THE COURTYARD. (WRITING TIPS)

Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing is something not all writers use, yet it's probably one of the most important part of writing. Descriptive writing sets the scene for the reader. It lets the reader feel as if they're right there next to the character. It's also a risky concept that most writers either don't use enough or use too much. We want enough description to know the character's surroundings and feelings, but we don't want a whole paragraph about the layout of a classroom.

So I am here to give you some tips on how to properly use descriptive writing.

1. If it's not relevant then it's not needed.
Sure, maybe describing your character's bedroom could be important. If your character's bed is nicely made, that tells us your character may be organized and kept together. If your character's bed is disheveled and there are blankets hanging off the sides and sheets pulled up, then that tells us your character may be messy and carefree. However, we don't need to know what your pillow case says, and what drawer your pants are in.

2. See through your character.
If you are someone who writes in first person, then describe things as your character would see it. For example, say you have a group of characters hanging out late at night playing some games and conversing. One person is tired, so they may process the important things. That person notices the couch they're sitting on, and the people around them. Another person may be completely awake and energized. They may notice how nice the moonlight looks shining through the window.

3. Consider the five senses.
Mess around with your reader's senses and really make them feel like they are there. Don't say things like, it was noisy outside. You could say, the leaves rustled around in the wind, bees buzzed around happily, birds sang an unfamiliar yet beautiful tune. The reader isn't left with just knowing it's noisy outside, they know exactly what the character is hearing and can imagine being in that scenario with those noises.

4. Show don't tell.
Don't just say they were bored. Talk about how they were all looking around for something to do. They were fidgeting with their surroundings. The occasional groan escaped them. You shouldn't ever just write how they're feeling, you should write things that would tell your reader how the character's feeling by their movements. If your character is constantly looking around, fidgeting, and groaning, it doesn't take a genius to figure out they're bored.

5. Descriptive writing is brutally honest.
Descriptive writing is there to tell you how awful that girl's hair looks. It's there to talk about how awful that room smells. Don't feel like you should only describe nice things. If your character really hates this other person, then it would be completely normal for your character to think about how awful that color looks on them. That pink makes her look like a unicorn vomited all over her, is something someone would notice about their enemy.

6. Cut down on the adjectives!
'The dog was big, black, shaggy, hyper, and loud.' Nobody wants that! Another way to word that would be, 'A big, black dog came running over. His fur was long and shaggy, and blew back in the wind as he ran around me. His loud barks boomed through the open field as he continued to play.' But we do not want a list of adjectives! It's just boring and it could be so much better actually in action!

I hope these tips helped you all, and if you have any questions or you have your own advice you want to share feel free to comment! I am a victim of bad descriptive writing so I'm going to be using these tips a lot!

(By Tuft)