D is for Description

Description

“She has no memories of her mother but imagines her as white, a soundless brilliance. Her father radiates a thousand colors, opal, strawberry red, deep russet, wild green; a smell like oil and metal, the feel of a lock tumbler sliding home, the sound of his key rings chiming as he walks.” 

― Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

“Although Vermont is frigid in the winter, its summertime shimmers. That’s stating the obvious to anyone who knows New England, but it was my brave new world. The mud season that begins in March and lasts well through May buffers one’s mind from winter’s ravages, so that, by the glorious day when neon-green leaf buds first appear on every tree, one can barely remember the bitter February winds streaming off the lake in great, frigid sloughs. Every year, the lake freezes solid around the shoreline, groaning and cracking under the push of the shifting wind, but, in the century-long life of Winloch, the winter had been heard only by the workingmen, men called in to plow the roads, or plumb frozen pipes, men who had the north country in their blood and the dried-up curl of French Canadian on their tongues.” 
― Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, Bittersweet

Writing descriptions in fiction can be tricky. Add too much, and it can overwhelm the story and reader--like adding too many spices to a dish. Add too little, and you risk making your tale too bland. 

But done right? 

They transform your words into a splendid feast for the senses.

Well, there are lots of things to describe, you might say. 

How do I know what to include, and what to leave out? 

Start with the unusual--things that stand out and are most connected to your character or setting. Include as many senses as possible. For example, is there anything about your character that is unique to her? The shape of her nose, the sound of her voice, the way that she laughs, dresses or chews her food? For a location, what makes that place special? What does it look like? Smell like? Sound like? Feel like?

Brain chemistry

Did you know that different areas of our brains light up when we read?

According to writer Annie Murphy Paul, "there is evidence that just as the brain responds to depictions of smells and textures and movements as if they were the real thing, so it treats the interactions among fictional characters as something like real-life social encounters."

(nytimes.com/2012/03/18the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction)

But wait--there's more. A 2006 study contends that descriptive words used too frequently (figures of speech, for example), do not appear to stimulate the brain in specific ways. So there's another good reason to avoid clichés, hackneyed phrases, or non-specific language. 

Hmm. Nope, no pressure there to use the right words.

"Don't tell me the moon is shining, show me the glint of light on broken glass."

                          -Anton Chekhov

Practice writing description

Practice doing it in real life. Visit a restaurant or another vibrant scene, and jot down everything that you notice. Do the same thing for a quiet spot in nature, or at your house. Notice what sticks out to you--and what doesn't.

Be on the look out for descriptive writing by others that works well. Ask yourself what it is about the description that is so effective. What tools did the writer use to achieve his or her goals? Consider keeping a journal of writing examples that you wish you'd done yourself. 

More resources:

Description: Elements of Fiction Writing, by Monica Wood

Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively, Rebecca Mc Clanahan

The Heart and Craft of Writing Compelling Description, Sharon M. Lippincott

http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/description.shtml 

https://litreactor.com/columns/writing-powerful-descriptions