Is there any form of meaningful writing that doesn’t require a touch of description?
No?
Well, we didn’t think so, either.
In nearly everything you write, whether it’s a fictional project or otherwise, you will need to paint pictures in your readers’ minds. It could be in the scenes of your story, your personal experience with someone/something, explaining a point or the character you’re depicting.
Descriptive writing connects your writing with the senses of sight, smell, feeling, and taste. Therefore, before you even begin writing, you need to answer questions like, ‘What do I want my readers to see? How do I want them to feel?’
You can paint a vivid picture in the minds of your readers to hold their attention and keep them glued to your content. For example, ‘How do I make my readers see that the food is uninviting without using the word “uninviting?”’ In this scenario, the colour and presentation could be a turn-off.
The aim of using descriptions in your writing is for your readers to feel and experience the events portrayed in your writing. This can be a little difficult, which is why we decided to share a few tips on how to use the descriptive style of writing.
Here goes:
1. Leave out obvious descriptions: You may find that you are using predictable descriptions and unnecessary adjectives, which could make your writing look clichéd or lazy.
2. Take a break from the norm: Now that you have taken out the obvious descriptions, you want to bring a twist into your story or content. Throw in some interesting and surprising words to create your story. It will keep your writing fresh and memorable to your readers.
You can use phrases like ‘weeping cloud’ to portray a unique scenario.
This leads us to the final tip.
3. Use sensory details: To follow the common rule of storytelling that says ‘show, don’t tell’, you need to use sensory details in your writing. Let your writing come alive by making it appealing to the senses of your readers.
These sensory details use the five human senses to show what you say to your readers. For example, ‘The pale chicken slice floated in murky fat’. (The chicken was uninviting.)
‘He stumbled into the classroom breathless, just before the bell clanged’. (He ran into the class just before the bell rang.)
However, be careful to not become too descriptive that you forget its essence and the picture you are trying to paint.
There you go, three tips and examples to get you started in descriptive writing.
Remember, Sabi Writers is always here to assist you when the going gets tough.