#writing description

Hey you! Yes, you, all you writers out there (aspiring, accomplished, original fic, fanfic, you name it).

Do you want to get better at writing descriptive prose? Flex your descriptive muscles? Just vibe with a pretty picture and write about it? Then I've got a challenge for you.

Rules: choose one of the provided images (or pick one yourself from a site like Unsplash, Pixabay, Pexels, NASA, or similar, or grab a screenshot from your favorite video game, movie, or TV show), and then describe it like it's in your story. Use a full paragraph (or more) and go ham on the details. Let your writer heart run free. Then describe it again, but in just a couple key sentences (three max) to hit the highlights. Share your results if you want. The point is to practice describing a scene fully and describing it efficiently.

I'll be doing three images at a time, and running this maybe twice a month. Here are today's three images (all from Unsplash):

Inspiration for this challenge below the cut.

What struck me the most this time, was how mild the first chapter is. And then, as @batrachised put more eloquently in relation to the larger themes of the books, it ends with a sudden, striking blow.

On my morning re-read, I was struck by the fanciful use of language to describe things, which probably isn't useful, but it does at least relate to how the story textually is constructed.

For example: "looking as if it had never been built like other houses, but had grown up there like a big, brown mushroom"

It gives a distinct idea of not just what the house looks like, but how it feels. There's an unnatural naturalness about it, which I think fits with Emily's life up to this point.

More specifically, I think this is shown nicely when Emily's walk is described; L.M. Montgomery writes how, to most people who would be watching, they wouldn't "have envied her", but to Emily there is a wondrous, spectral beauty about her. This is expressed in rather pretty, fanciful metaphors that not only show how Emily sees the world in the moment, but how it feels to live in the world like that. Or at least, it does to me.

Example: "The frosted, brown grasses under her feet were velvet piles" (isn't that lovely, not only in the literal word choice, but also the idea of experiencing the world like that? I may just personally be projecting.)

Additionally, I really like how Emily is described physically; I think Montgomery does a good job writing vivid concise descriptions of characters. This will show more when Emily writes her own sketches about people.

If you want a description to hurt, make it feel alive. Make it human, better yet animal, maybe even plant.

So let’s say Melody used to be your girlfriend. And you loved her, god you love her still, but there became more and more things that felt, in the moment, more important than talking to her. She fell to the sidelines until she walked away from them, from you.

I do not want to hear how your heart is shattered, and you may never be able to pick up the pieces. It feels trite and impersonal, and I don’t like it

Tell me about the writhing beast in your chest, clawing at your rib cage and howling for her day and night.

Or let’s say you can feel the beginnings of a depressive episode.

You could describe the weight of your limbs or the passion draining out of you.

But instead, please tell me about that invisible invasive ivy sprawling over your skin, leeching into you, and bleeding out whoever, whatever you used to be.

Today in class while reading off part of a non-fiction journal I was asked both by a curious student and teacher where I get my vivid description from, and if I had any advise.

I’ve been thinking about the moment all day, since I especially couldn’t get my words out of my mouth properly to want to explain what I wanted. So maybe by adding it to my blog I could instead give someone else some good tips, tricks, or inspo.

A few of my own favorite descriptive sentences pulled from my own writing

I bet Jaxon himself was playing imagery in his head of me tearing Audrey’s place to shreds like a Kaiju in an old movie from the sixties, raring claws and everything. I can’t imagine how wild my eyes instantly looked. (CNF Guilt as Charged)

She made it out of a piece of abandoned towel. It’s vibrant color has long since been bleached by the sun, and the threads are beginning to come apart. Yet Candy holds it tightly against his skinny body (Dwarvish-Gnome Piece 2)

 Light rain turns into violent splatters before we know it. White streaks of lighting fractal across the sky, loud booms of thunder shortly following. Destroyed pieces of a fence stand in front of the yellow field. I quickly climb over their collapsed remains, them sinking deeper into the mud underneath our feet (Usarin’s Chronicles Child Sector)

Here’s things I do (Isn’t guaranteed to work for you, just things I do)

Put yourself in the reader’s shoes

By that I mean pretend you are trying to force someone else to imagine the scene, fantasy world, or characters without them ever being there. Bring attention to things only someone literally in the scene would experience.

Think about what the reader doesn’t know, and paint them a picture so that it’s as if they’re there, detail and all.

Show emotion and story through detail

Don't tell me she is depressed

Try: Her room looks like it hasn't been touched in weeks, yet there's no dust on her bed. The pillowcase to her favorite pillow is still dampened with tears, and she lays next to it drearily staring at the wall.

Don't oversaturate

Break up paragraphs of description and detail with anything and everything. There's more to writing than detail. Frequently those are really good at writing description and utilizing vivid detail lose the charm of their works and writing through oversaturation, where they do not know the stopping limit for description.

Use everything in moderation, which is a great piece of advice for anything and everything, but also applies to writing. This goes for prose, dialogue, jokes, and also description. Practice! And learn what works, what’s too much, and what isn’t.

Professional advise that I like & How To Achieve

Use those five senses!

Sensory details are incredibly helpful in making a scene read vividly. Never forget your five senses, they can make any boring description feel more alive.

Use descriptive words (and the right ones)

This is a much more difficult one to keep up with, but it is often the problem at hand. There are thousands of words in just English alone, but this applies to other languages as well. Although some words are synonyms, each of them are still descriptive in very different ways.

Take for instance:

Cold, Freezing, Icy, Frosted Over, Cool;

The woman felt her fingertips against the cold surface.

The woman felt her fingertips against the icy surface.

