To describe, or not to describe? THAT is the question.

I usually follow my character's POV very closely, so what I describe is whatever he/she would notice. I think that's a good rule of thumb.

For instance, my medieval/fantasy female MC notices nuances of expression, dress, and environment.

My male computer programmer... notices not so much. When he goes into someone else's house, he thinks "Wow, this is bigger than mine." And he notices a row of trophies on a shelf. Other than that, it's just "kitchen" or "living room" or "couch" or whatever.

My descriptions are generally pretty stark, and are woven into passages in bits and pieces so it doesn't read like description. (At least I hope it doesn't!)

I don't like not describing ANYTHING... but I only describe critical features. One of the major characters in my current WIP has this description, and only this description, scattered across three paragraphs:

- a large and imposing man in a long red coat
- a great walrus-like mustache
- a peg leg

Now, chances are you've got an image in your head that feels right to you. It's probably not the same as mine, but it will do, and you don't have to look at my description of the coat and try to picture it. If I got all detailed about cornflower blue piping on the seams and gold embroidery on the back, you would come out of the story and start trying to build exactly what I was describing in your head. But chances are you've pictured something perfectly serviceable already, and I don't need to be specific.

Earlier, I describe two guards; one "glowered from the depths of a bristling dirty blonde beard", and the other had "eyes grey-blue in a thin and drawn face". That's enough. I get a picture from that which is sufficient for their part in the story. By giving the first guard a violet cape, I imply that all guards wear violet capes, and I'll confirm that later when my main character recognises the approach of a guard from the flash of a violet cape among the crowd.

These kinds of descriptions do double duty: the amount of description in the story accurately identifies who is important. You know that if I say someone is "a cloaked and shadowy figure", it's not as important as the "figure in a rough-sewn grey cloak slinking from shadow to shadow, dark eyes glittering in the torchlight". These clues are often good for the reader.

And if I really want you to picture specifics, I would work that out with the artist who does the cover. I will never picture the characters of Eddings' Belgariad any other way than the images I saw on the paperbacks, and I frequently reject other interpretations as "wrong".

JoNightshade said:

I usually follow my character's POV very closely, so what I describe is whatever he/she would notice. I think that's a good rule of thumb.

For instance, my medieval/fantasy female MC notices nuances of expression, dress, and environment.

My male computer programmer... notices not so much. When he goes into someone else's house, he thinks "Wow, this is bigger than mine." And he notices a row of trophies on a shelf. Other than that, it's just "kitchen" or "living room" or "couch" or whatever.

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Bam. Took the words out of my mouth. Quoted for emphasis.

As with everything, it's about balance.

There are people who hate descriptions, and will complain about any book that uses them. But usually, too much description simply means writing that isn't that interesting or good -- it's not the choice of how much to describe, it's the execution. So your real choice lies only in what feels right to you, the way you like to write.

I personally think a certain amount of description grounds a book in reality and helps the reader suspend disbelief.

Writers as diverse as Charles Dickens and Raymond Chandler were able to bring characters to life in a few paragraphs in a way that makes me turn green with envy.

Others can make an exotic city or the moors of England so real you can almost smell the spices or the heather.

It's all about the writing.

Describe to whatever extent feels right, just tie it into the story and the characters. For instance, don't just stop the action to give a rundown of what a room looks like. Make your character interact with things in the room. Or filter the possessions of the room through the character's mindset (meaning the chair might not just be a chair but might have been handed down from a beloved grandmother or the character is angry at being treated like a child, so they go in their room and spot their bedspread and just seethe because the bedspread was bought by mom and it looks just like something a four year old should have.) The point is that objects and clothes as well don't mean much and aren't interesting by themselves unless you give them meaning through your characters. Then they can create for vivid scenes.

Hi Dana-Lynn,

Writing descriptions can be kinda hard. Personally, I like descriptions but not an overload. I honestly believe that the reader should connect to a scene and character.

She walked into the messy bedroom.

He noticed the mole on the left side of her nose.

A bugger hung from his large nose as he laughed

She spoke while squinching.

One of my favourite ancient Chinese writer is Song Yu, and this is a piece of description that he gave of a beautiful girl:

"If she was an inch taller, she would be too tall. If she was an inch shorter, she would be too short. If she was a shade whiter, she would be too fair. If she was a shade pinker, her face would be too red..."

As I read this, I could picture that girl perfectly, but once you think about it -- how tall IS she? How white IS she?

Exir said:

One of my favourite ancient Chinese writer is Song Yu, and this is a piece of description that he gave of a beautiful girl:

"If she was an inch taller, she would be too tall. If she was an inch shorter, she would be too short. If she was a shade whiter, she would be too fair. If she was a shade pinker, her face would be too red..."

As I read this, I could picture that girl perfectly, but once you think about it -- how tall IS she? How white IS she?

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That's the beauty of a masterful passage like this - it doesn't matter. She's as tall as your perfect woman, and as white as you want her to be. Your idea of perfect may be different than someone else's, but when they read the passage, they'll imagine their own dream girl.

BTW, Exir, one of your favorite ancient Chinese writers?? LOL, most of us don't have even ONE favorite ancient Chinese writer - but after reading this, I think maybe that ought to change.

Jo hit the nail on the head. Describe what your POV character would notice. If you're writing as omniscient narrator, well, then describe what the story needs emphasized, pointed out.

My example: My character Jeremy is a stained-glass artist. He notices nuances of color and plays of light and styles of fenestration. As a renovator, he also notices whether hardwood floors need refinishing, whether plaster ceilings have broken keys, and whether light fixtures are reproduction or original. His son Sean, in the same house, would notice whether there are any books around, or swords or stuffed alligators or time-darkened paintings of who knew what, cool stuff like that.

