The importance of descriptions

Before we begin this post I have a very important update to announce. I have been working alone on this blog, all the updates, courses and blog posts are getting a bit out of control, especially with online classes and assignments. Because of that I've decided to remove my free courses, and instead I would keep the necessary resources available for download, like a do-it-yourself course, after all the first step to finding your passion is self-discovery and I can merely prompt you, I cant do it for you, the rest is up to you.

These new courses will begin from February onwards, for now, this post is a short teaser on the first toolkit "How to show and not tell" which is a toolkit designed to help with descriptions and details to steady the pace of your story. This toolkit includes:

• 1 workbook

• 5 checklists

• 3 pages of worksheets

• A swipe file

• 6 modules

• A character description spreadsheet

• 2 diagrams/infographics

This is a short teaser of module one in the swipe file, which talks about the importance of description:

What are they? Why are they important? What's it all about? The first step in showing and not telling in your story is descriptions. Make the reader a part of your story, don't make it for them. The most interactive events are the best ones. Descriptions help the reader visualize what's going on, how the character feels and about its surroundings. Description is one of the three key elements in fiction, along with narrative and dialogue, which brings your story to life. Great description helps the reader to build a fully formed picture in their mind's eye; to understand what your character is going through and how the character sees Description creates a vivid picture for the reader, it allows them to open a gateway to your story and imagine themselves within your fictional world. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to go into detail about everything for every scene. It simply means that you have to be prudent in knowing when it’s required and why. You as a writer can elicit emotions within your reader, you create tension and atmosphere, and you create a sense of immediacy – a sense of being right there with the character. Great description helps the reader to build a fully formed picture in their mind’s eye; to understand what your character is going through and how the character sees his or her world. It creates a sense of the whole scene. Description isn’t about using pretty words and pages of complicated sentence structures to make a story, it’s about understanding the reason why you use it and when you use it that matters. It’s about conveying important information to the reader in strategic places. The idea here is not just simply to fill your pages with description in the vain hope of plumping your masterpiece; it’s about conveying four key things that will happen in your story: · Convey a sense of place/background · Convey a sense of emotion and mood · Convey a sense of tension/atmosphere · Convey a sense of action Scenes that include some of these can help focus your story. So how can you achieve this effectively? By remembering that you are telling the story, not actually being a part of it. Your reader is the one who will become part of it; they’ve purchased a ticket for your particular roller coaster ride and they want to experience everything you have to offer and enjoy every moment. Probably one of the best ways any writer can achieve this is through the use of the senses. In real life we perceive the world with our senses; we smell, we touch, we taste, we hear and we see, but so too must your reader. They want to feel and touch and taste and see your fictional world. Descriptions that incorporate sensory stimulation help the reader to transport themselves from real life to your character’s story. This is where the power of a writer’s observation and imagination mix with amazing results. To read the rest please wait a few days for the toolkits to be finalized