The woman felt her fingertips against the cool surface.

These three sentences are using these synonyms, however each of them convey a different tone and idea. One has ice on it, another is cool maybe even nice feeling, while one is simply just cold.

Descriptive words alone are helpful to practice with, because some bring in a lot more imagery.

Oooh good question!

Like any description this is a case of don't over do it, but it also depends on the occasion. For example, you don't need to describe what a character is wearing every single day, but you might do a basic description when you first 'meet them.' Describe colour, any wear/tear, and if they're wearing long sleeve/short sleeve. If they're in a uniform of some kind, that's the time to say it.

If a character is super dressed up (eg. A ballroom scene) you could describe what they're wearing in more detail. You would talk about neck line, decorative details (beads, ribbons), and even material.

Writing vivid descriptions can be a great way to engage readers and draw them into a story. Here are a few tips that can help you get started:

Start with sensory details. Adding sensory details to your descriptions can help readers feel like they are experiencing the scene for themselves. Focus on the sights, sounds, smells, textures, and tastes that make the scene unique.

Use descriptive words and phrases. Words like "luminous," "gleaming," "misty," and "frigid" can help bring your descriptions to life.

Avoid cliches. Instead of using tired phrases like "beautiful as a sunset," think of unique ways to describe the scene.

Show, don't tell. Using concrete images and examples can help readers more easily imagine the scene you’re trying to describe.

Don’t be afraid to be creative. Use vivid metaphors and similes to help readers see the scene you’re describing in a different light.

Landscape 

Kananya is known as the region of the performing arts and beautiful flowers. The landscape of this nation is mostly filled with fields full of intricate flowers of various colors. They have various sentient plant-life from animalistic to humanoid to ginormous flowers. Although the landscape is mostly made out of flowers, Kananya still has one of the most diverse tropical environments. It is filled with mountains, forests, jungles, marshes, swamps, rivers, lakes, ponds, rocky areas, etc. All of these biomes  are still filled to the brims with flowers. Flowers seem to be the hardiest, strongest, and most common plant life in the whole of Kananya. The flowers of Kananya, although extremely common, are one of the most diverse in all of the world. Some are ginormous and hardy; others small and delicate; some live in rocks; others live in water. Most of the trees in Kananya are very tall and thin, similarly to palm trees. They are also mostly covered in broad or long leaves with various flowers blooming from them. Sometimes, the flowers cover the whole tree, similar to a framboyán tree. Trees in jungles are mostly made up with wild vines filled with dangling or drooping flowers. 

Most biomes are more common in some area of Kananya than others. Mountainous and rocky areas are common in the south of the nation in Kesin-arón and Karaguá. These southern regions are mostly made up of fiels, plains, valleys, rocky and mountainous areas, and few rocky deserts with some small jungles. In the west and east of Kananya, rivers, lakes, ponds, and wetlands are the most common. These regions are Ketibey and Ketuanna. They are made up mostly of marshes, wetlands, swamps, rivers, lakes, ponds, clearings, waterfalls, and forests. In the north of the nation in Ketrynbuco, forests and jungles dominate the land. It is filled with rainforests, jungles, and coniferous and pine forests.

Politics and Social organization

Kananya is divided into 5 regions and 1 central capital:

  -Ketuanna: the land of waters

 -Ketibey: the land of rivers

 -Ketrynbuco: the land of forests

 -Kesin-arón: the land of mountains 

 -Karaguá: the land of rocks

 -Keque-Chuque: the land of trades and the main capital

These regions are divided into 5 cacicazgos with the main capital being a no mans area for equal trade:

 -Marién: in Ketuanna

 -Higüey: in Ketibey

 -Maguá: in Kentrynbuco

 -Maguana: in Kesin-arón

 -Jaragua: in Karaguá 

These cacicazgos are ruled over by their respective caciques( chieftains) and their trustworthy bohiques( priests/shamans/ healers ). Below these, are the nitaínos ( protectors ), chuquecos( traders/ merchants ), areítos( musicians/dancers ), and the naborías( common folk ). Although their society is hierarchical, they are all treated fairly and equally, except for the caciques and bohiques who are higher authorities.

All those born in Kananya learn agriculture and gardening from a very young age. They use a mix of intensive root crop cultivation, aquaculture, and subsistence farming. They use conucos( small raised crops ) mostly for the intensive root crop cultivation and subsistence farming. Aquaculture is mostly used in Ketibey and Ketuanna, while the other are the main form of agriculture in the rest of the nation. 

Religion and Beliefs 

The people of Kananya worship the goddess Mamá Mayna, the garden mother, and her 3 children: Anacoa, the flower of fertile lands; Ananina, the flower of waters; and Anasibo, the flower of rocks. Each of these deities taught the people of the people their own philosophies, which was how the nation was divided long ago. Mamá Mayna taught them to take care of nature and nature will give back, which led to their focus on nature and agriculture. Anacoa taught them music and to grow like the forest. Ananina taught them song and to be patient and always changing like the waters. Anasibo taught them how to dance and to be strong like rocks. Ketrynbuco followed the ways of Anacoa and have a society based on playing instruments. Ketibey and Ketuanna followed the ways of Ananina and have society based on singing. Kesin-arón and Karaguá followed the ways of Anasibo and have a society based on dance. The people of the various regions were also helped by the ciguapas, sapient plant life created by Mamá Mayna to guide the people of the nation. The ciguapas further taught the people how to dance, play instruments, and sing with the flow of nature.  Although they are not seen as much today, many of the ciguapas' performing arts are still played very commonly and have been completely integrated in their society. 

Economy