Talent knows what to describe. Genius knows what to describe and exactly how to describe it. I'm rereading Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I remembered the book as full of gorgeous description, but I see that this description is actually very sparingly given, and that when it appears, it works on several levels. For example:

"The day of the visit was preceded by stormy weather; rain had made long ragged pools in the bare, brown fields; wet roofs were like cold stone mirrors, and Mr. Honeyfoot's post-chaise travelled through a world that seemed to contain a much higher proportion of chill grey sky and a much smaller one of solid comfortable earth than was usually the case."

The sharp details, "long ragged pools" and roofs like "cold stone mirrors," are vivid enough, but what makes these details important is not only how they contribute to the setting and the mood, but how they prefigure the central theme of the book: pools and mirrors draw the sky down into the earth, reversing the usual proportions of things, as the return of magic to England will, often uncomfortably, disrupt the prosaic routines of the whole world, intermixing the ethereal with the solid.

Now when you can get that much done in one short paragraph of description, your description's pulling some weight!

My favorite writers write thorough descriptions in plain language (no big words or flowery crap), so that's what I do. I'll usually spend several solid paragraphs describing a major character or important setting. I personally find 'sprinkled' description distracting, so I don't write that way.

Since description is a part of style, and not something with a concrete 'right' or 'wrong' method, the best way to do it is to simply write what you most enjoy reading. There will be plenty of people who have the same tastes you do.

I work exactly the opposite way most other writers do. When I write first-draft prose, I intentionally omit as many details as I can, only mentioning plot-critical stuff in the tersest way possible.

If I don't do this, I have a tendency toward producing untold quantities of bad prose, most of which I have to cut. Sometimes I get attached to a particular chunk of bad prose, which leads me to try to fit it in somewhere else, ruining the story.

No, it's better for me to only add detail where it's absolutely necessary.

choppersmom said:

BTW, Exir, one of your favorite ancient Chinese writers?? LOL, most of us don't have even ONE favorite ancient Chinese writer - but after reading this, I think maybe that ought to change.

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Clue: look at my location

I use quite a bit of description because I want the reader to feel as if they could walk into the pages of the book and experience the place and time about which I am writing. I don't expect a reader to imagine what a medieval village looked like or what happened when people got the plague, I want them to know.
Linnea

I think its important to describe what characters look like. Since I write borderline fantasy/romance, I do it all the time. I could spend several lines describing a certain god or goddess, or I could do it in very few. It all depends what kind of impact you're trying to achieve. I agree that its a good idea to leave some things blank to let the readers form their own picture of what the characters look like. In Deep Embrace, I describe Nyx, the Goddess of Night, as a black skinned woman with white hair and silver eyes. That's all. In Whispers in the Dark, I spent a good solid paragraph describing Eros, because I was trying to build sexual tension. I hate all of these "rules" people expect everyone to follow in writing. Don't write in first person...don't include poems or songs...don't over describe...blah blah. Some are meant to be followed, sure, but others are bendable. This is one of them. There's nothing wrong with describing a character's physical appearance or starting a scene off with description if it has a purpose.

ishtar'sgate said:

I use quite a bit of description because I want the reader to feel as if they could walk into the pages of the book and experience the place and time about which I am writing. I don't expect a reader to imagine what a medieval village looked like or what happened when people got the plague, I want them to know.
Linnea

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That's exactly what I try to achieve with my writing as well. I want readers to feel like they are in another world when they read my stories.

I'm addicted to description, both writing it and reading it. I love a well turned phrase and I think description is a great place to really play with language. If description supports the mood and theme of the piece, with some interesting language thrown in, I'm all over it. I want to know where I am, how it smells, whether it's cold or hot, humid or dry, bright or dull. Rain changes an atmosphere instantly, as does bright sunlight. Love, love, love description here.

Exir said:

Clue: look at my location

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Ahhh! Mystery solved, but I still think more of us should be reading these works. That piece you posted was awesome!

I like description, but I don't want the forward motion of the story to stop for a solid chunk of it unless that chunk is written really well or there's something unusual and intriguing about it.

Queen of Swords said:

I like description, but I don't want the forward motion of the story to stop for a solid chunk of it unless that chunk is written really well or there's something unusual and intriguing about it.

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In my opinion, that's what makes fantasy harder for me to write than contemporary drama. I can assume my reader knows certain things about my settings when I'm writing in the modern day. But when I'm penning a story set in a created world, there are many, many details my readers don't know, and I'm therefore forced to trickle pertinent information to them without boring them. It's a very difficult balancing act.

All the great masters, most call them ‘classics’, of the written word had used description, but they did achieve an ideal balance, not too much, not too little,… just perfection.
Pick up books by the best contemporary writers in your genre and follow their lead.

pilot27407 said:

All the great masters, most call them ‘classics’, of the written word had used description, but they did achieve an ideal balance, not too much, not too little,… just perfection.
Pick up books by the best contemporary writers in your genre and follow their lead.

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I agree.

I also think every story has its own 'fitting' degree of description, just as every author's style can accommodate a certain amount of description before it fails its purpose (too little or too much). Finding your own balance in your work should be the goal... finding what works. Using examples of the great masters will help you do that.

Put your readers in that world.

That's really it.

If you can do that without any kind of description, congratulations. You've achieved the impossible.

Now, it doesn't mean you should bog down your story with unnecessarily detailed descriptions. But that is just a matter of taste. Some people like lots and lots of description to help them visualize the settings, and some don't.

Still, you need to put your readers in the world, and the more unfamiliar that world is (such as in SF/F or some exotic place), the more descriptions you'll need.

And yeah, don't stop your story movement just to describe a chair.