3. Setting the Stage
Some new writers mistakenly believe that description is “telling.” Some just forget to put it in. That is easy to do when you, the writer, can see the story in your head. But a good writer must write in a way so that the reader can see what is in the writer’s head. Think of yourself as a movie camera operator. Everything that you record through your lens must be translated onto paper. Don’t leave things out!
Description is too important to the story to be left out. It creates the environment that your characters will live in. How can you incorporate it?
Always try to set the stage right away at the beginning of a new scene or location. Give a quick overall description of the room/landscape/vehicle. One sentence might be enough, or maybe you’ll need a paragraph or two.
Think of this as setting the stage. If you were to see a play, the curtain opens and you see the set. Everything you see is a part of the story. A character cannot suddenly pull a kitchen sink from thin air. If there is a kitchen sink in the room, the audience should have been able to see it from the start.
The same should apply in describing a scene in your novel. Give the reader the important details of the set. If you plan to have a character pick up a chair and throw it later in the scene, you’d better plant that chair in your initial description. Having a chair magically appear when the character needs it will be confusing to the reader if your description didn’t mention there were any chairs in the room. Make sense?
I cannot take credit for this description genius. I learned it during the edits for my first novel from my editor Jeff Gerke. He has an awesome book out called The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction, which, even if you aren’t writing Christian fiction, is an AMAZING book to teach you more about writing. Click on the title to check it out. Jeff is also working on a new book tentatively called Plot vs. Character: the divided novelist’s guide to writing balanced fiction. I’ll keep you posted on this book when I know more.
God, i love these. I have to revise my chapter after reading this, but its all good:P
Quick question: Im starting to think some of my descriptions are kinda droll. Like this is like this. Then this is like this. And this is that coulour. You know? Is there any way i can solve that choppy order?
Mr. Blah,
I don’t bother with editing sentence structure until I have the first draft done. But if you are in editing stage, which it sounds like you are, then you want to try and vary your sentence lengths and structure. Mix some short sentences in with the long ones. Often, you can delete the “This is” part of the sentence entirely. Most the time, all sentences are stronger if you can cut the “to be” verbs: is, was, had been.
Ex: A cottage sat in the woods. The walls were stone and mason. The roof was covered in wilted thatch. The front door was red.
Better Ex: The red door caught his eye first. Under a canopy of thick willow trees, almost hidden from view, sat a stone and mason cottage. Its wilted thatch roof blended in with the willow leaves, but the an arched front door painted bright red gleamed as if freshly painted.
It takes time to develop your voice. I suggest picking up a few of your favorite novels, find some descriptions in there, and study them. Everyone does it a bit differently, which is part of what give an author a unique voice.
The trick in deleting “was” in description is to give character to your scene. What are these things doing?
Ex: There was a weeping willow in front of the house.
Better Ex: A big weeping willow grew in the front yard, shading the house from the blazing sun and swaying gently in the breeze.
Even Better?: A giant weeping willow shaded the house, the wind sweeping its long branches over the roof like a parent protecting a child.
With description, its also important to choose the best descriptive word. Stay away from vague ones. “Massive” or “giant willow” is better than “big tree.”
*shrugs* Hope that helps some. 🙂