A big ask, right? Or does he drive a VW bus? If the book is about a hero coming to his hometown to lick his wounds after a divorce, we want to know what the area looks like and why it's so important to him. Those writers get away with it only because they're really really good. Here are some tips that will help. A star pilot is unlikely to walk into a starport and think of its history, notice the number of starships, etc., unless there is a good reason. This technique has an added advantage -- if you change any aspects of your setting in midstream, you won't have as much rewriting to do. In the living room they talk with each other and their guests and do other things such as reading or watching television. Use strong, active, concrete writing words when writing description. However, if you think it might work for you, try it out. The living room in a home is shared by the people living in the home. Imagine readers skimming your book in the store. As a medium it's intrinsically empathic; it communicates patently human sensibilities. Like lumps on proverbial logs, they sit there and do little to your story. Something as simple as "He picked up the invitation with his slender fingers" is more exciting than "She noticed that he had slender fingers." (Even more different is the hero who owns both a shiny Jag and an old VW bus.). Then, whenever I went back and edited the novel, I added more description where needed. I made my words work for me. Not to mention adverbs, weak qualifiers such as "somewhat," and so forth. Either their writing is lyrical, or it's witty, or it's somehow so enthralling that people don't care that the book has ground to a halt. However, not all readers will put up with this, even if the writing is the terrific. Try listening to people talking on the radio or listening to people on TV without looking at the picture, just to get an idea of the nuances of voice. If they see pages and pages describing the castle grounds, or the chic hotel, they will probably put it down and pick up someone else's book instead. Some authors can get away with this. You can learn more about the use of trademarks at an article on The Publishing Law Center web site http://www.publaw.com/article/fair-use-of-trademarks/l. People who read a story that's lacking in description might ask "Where does this take place? Also, a spooky paranormal tale might use description to build up the sense of unease -- for example, you might linger on descriptions of dark hallways in the old mansion and hint that there are ghosts there. Because at the same time, people don’t want huge wodges of descriptive writing. Taste is harder to include as humans don't tend to go around tasting things unless they're eating, but be sure to include it during love scenes. What they are doing will influence what they interact with, and how they filter those details. Enough already! When you pull it out and examine it, you find that there is a room in the blueprint that doesn’t exist in your house. Don't forget to trust in the intelligence of your audience. All rights reserved. Their characters don't just shout -- they exclaim and yell and caterwaul. don't waste my time (or anyone's) with such chestnuts. This problem wasn't limited to the penny dreadfuls. Yes, even "Because this office should have a fancy lobby" is a legitimate reason for the description to be in the story, as long as it doesn't drag the story to a stop. Then she will notice it. For more information please contact
Moira Allen, Editor, EDITOR'S CORNER (Ramblings on the Writing Life), Negotiating Contracts
Setting Fees/Getting Paid, http://www.publaw.com/article/fair-use-of-trademarks/l, https://www.writing-world.com/fiction/settings.shtml, https://www.writing-world.com/fiction/location.shtml, https://www.writing-world.com/victoria/crafting54.shtml. Right away, those are two very different heroes. What do your characters interact with? Adjectives and adverbs can be your friends, or your enemies, depending on how you use them. You don't want the descriptive passages in your story to put your readers to sleep, do you? Career Essentials
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JavaScript Kit. In a fantasy short story, I once wrote the following sentence: "Zara grabbed her mug and gulped it down, shivering when a few drops the ale trickled under her leather top." The great thing about using descriptions in combination with action is that you can cut the description down into palatable pieces. Similarly, characters in fantasy and futuristic stories won't look at the setting in the same way we would. I must admit that often happens when people look at my early drafts. Blend the description with action. This will be the case whether you are writing first person or third person limited stories. If your heroine has been in that office building dozens of times, she will only give it a passing glance. Just because sight and sound are the most commonly used senses, that doesn't mean you have to make them, well, common. Find some new way to describe the things your characters see and hear. Unless something has changed or something usual is going on. But then, you can wind up with stories where people wander vague hallways or buildings, and readers don't get a sense of time or place from your story. Use concrete details -- such as the detail about the cold ale trickling down Zara's chest. Think of bad description as being like that teacher who droned on and on and put the class to sleep. Blend the description with action. (John Crowley is a great example in the SF/fantasy field.) Some writers must have the description down-pat, or they won't be able to continue. Yes, I know, sometimes you need another word for "walked." Also, don't forget to describe their voices or the other sounds they hear. The stronger the writing, the better the description. Try to think of your story as scenes unfolding in a movie or play. Characters in a Medieval setting won't think it's odd that there are tapestries on the walls or rushes on the floor. Let's play a game. We’re here with eight tips for you to write a real estate listing description that sells. But