Description In Writing - The Beauty and the Beast (Or The Benefits and The pitfalls)

A well written novel will contain both beautiful, vivid description and strong relevant dialogue. Ideally, both will move the story forward rather than slow it down. It is not uncommon for a writer to have more strength in one aspect over the other, maybe even a preference. A well-rounded writer will strive to make both facets solid or the novel will be found lacking by the reader.

In this post, I’d like to concentrate on description. I have to admit, I have a love for it, and enjoy writing it. But don't be ensnared into utilizing it for the wrong reasons. Remember that it can’t be gratuitous, there for the sake of just existing, or as filler between dialogues. Description should have a point. It should be evocative not just of physical places, events or characters but also of feelings and moods. As a reader, I want to be transported into the character’s world, not just have a basic mental understanding of it. I want to experience the feel of a dark moonless night in the forest, cold snow crunching under my feet as I’m trying to hide from a predator stalking me (because a good description will make me believe it’s me for a moment, rather than the character) . And that is a very different feeling than being in the middle of a large city where hundreds of lights are so bright, the night can never appear completely dark.

Everyone who has aspired to be a writer heard of a very important adage that has gained an almost rule-like importance in the industry – “Show, don’t tell”. That is often much harder to do in practice than in theory. Here are a few tips. You can do this by remembering to include all five senses to make your reader feel like they are in the story. Use the sense of touch, smell, sound, taste and, of course, sight. When appealing to the sense of touch, describe the texture, for example. When appealing to the sense of smell, don’t just say the cookies smelled of cinnamon. Say that the cookies smelled the way grandma’s hands always used to smell when [character] was little. By doing so, you’re not just involving the reader who may have had the same (or similar) experience, but also “showing” something of your character’s personality – maybe it’s that she misses her grandmother because she was close to her (which maybe important to the story), maybe it’s that she’s sentimental (which maybe important to the understanding of the character’s motivations).

You can show a spoiled child by having her whine or throw tantrums. You can show a gorgeous woman by the appreciative stares she gets from both men and women as she walks down the street. You can show a character’s fear by describing her sense of isolation, by the creepy sounds she hears, by her feeling her heart beating in her throat. Well, you get the point.

But never forget that you have to intertwine good description with strong dialogue and action, because that is what primarily drives the writing forward. Description is there to help create the world in which the action takes place (and I can't lie, it's extremely fun to write). However, it should never take the place of it.

Look out for a post on dialogue coming soon.

Motivation and Inspiration for Writing

On Inspiration and Motivation For Writing            

The "writer's block" tag is cliché, but there’s no other way of putting it clearly. And it can occur because of various reasons, not the least of which are lack of inspiration and fear of failure.  For me personally, it often comes down to having seeds of a story but a fear that the whole story will escape me, that I will start writing and eventually I won’t know where to take the story, how to end it. And the best cure for this is to get over the fears and write. We have all heard that to write is to be brave, to be courageous (something that as a Martial Artist I try to understand every day). And, of course, the cure is to find inspiration anywhere you go and in anything you do. Because I firmly believe that a writer, same as an artist, can grab inspiration everywhere. It is our gift, it is what makes us writers and artists. Inspiration for creation is out there for us to capture. The opportunities are boundless. The key is to want to see these opportunities, to consciously identify them and use them in our work.

So here’s a few ways to find the inspiration and capture the opportunities. These are nothing new but I wanted to put them all in one place to look over every day and remember to consciously seek them out. Hopefully it can help a few of you out there as well.

1. Listening in on people’s conversations (and no, it’s not eavesdropping when you can’t avoid the loud voice of people in public transportation or a restaurant!).  It’s not as hard as you think, especially in large cities like New York.  Overhearing people’s conversations in the subways, buses, restaurants and stores is a great way to gage the appropriate interaction and dialogue style for your own characters. Two middle-aged businessmen in a fancy restaurant will talk quiet differently than twenty-somethings hanging out in a club. A conversation between a mother and a daughter will differ vastly in style than one between a girlfriend and a boyfriend.  A dialogue will seem out of place in a novel if it does not use words and style appropriate to the characters’ age, location and time-period.


2. Another value in overheard conversations is the seeds of stories that they might contain. Our characters may have super powers and amazing talents, but we have to base them on real people, because that‘s where our experiences are based in. And, as they say, sometimes reality can be stranger than fiction.


3. Read, read and read some more! Personally, I usually get my greatest inspiration from books. I can’t imagine going a day without picking up a book, or at least a magazine, to read (often both!). Even on the busiest days and if it’s only for half an hour, I’ll find time to read. It helps that my commute is an hour each day.     Read books in the genre you write. Read books in other genres. Again, inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere. Plus you never stop learning as a writer and, while it’s extremely important to find your own voice and style, there’s always something that you can learn from others. It may be how to do something better or it may be how not to do something. Either way, your own writing will become better for it. 


4. Quotes. I love quotes. I have them everywhere – pasted to my file cabinet at work, in my email, in my notebooks. They are from different people and various times in history. They are on different topics – motivation, courage, love, perseverance. But they all serve one purpose – to give inspiration. And just glancing at some every day gives me a little inspiration to do something that day.                           Post a few of your favorite quotes somewhere where you can see them every day. Sign up for “quote of the day” newsletters. Or follow twitter accounts like this one: @GreatestQuotes.


5. Make sure to have a great support network. This network should include family members and good friends who believe in your and can push you forward or just listen to you rant and rave once in a while (I will repeat that – once in a while, not all the time!) and give you moral support. It should also include other writers, established and/or aspiring and those who can critique your work in a meaningful and productive/constructive way. It’s helpful to tell people in your support network of your goals because then you have more of a motivation to actually keep them.


6. Capture your inspiration and motivation everywhere. Go out for walks and observe nature. Carry a notebook with you and write down descriptions of locations, weather, how the light hits a lake at different times during the day, everything! Describe people’s facial expressions when they’re on their way to work compared to their expressions when they’re on their way from work. Note the obvious and the minute differences. Some of these notes will remain just that – notes, scribbles. Some of them you may end up incorporating into your work. But just the act of writing will get you motivated and inspired to write more! Believe me, it really works.


7. Be brave and write. Don’t be afraid of failure. Because if you don’t start something, you will never have an opportunity to finish. If you don’t let yourself do something and suck, you will never know if you had an opportunity to see something you’ve done/created become a success!Again, I know you have all heard this before and it is nothing new. It’s been said in many different ways by many people. But take some time to really meditate on these concepts and see what that meditation takes you.

Now go and write! You’re still here?

What are other ways you know of motivating and inspiriting yourself or others to write? Please share.