Honing Your Descriptive Skills

Description. It's that one thing that almost all of us as writers struggle with. How much is too much? And how much is not enough? There's a fine line between lack of description and sensory overload. I suppose it all depends on your personal preference. Are you a person who likes simple prose, or do you like the classics with the pages and pages of description?

While there's no right or wrong opinion, there are, however, instances such as lack and overkill.

Description is key to keeping your readers hooked, yet it can also drive them away. Some people tend to go overboard with the description, at times even to the point where readers skip parts or even put the book down. Obviously, avoid this at all costs. If you have too much description, yet you're too proud of all your hard work to just toss it out, you can always add it in later. 

The worst times to add too much description is during crucial parts in the plot. Well, I guess to much description is worst anywhere. But if you're working on a part that you really want to grip attention, use less description about the surroundings, and more about the objects. Sure, you want the readers to use their imagination and feel like they're inside the book. Sure, description is good—even necessary. But while your protagonists are fighting off dragons, don't be describing the scenery.  Don't describe the beautiful countryside; describe the intense duel to which the peaceful valley lay oblivious. Describe the dragon's fiery eyes, its slimy scales that remind your protagonist of their dead pet fish, its claws that flashed in the moonlight and reflected off your protagonist's sword. Mention the smooth or rough stones underfoot, but don't describe them in such detail that it takes away from the main plot. The story is about moving, living things, not a stationary bunch of rocks. 

Your job as a writer is to set the location in the reader's mind before the crucial scene. While your protagonist makes his/her way to the dragon's lair, describe the salty breeze in their face that blew in from the turbulent sea that lay beyond the lush green valley. The valley surrounded by a breathtaking view of mountains that belied the treachery beyond. The valley that nestled a small, quaint village in which small children played with peals of laughter that echoed off the valley walls. Don't confuse your reader with so much description that they forget what's happening in the plot, and for heaven's sake don't put so much that they skip to find juicy tidbits. It's like tightrope walking. Only different.

Always reread to find places to add description. Even if it's just an adjective or two here and there, finding little places to make more descriptive brings the scene to life. "She climbed the wall with a rope" could be changed to "She quickly climbed the rough, crumbling wall, grasping the rope in a vicelike grip." Or even, "She slowly climbed the brick wall, gloved fingers gripping the rope as if her life depended on it." It's up to you to create the vision you want in the minds of everyone who read it.

As you probably already know, repetition is a big no-no. Work on your vocabulary. Read the dictionary through if it suits your fancy. Keep a thesaurus next to you. Work on those synonyms.

Analogies make spot-on description. It gives the readers something to compare the object to, something tangible and relatable to use as a reference point. Stop calling the trees 'green'. Some are green, some are emerald, and some, in strong winds, resemble the sea on a stormy day. Snow isn't just pure white; it covers the landscape in a blanket that sparkles like diamonds glittering in the sunlight.

How well are your descriptive skills? Do you tend to go overboard, or are you one of those people that struggle with having enough?