While I do not know how adept I am at describing my processes, I figure it’s better to try than not, because the topic for this post is writing description! Writing description is one of my favorite things to do in writing. Kind of. There’s a lot of things I like about writing.
First of all, this is basic knowledge, but it’s important you use all kinds of senses in description. Not only does it improve your work, but it also includes people who may not have certain senses, such as smell, sight, sound, etc. While writing this I thought, “Well, there’s some exceptions, like when someone screams, what else can you do but say they scream?” But then I realized I was literally ignoring one of my favorite things to do, which is translating senses into different senses. I feel the best way to describe this is with some examples.
“The choked shriek crashes into you like a wave, drenching your psyche in icy terror that sends prickles across your skin.”
“The deep red and magenta hues of the dress brought to mind the feeling of smooth gemstones.”
“The hot cocoa smelt like soft, cozy moments by the fireplace.”
Of course, these have to make sense, but also I’m the type of person that feels these things sometimes. Birds chirping being popping bubbles of colors sounds like it makes sense to me. An emotion feeling mustard yellow makes sense to me. For someone who doesn’t feel these things, I’d imagine they’d have to draw off of researching symbolisms and thinking about association. Ironically I struggle on how to describe crafting this method. I ask, “Why does X feel like X?” Does a bite feel like a kiss because the character is so used to being bitten? Does the personality of someone feel minty green because they’re calm? Things like that.
There are a bunch of more tips I can think of, but I don’t want to make this blog too long. Hope this mini talk helped!
i love hearing your literary process, especially since you can so easily view the developmental nature of words
I live for learning about others people processes even if it’s with art forms I don’t enjoy.
1. I thought the title said “Mini talk on depression.”
2. I’m so bad about writing descriptions. I either give too little or give too much. When I give too much, I give the wrong info.