Descriptive Writing by Lucy E.M. Black

Descriptive Writing
by Lucy E.M. Black

Descriptive writing has a unique ability to cast a spell on the reader, to draw them in so they can see
and think and feel what your narrator and/or characters are communicating. It should evoke
emotions, sights, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes. And it should cover the basic 5 Ws (who,
where, why, what, when).

When it is successful, descriptive writing will create a visual picture or mood for the reader. It will
help them to form clear images of the story you are telling, and will provide insight into the
characters you have constructed.

We owned a farm at the edge of a protected moraine. The well water was cold and sweet
and tasted of fresh wind and summer breezes. The walls of the house had music in them,
trapped Methodist hymns once sung in the parlour. When you were very still, you could
hear the lingering notes. The building itself swayed in a storm and rocked us to sleep while
the weather and the world raged outside. We were cradled in that space and safely kept.
(Wormies, Queen’s Quarterly, Spring 2023)

This example should provide a sense of mood for the piece, along with the fact that the narrator is
inside an old farmhouse in the country and that s/he feels fortunate to be there. The dominant
feelings conveyed is one of comfort and happiness, with a sense of privilege, and maybe even a
touch of romance or magic.

Sensory Details can be an important feature of descriptive writing. There are five senses that can be
referenced: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. The paragraph above includes taste (well water was cold
and sweet), sound (walls of the house) and touch (rocked us to sleep). Writers are often told to show don’t
tell. Injecting sensory detail will assist in moving the narrative away from telling into showing or
experiencing.

Vivid Language is a hallmark of descriptive writing. When describing the walls in the writing sample above,
we’re told that they contained trapped Methodist hymns once sung in the parlour. That description hints at
the age of the house as well as its history. The use of vivid language helps to create a picture for the reader.
Dynamic word choice is also helpful when writing vivid description. Words like trapped, tasted, sung,
rocked, raged and cradled imply energy and action in a way that contribute to the power of the description.

Sound also plays into the feel of your writing, as word choice, sentence length, and use of alliteration* all
create a language rhythm which contributes to the description.

Headlamps illumine ghostly puddles of moist earth as they move forward, and these gentle
harvesters softly advance through the disremembered clearing. The field is dank with dew, and
whispery strands of weed and grass daub watery tracings. Deftly, the bodies straighten and curve,
and straighten and curve again in a silent repetition while delicately plucking the long, thin creature
from the sward, dropping them lightly into small Styrofoam tubs. These are stealthy and soundless
acts, motions that ebb and flow in quieted waves, leaving only footprints that melt without trace.
(Wormies, Queen’s Quarterly, Spring 2023)

*alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely
connected words.

In the writing sample provided, alliteration is used twice (dank with dew) (stealthy and soundless), in
conjunction with word choices that are intentionally chosen for their sound (illumine as opposed to
illuminate), (disremembered as opposed to forgotten or abandoned). Selection and placement of such
word choices contributes to the poetic tone of description which, in turn, contributes to the overall impact
or mood. Read your work aloud and listen for “clunks” and awkward word choices.

Pacing also matters. When reading your work aloud, make sure that the writing is not bogged down by
extraneous detail and description. Finding that balance is often challenging! During the editing process, be
prepared to slash details that weigh the writing down.

Point-of-View should always inform your writing. If your narrator is an uneducated labourer, the
descriptions s/he provides must be consistent with their character, their education and their speech
patterns. You must remember to reflect on the world as your character experiences it.

I hope this is helpful to your writing.