How to Become a Better Writer: A Wattpad Guide

Q/A #1: Descriptive Language

These Q/As were taken from the chapter titled "TIP #1: Using More Descriptive Language."

Q: I love the second part, how you...make a sentence into an epic paragraph while still retaining the point of the sentence (we drove to the mall). Do you have any more tips to accomplish this?

A: You don't have to create an "epic paragraph" to be descriptive. You can use suggestive words to achieve a similar effect.

If I were to write:

"There had to be something wrong. Her eyes were red and puffy, and there was a sadness there that I'd never seen before."

What do these two sentences seem to suggest?

Well, you probably have two besties, and the one notices that the other has been crying. Why has the friend been crying? Who knows, but as a reader, you are pulled into the story and want to know what happened. Was it death in the family? A horrible breakup? Something too traumatic for words, only tears?

So, you see, you can use simple, suggestive language to convey something evocative to the reader. In this example, we use words like eyes, red, puffy, and sadness to set the tone.

Q: I tend to make too much of a descriptive background that it drifts me apart from my story probably because I am not quite sure about where exactly the story is headed. Do you think that these additive words would make my story boring because that is what I have heard from a few of my friends?

A: As I explained in the tip, the object is not to have so much descriptive content that it is detracting, but just enough to help your reader visualize the story, and only in places where it will best serve the story. For example, a reader doesn't need a play-by-play of a character rolling out of bed and getting ready for school unless it serves a higher purpose like, for instance, showing that the particular character is one who is very meticulous or has an extreme case of OCD. You would be demonstrating a character trait. The point is that descriptive words are fine as long as you are using them effectively and not overwhelming your readers with so much detail that they lose interest.

Q:  You can't write with showing the whole book, can you? Because sometimes it could end up boring them [readers]?

A: As I've stated, you have to find a balance. You can add the showing parts when it serves to help readers visualize the story and it enriches ideas you are trying to convey. It can be in very small doses sprinkled throughout the entire book. It does not have to be heavy-handed, especially depending on the genre. For example, if you are characterizing one of your characters as being old, then you could write:

"The school's new headmaster was a lot older than I thought. He had salt and pepper hair and several gray whiskers."

See how I indicated age by using the turned hair color to help convey this? If you sprinkle this language in in just the right places, it should not repel your readers. The descriptive language helps to answer the questions of "how do we know this?" or "why is this true?" In my example, how do the readers know that the headmaster is older besides the author stating so? They can now visualize his age because of his hair.

Q: So what you're saying is to even the Telling and the Showing?

A: Yes, more or less. Don't spend the entire book telling everything that happens in your story. Add content that shows what's happening as well. Use what you see, feel, hear (your senses) to express things. It will help the reader visualize the story.