One of the challenges of writing a story is that you have to
take what you have imagined and convey that image to another person so that
they can have the same experience and enjoyment that you have had. If I held a
photo in my hand and you had to guess what it looked like . . . could you?
No. You would not have the slightest idea.
That is why it is important for you to become a writer who
knows how to describe the image that just passed through your thoughts. This
can become a problem since a story flows like a river and description can be a
large panoramic scene—that can potentially slow your story to a halt.
Sometimes slowing the pace of a story down has its uses. For
the most part a story has to have some kind of movement. After all, who wants
to read a ‘story’ that describes a chair in the most intricate manner . . . and
nothing ever happens. The reader might learn a lot about that chair. Most
people do not have the patience for that endeavor.
How to do it Right
Use your common senses. Use the extensive vocabulary that
exists. Don’t just tell your reader what happened. Take them by the shoulder,
push them into the flowing river, wait a moment and watch them flail about,
hear them scream, and listen for the chattering of their teeth. . . Get it? The
senses allow you to make the idea in your head more realistic. The scene
transforms from simple narrative summary into a dynamic descriptive scene.
Try sitting in your local coffee shop and observing all that
happens. What do you notice? What details become important to you? What
atmospheric elements attract your attention? These are all details that could
become an important element of the scene of a young (or old) writer sitting
down at a coffee shop, starting his or her first manuscript and getting past
the bog of writers block. (Terrible cliché)
Hesitate on This
Many of the articles posted online suggest that you should
avoid becoming too reliant on adjectives. The long list of adjectives is an element
of writing that might impair your ability to interest your reader.
This can be avoided by bringing the most important and
specific details to the attention of your reader. Most of the time, those
details can be shown by the actions of your character.
Show, Don’t Tell
is a phrase that will help strengthen your writing.
Try This
If you have a friend that is willing to help you write
better. Have them read what you’ve written. Ask them if they were confused or
bored. That will give you some immediate feedback. Don’t let them dictate what
you should write . . . but let them help point out some weak parts of your
writing.
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