Write for a Reason

The Best Way to Approach Descriptions

October 05, 2023 Janet
The Best Way to Approach Descriptions
Write for a Reason
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Write for a Reason
The Best Way to Approach Descriptions
Oct 05, 2023
Janet

Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer, and get your books out into the world.

The best way to approach descriptions

When setting a scene, it's good to begin with a description of the general panorama before getting to the details. For example, if we have a scene in our novel where our characters are on a beach, we should begin our description with the sky, the cliffs behind, and any background noises and smells (e.g. the salty smell of the sea, the cry of the seagulls).

Once our readers have the big picture in their mind, it's time to bring them in a bit closer; people laughing and splashing in the waves, children building sandcastles, a boy throwing a stick for his dog . . .

Finally we need to zoom right in to show the details of our character and the action that takes place in this scene.

If we go straight to our characters and their actions without first giving a broad picture of the scene, readers might have to revise their mental picture, and that's annoying!

If you’d like lots more free creative writing tips,hop on over to write-for-a-reason.com, where you will find lots more resources and encouragement to help you write excellent, relevant, fun novels and get them into your readers’ hands.

If you haven’t yet done my free course, Gripping Beginnings, you can sign up and start immediately. This will help you grip your readers from the very first page of your story.

Don't put it off – today is a gift to use wisely! Only you can write your book, and if you have been called to write, someone's waiting for it.

Support the Show.

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)


Show Notes

Welcome to the Write for a Reason podcast. My name is Janet Wilson; I'm a publisher of Christian fiction for young people with Dernier Publishing. If you are a Christian, and new to writing stories for kids and teens, stay tuned for encouragement, creative writing tips and actionable strategies you can implement immediately to become a better writer, and get your books out into the world.

The best way to approach descriptions

When setting a scene, it's good to begin with a description of the general panorama before getting to the details. For example, if we have a scene in our novel where our characters are on a beach, we should begin our description with the sky, the cliffs behind, and any background noises and smells (e.g. the salty smell of the sea, the cry of the seagulls).

Once our readers have the big picture in their mind, it's time to bring them in a bit closer; people laughing and splashing in the waves, children building sandcastles, a boy throwing a stick for his dog . . .

Finally we need to zoom right in to show the details of our character and the action that takes place in this scene.

If we go straight to our characters and their actions without first giving a broad picture of the scene, readers might have to revise their mental picture, and that's annoying!

If you’d like lots more free creative writing tips,hop on over to write-for-a-reason.com, where you will find lots more resources and encouragement to help you write excellent, relevant, fun novels and get them into your readers’ hands.

If you haven’t yet done my free course, Gripping Beginnings, you can sign up and start immediately. This will help you grip your readers from the very first page of your story.

Don't put it off – today is a gift to use wisely! Only you can write your book, and if you have been called to write, someone's waiting for it.

Support the Show.

Like to do my free writing course, Gripping Beginnings?

Or perhaps you would like to join our membership group, for support while you write your novel?
Click on this link to find out more.

Oh, and do leave a review on your podcast app - it really does help a lot. Thank you! :-)