Wednesday's Writer's Tip - A Bit more about Description #MFRWauthor #amwriting

There are some other thoughts about using descriptive passages. One is how a character uses his or her senses. Take the sense of smell. A doctor might describe odors in one way, a mother in another. Using sight think of how a cop would see things as opposed to a scientist. You can do this with all the senses and bring a character to life. When writing one of my stories I spent time with touch, how a musician thought about touch and what things came from his memory and from using his hands. Bringing characters to life and making them unique certainly helps.

Remember one word will often do more than a long string of world. Sometimes I become annoyed when a writer strings long lines of adjectives in a row in an attempt to show something. Searching for the right word is part of the revision process. There are times when I write things like there is a fight. They make love. I go on since I don't want to take the time to build that scene. I want to reach the end of the plot before I do more than say a scene should go in a specific place.

Use time to develop your own senses. People watching is a great way to do this. Also taking walks and just observing what's around you. Sit down and try to write a description of a scent, a sight, a touch, a taste or a sound. Your imagination helps develop your characters. Trust your reader to have their own ideas about the senses and often a single word will trigger something within themselves.

Remember when using description the strength of the parts of speech. Strong verbs elicit strong feelings. Exact nouns do the same thing. Then comes adjectives and adverbs. Choose them with care.