Daye Allan

Never describe something that’s not there. Describe what IS there.

DON’T: There were no trees as far as the eye could see.

DO: Flat planes rolled as far as the eye could see.

DON’T: Unlike the others, he wasn’t covered head-to-toe in scars.

DO: Unlike the others, his skin was pristine and untouched.

See, if you place a noun in your sentence (trees, for example) your reader will instantly imagine trees, regardless of whether you’re describing trees or lack thereof.

In other words, this is what you’re doing to your reader:

I see this done so often, even by professional authors. It’s not even technically a mistake nor is it grammatically incorrect so it often goes unnoticed by editors. It’s just a neat trick to gain better command of your reader’s interpretation of what you’re describing. 

Artist:

people thinking about you and smiling

flowers growing in your heart

the moon’s affection for you

how much you’ve healed already