Description
This is a touchy subject for writers to address, for any number of good and bad reasons. I myself tend to avoid heavy description in my writing, first because I find it boring to read, and second, because I am not very good at it. However, practice makes the heart grow fonder (or something like that) and I figure it won’t do to simply ignore it.
There are many writing “camps” which approach the question of description in different ways. I find that, in any group of writers, the best way to draw the lines of battle is to mention Tolkien’s use of description. In general, you will find that either people love Tolkien’s use of descriptive language (though if they are smart, they will generally through the term “world building” in there, despite the fact they are only loosely related) or they will loathe it, and describe how numerous times they skipped whole chapters of boring, unnecessary prose.
Who is right? Neither really, because I don’t really think they are asking the right questions. Whether a description is long or short does not really matter, so long as a) it is effective in describing a scene or an action to your audience, and b) that same audience finds that description interesting and engaging. In discussing Tolkien, the second question is all that ever comes up, which is a shame, because whether you enjoy his description or not, you have to admit that it is evocative and creative. In the end, there isn’t much you can do to make your audience like your description, and it will largely come down to what your audience is expecting from your story. If they want a finely tuned, fantastical world, then they will love every passage of description you can muster. However, if they are longing for action and plot, then the faster you can set the scene and start the action, the better.
For the next set of entries, I’ll be focusing on these questions, and a few key techniques I’ve been trying to hone in my own writing that I feel are important for any writer, regardless of how you feel about description itself. Up first, we’ll take a look at precision, and its importance to description and your writing as a whole.
