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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41817
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/41817
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 **Description isn't just visual.**

You did a pretty decent job describing your "blindness" to imagining how something looks.

Let's imagine that castle....

- How does it _sound_? (echos indoors? surrounded by ponds with singing frogs? what about hearing more outside noises when inside? I can imagine the windows are non-existent or not very tight, but then the walls are thick, so is sound more muted or more noticeable?)
- How does it _smell_? (musty? old? mineraly from stonework? can you smell forests or ponds or other open space when indoors?)
- How does it \*feel?" (are the walls very sturdy or do they seem like they're going to fall down? Is the floor thick and unyielding? Is it cold?)
- Where is it located compared to other places? (Far away from regular houses? Was it difficult to get to?)

All of these things will immerse your reader in the setting and help her/him to imagine being there. Even if you were good at visual description, you would need to involve the other senses.

As a direct answer, **yes you need description and you need some of it to be visual.** It can be small things if the setting is familiar. I've never been in a real castle but they're so common in books and movies that I can imagine one. If I was reading a book set in a castle, I wouldn't need more than a few words here and there that oriented me to the type and size of castle and a few other details as needed. But if the setting was someplace else and not familiar, I would need more.

You don't need (or want) pages of description. It's best to weave it into the story. Perhaps a short paragraph setting the scene then a line here, two lines there, and a few evocative adjectives.

**The best way to know if you've done too little (or too much) is to ask people to read your work. There's no hard and fast rule.** If they don't understand the setting or can't immerse themselves in it, then you need more. If they're bored with the long descriptions and want to get back to the story, then you need less.

Original score: 7