an understanding of sensory details and precisely how they form the reader’s perception of the narrative we offer them. Naturally, this means the technique is far easier said than done, but description is a skill you can hone with practice.

Breaking It Down

Sensory details, or the language utilized by writers that engages the five senses through immersive, vivid words, are often considered the core of masterful descriptive writing. Without their inclusion, our stories would be as stale and bland as week-old bread, so knowing how to work in tandem with the senses is essential to crafting successful narratives.

If writing descriptions intimidates you, consider breaking the concept down to just remaining mindful. Reflect on what the protagonist is thinking, feeling, and perceiving as they advance through a scene, whether or not you know the “perfect” language to describe that. Then, it will be up to you to decide which of these details are most relevant to convey the tone you’d like a scene to have. Including each of the five senses all at once is rarely necessary—in fact, doing so will work against you by reducing the impact that your words have—so be sure to prioritize what feels like it best fits the moment.

Why It Matters

Through description, we are able to build up the atmosphere of and set the tone for the narratives we write, helping our readers visualize what we hope to convey in a resonant manner. This allows them to experience our stories more intimately instead of from a palpable distance and, ultimately, leads to a greater understanding of our writing. Description, when utilized intentionally, makes our stories feel authentic and connects the reader to their stakes and characters on a deeper emotional level than would otherwise be possible.

A complete lack of description, on the other hand, isolates the reader from the characters, environment, and plotline that they’re meant to bond with by leaving them in the figurative dark. If the reader is given no visuals, sounds, scents, or other details to ground them in a narrative, very little remains for them to connect with to envision our scenes as real. Dialogue and exposition alone, while both incredibly valuable skills for writers, cannot reach their full potential without the aid of description, and the same may be said vice versa.

Everything in Moderation

With all of the above in mind, it’s also vital to remember not to rely solely and excessively on description to elevate our writing. Doing so is often referred to as writing purple prose, which many readers prefer to avoid, making it a distinctly unflattering label to have attributed to our narratives. Similarly, utilizing an abundance of repetitive descriptions may begin to fall into the territory of cliché. Because of this, it’s necessary to be mindful of how our descriptive writing works alongside other storytelling aspects like pacing and dialogue, as depending too heavily on descriptions may lead us to neglect equally necessary skills.

However, choosing to almost entirely omit descriptions from our writing is an equivalent pitfall to overreliance, leading to another issue known as writing beige prose. As the name suggests, neglecting description often confines the reader to a narrow and clinical perception of our narratives, allowing them no space for creativity or visualization. Being cautious to avoid beige prose, therefore, is essential to keep in mind as well.

Three, Two, One, and Go!

It’s time to practice your descriptive writing skills. Use the following prompt and, most importantly, have fun with it!

A character witnessed a murder the previous night. Now, they’re in a familiar environment—their home, a school, a local library—but weighed down by what they’ve experienced and trying their best to conceal it. Write a paragraph from the perspective of this character and focus on including sensory details that convey how the experience left an impact on them. Never mention the event of the murder itself.

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About the author: Anastasia Ledyaeva is an author pursuing an English B.A. at the University of Minnesota. When not socializing or losing her voice at concerts, she loves reading and writing dark fantasy narratives, lush prose, and unlikely alliances, and she has been working on a novel containing all three for six years. Her work has been featured in Bookstr (https://bookstr.com/author/anastasia-ledyaeva/), Iris Youth Magazine, and RedRoseThorns Journal, and she can often be found procrastinating on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/anastasialdv/).