As writers, we can clearly see our own story in our minds-eye, and it can be so intimidating to write descriptions because we want our readers to see it as we do. But that’s not reeeeaaally possible.

Sure, we have adages that are supposed to help, like “show, don’t tell,” but often that advice on its own is lacking, because it doesn’t actually mean what we think it means.

“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most often misunderstood pieces of writing advice. Everyone thinks it’s literal – show us what people and places and things look like – but it’s not. It’s not about showing us the color of the sky and the time on the clock on the wall and the bowl of lemons on the table.

“It’s about showing us the meaning of the moment. It’s about giving us the emotion behind the people, places, and things. It’s about showing the reader what it feels like to be in the character’s skin as things unfold.” — Jennie Nash, Author Accelerator

The beauty and challenge of fiction writing is that you can’t make your reader see exactly what you do. But you can guide them to something close.

A great description makes a reader feel something, by revealing what a character FEELS.

As readers, we’re living our story through a character’s experience. We’re bringing our own context and background to what we’re reading, and assigning meaning to descriptions that may not align with what the author was trying to convey. We can counteract this by centralizing our descriptions around our character’s point of view and what it means to them.

When your readers see your story’s world filtered through your character’s emotions, then your reader will have the same experience of your story as you and your character do. These kinds of descriptions stick with readers long after they reach “The End.”

But how do we do this?

We start by trusting our readers.

For example, if you’re describing an ocean horizon in the middle of the day, your readers can come up with what that looks like. You don’t necessarily have to describe what the waves look like because readers can fill in the details if you give them general broad strokes, because then you can use your point of view character as the lens to decide what specific details are important to show based on what your character would notice in that moment.

FOR EXAMPLE

What’s being described: An ocean on a sunny day

VERSION 1:

Kate burst through the screen door and the day wrapped her instantly in its warmth. Beyond the docks the ocean glittered, as if the sun were signaling a promise.

VERSION 2 :

The screen door slammed behind Marina. She tugged down on her sweatshirt hood against the onslaught of light, as if the sun itself were mocking her. Beyond the dock the ocean stretched forever, closing the island in like a prison.

See how different these two brief descriptions are? And how they show the difference between Kate and Marina’s emotions in the moment?

Contrary to how it may sound, the goal of description isn’t actually visualization. The goal is to show what a character is feeling through what they describe.
Writing good descriptions comes down to giving yours description a purpose.

We need to attach meaning to each description by using them to reveal our character’s fears or desires, highlighting their voice and mood, or showing foreshadowing.

People are driven all the time by their desires—whether conscious or subconscious—and the same is true for our characters. Is your character aware of what they desire? How can you make that clear in the description by showing their wants bleeding into how they process the world around them? The same goes for showing fears. You can show what your character is afraid of on the page without having them say, “I’m afraid of this”—especially if they’re in denial that they’re afraid of something.

Another way to add purpose and meaning to your description is by showing your character’s voice—what mood they’re in, who they are, and how they speak. Are they generally funny or serious? Are they optimistic or pessimistic? Are they a musician who notices sounds, or a painter who notices colors? You can use how a character describes something to show insight into how they’re feeling and what their personality is like.

You can also use descriptions to foreshadow things in your story. You can signal the importance of a thing by describing it in more or less depth. The Chekhov’s Gun principle suggests that if you’re specifically pointing out a detail or description, it needs to be important or used at some point in the story. When we use descriptions to foreshadow, that’s what we’re aiming for. If you’re giving readers details, they’ll usually assume that they are there for a reason and they’ll remember them, even if they’re not sure what they represent.

It’s also important to note that some of this is preference! As authors, we make choices all the time to decide what to include and what not to include, and you need to have agency over that choice—make those choices intentionally.

Here are some steps to take while describing:

👉🏻 What are you describing? Sketch out a description as if you are writing a police report. What are all the details you could pull from? Remember all the senses!

👉🏻 How does your character’s surroundings impact their emotions? What does a sight remind them of?

👉🏻 What does your character want? Take a moment to consider what your character most desires in the specific moment when you’re revealing/describing the “Thing” to your reader.

👉🏻 What is your character’s mood? Consider how your character is feeling in the moment when you are revealing/describing the “Thing.” Are their emotions tied to what you’re describing or disconnected? How might you project those feelings into the description?

👉🏻 What is your character afraid of? Whether they’re conscious or not, what threats might they look for in the “Thing” you’re describing?

👉🏻 What pieces or details of the “Thing” you’re describing will matter later in the story? Can you point them out to set stage pieces or foreshadow?

👉🏻 Pull from backstory. Does anything about the “Thing” you’re describing remind your character of something in their past? How do those memories make them feel?

Other tips and tricks include:

✨ Less is more. Pick a COUPLE distinguishing factors, trust readers will fill in the rest.

✨ Use sentence structure to show mood. Short sentences can indicate overwhelm, long sentences can evoke a sense of calm.

✨ Utilize all the senses. We experience life through more than just sight, how does a place feel? What does a person smell like? What senses are a character in tune to, given their current state of mind?

✨ Use visualization techniques. Sitting in a quiet space with your eyes closed, try to imagine your character’s bodily experience in a particular moment. This can give you a lot of ideas.

xo,