Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/4984
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

First of all:

There is an entire spectrum between telling a disembodied story and painting every little piece of unnecessary detail. Both writers _and_ readers have their preferences with regards to this. This is why different authors' styles appeal to different types of readers.

The more you describe, the more you restrict the reader's imagination; the less you describe, the less vivid the story is and higher the possibility of your reader imagining important details wrong. So always find a balance that you are comfortable with. But if I _had_ to take a side, I would say err on the side of less detail -- few things put off readers (like me) like too much detail. Worst of all, do not describe for the sake of description -- each description has to contribute something to the story, the character or the event. If not, just drop it.

That said, what contributes to descriptive ability? Here are my personal experiences:

- Imagine the scene -- the surroundings, the people, what they are saying and doing, what is happening. I usually do this while I'm _away_ from my writing desk. Later I write it down from memory, as if describing an event I actually saw. This helps me to keep the act of writing from interfering with the act of story telling. This may or may not work for you.
- Skip unimportant scenes entirely and imply, allude or refer to them in future passages. Avoid description fatigue, for yourself _and_ your reader.
- Read your favorite books again, but this time concentrating on their story telling and writing skills, rather than the story itself. Pick up good habits from them (but don't directly copycat).
- Write a short piece and let a friend read it. Now compare your mental image and your friend's mental image. If your friend's description turns out to be completely different from what you expected to convey, better descriptions may be called for.

Original score: 5