I wasn't set on the description of the setting yet. (They were yummy!) Descriptions that just sit there are generally known as "narrative lumps." There are a few basic rules: 1) get the trademark correct; 2) don't use the trademark in a generic or incorrect sense; and 3) Don't portray the product in disparaging light. Instead, I used action to fit that description into the story in tiny bits. Unless they're seeking out writers known for lyrical descriptive passages, today's readers wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. Want to describe the heroine's living room or bedroom? . How bad is bad description? The author couldn't decide what happened in the next installment, so he interrupted the story to send all his characters off to the park or the zoo. Even genre writers. Send those lumps to the gym and make them work out. What should you avoid? Some writers are notorious for piling on adjectives. On the other hand, description will be a more important part of many slower-paced stories. Use specific details. You should probably avoid stopping the flow of your story to tell your readers all about how nice the hero's castle is or how important the rain forest is. I've seen stories that do so, and even if the setting is pretty, the result to the story isn't pretty. Early in Walter Miller, Jr.'s classic post-apocalpytic novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, a monk realizes for the first time that the pope's cassock is getting threadbare, and that the carpet in the pope's audience room is worn. You can make them figure out what something, or someone, looks like by dropping hints. And tell and tell. They have to have an emphatic, solid, believable presence. What's a Western romance without the smell of leather? Miller uses description to clue the reader in on this world and to mark changes in the way the character is viewing the world around him. The sense of smell is an important one. zzz . Adjectivitis refers to using too many adjectives. If you have any critique partners, however, you might want to warn them that your early drafts won't have all of the details built in. But writing a compelling listing can be easier than you think. This can impede the flow of the narrative. These elaborate nature decorations are part of a long tradition stretching back to ancient civilization, but if you learn just two words to describe them, they should be floral and foliate . In these case, the reality is that even the fans know to skim those passages. Do they want to read a ramble about the rain forest? Also, it's worth noting that there are many published writers who rhapsodize on everything from history to their characters' politics for long passages without being lyrical about it. While preparing your garden at the beginning of spring, you find the blueprints for your house buried in the earth. Unless you're writing in omniscient viewpoint, chances are that you are filtering the setting (and background) through the eyes of your characters. Avoiding clichés is part of being specific, as we observed above, but it's worth devoting more room to them and their opposites, truly original writing. Would you like to make your own fiction writing that vivid? Some books include so many brand names that readers begin to wonder if the writer is getting kickbacks for product placement. Many famous novels of this period came to a complete stop while the author described something (such as a cityscape, a history, or even an entire profession) for a chapter or two. The story picked up again in the next installment. To make your stories more interesting, you must find ways to blend the description into the story. Does your hero drive a Jaguar? . I won't do like some other writing guidelines say and tell you "Never use adverbs." The furniture can include a couch, chairs, tables, lamps, a television, curtains and pictures. Want to describe the heroine's living room or bedroom? In the past, authors could get away with including long, detailed descriptions in their stories. In the Miller example above, the monk noticed that the pope's cassock was worn because it was something out of place. They can set the scene, move the plot, set the mood, foreshadow events, give us a sense of character, whatever they have to do to get the ball (or log) rolling. Besides, sometimes it becomes obvious that certain writers are too in love with their thesauruses. A story without enough description is missing something. Stephen King offers these examples of what not do to: "He ran like a madman, she was as pretty as a summer day, Bob fought like a tiger . This may seem like a no-brainer, but your real estate listing description should be accurate. Don't avoid brand names altogether, however. Instead of stopping the story to describe the lush lobby with trees and waterfalls, come up with a reason for this description to be in the story. Then describe it as a part of a scene full of tension, such as an argument, or during the love scene. In order for a story to work, it needs to feel like real life, even when it’s actually something quite different. They will notice the unusual -- rushes that haven't been changed for a while, or for that matter, rushes that have been changed often and smell sweet. So instead of stopping, I wrote. Imagine a room. If you're not comfortable with writing description, don't let it get in your way when you're writing the first draft. This is natural as those are the main ways in which we observe the world. It's the only place I can spend my time with my family. Sometimes you will need adverbs. However, you can really bring a scene to life by including the other senses. Good description is more like the teacher who got students involved by using anecdotes and making the class interactive. Do you know how to grab your reader's attention? Of course there are authors who, even in today's marketplace, can get away with pages and pages of description. All materials on this site are the property of their authors and may not be reprintedwithout the author's written permission, unless otherwise indicated.
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