Monday, February 25, 2013

Descriptions




When you're describing characters, do you give them a one or two word defining description? For example, a guy has "untrimmed facial hair". Then you use that description several more times for that particular character. That will work. The reader will remember the character and know immediately who you're referring to.

But why repeat the description? Consider other similar descriptive words that you can use. You could say "unshaven" or "scraggy" or "bristly" or even "stubbly". 

How about colors? Rather than saying her dress was blue or the house was painted blue, how about "robin's egg" or "indigo" or "steel blue". There are all kinds of words that show blue, like sapphire or marine. A "blue" can be  defined by adding another color or word, like "greenish blue" or reddish blue, or Dresden blue or peacock blue.

What if a character is feeling uneasy about something? That doesn't really give us an image of him or her. Is he restless? Jittery? Is she nervous? Fidgety? Ill at ease?

If a character is combative, is he defiant or belligerent? Scrappy or rambunctious?

Sometimes you know the exact word to describe someone or something. Sometimes you have to think about the best word to describe someone or something. You can use a thesaurus. Or a dictionary. Or you start your own list of descriptive words that you know or hear.

Get the right word rather than take the first word that comes to mind. Use the word that will immediately bring a visual into the reader's head -- the visual that you want them to have.

11 comments:

  1. This is a nice reminder. Descriptions are one of my weaknesses. Thanks :)

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  2. I love using my Thesaurus for descriptive words.

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  3. Great tip for a tough area. Descriptions are never my strong suit. :) I do have the book titled "Synonym Finder" (oddly, not called thesaurus), which I kept hearing about and finally bought. Great resource.

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  4. When I write my early drafts, I tend to write bare bones, focusing on plot. Later, as I revise, I slow down and start looking for places I can add descriptions. Your point about being precise is good advice...especially when identifying colors, odors, and sounds.

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  5. I have shelves above my desk. Up there, I have both Roget's Thesaurus and The Describer's Dictionary. Both old, but words haven't changed a whole lot over the years. But a newer thesaurus may have newer words. Hmmm.....

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  6. Good reminder. I realized in my short stories, everyone has curly hair. Different colors, but someone tucks a curl behind the ear, or somesuch nonsense. I need to expand my repetoire.

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    1. It's so easy to do that! I imagine we all have done something similar at one point or another.

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  7. Great advice. I usually try to clean up those 'repeated' descriptions and be more creative in the second draft.

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    1. For me, it's sometimes the second or third draft!

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  8. Excellent advice! I try to vary my words as much as possible but still catch myself going back to the same favorites over and over.

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    1. Yep. Especially on the first draft when I'm just looking to get it down.

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