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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24397
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/24397
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

It depends on the story. Is the scenery important to the events of the novel? Does it actually have an effect on things? Does it change the outcome? If so, then yes, you need to describe it.

However, usually the scenery is not necessary to the story. In fact, scenery by itself is _never_ necessary to the story. If the scenery is just scenery, there is no need to describe it.

However, scenery (or setting as it is usually referred to) is commonly used to describe the vibe of a particular place (ie, raining during a depressing/sad scene), or to act as a base to show a character's emotions (ie, showing _how_ he sees the setting: "rejoicing in the brilliant sunrise," etc.). Occasionally you can show the same scenery twice, far apart in the novel, and demonstrate how a character has changed by noting how differently he now sees the same scenery.

So to make a long story short: decide if your setting serves a purpose. If it does, then describe it. Don't go overboard though. The description only needs to be enough to accomplish the setting's goal. If your setting does not serve a purpose, there is no need to describe it. You can drop one-liners mentioning the setting on the side (details always add a small measure of credibility to a work), but never focus on it.

Original score: 2