Long time no see, bootiful hoomans!

As the title suggests, we are gonna talk about descriptions feat. POVs.

I'll admit this at the start, I'm not an expert in writing. I'm still learning, especially when it comes to descriptions and writing style. If anyone has read any two books of mine, I'm sure you will notice a difference. If you actually compare my first book to my latest one, there is a huge and I mean, big as an elephant gap. At least, that's how I feel.

I think y'all know what description means but to clear up any misunderstandings or confusion, here is the definition:

Description is the pattern of narrative development that aims to make a place, object, character, or group vivid. Description is one of four rhetorical modes, along with exposition, argumentation, and narration.

(Yes, I copy-pasted from wiki.)

To put it simply, drawing a picture with words. It can be a picture of a person or place or just some scenario.

Is it difficult?

Extremely.

Now, let's go back to, say third grade and describe your day. Very simple and I'm sure we all did it once upon a time. The below is an example of how a third-grader would describe their day.

I wake up at seven o'clock. I brush my teeth and go to the toilet. I take a bath. I go downstairs. I eat breakfast. I get dressed for school. My mom does my hair and gives me kisses. She drops me at school. I meet my friends and teachers. I study. I come home.

You can't imagine how hard it was for me to write this seriously. And I can't tell you exactly how many times I've seen Wattpad writers write like this. Seriously, no lie, there are books like this. But let's not start the dissing session right here.

The point is, there's a difference between a writer and a kid learning to make sentences in a way they understand. We are just old enough to understand more than just simple sentences and we have a good enough vocabulary too.

So, let's go back to describing your day in the first person point of view first, fit for a book more importantly.

I wake up to the sound of the alarm clock blaring, the sound an irritating noise in my ears. Sitting up in the bed, I run a hand over my face, rubbing my eyes to chase away the last vestiges of sleep. Moving to my hair, I bury my fingers in my hair, giving my scalp a good scratch.

After spending a few more minutes on the bed in an attempt to prolong greeting the new day, I move on with my usual morning routine. Dressing up quickly in the school uniform I make my way downstairs to have my breakfast.

I think that wraps up the description of waking up. This particular scene is common enough in Wattpad books but should be avoided unless it's of any significance to your character. I touched on that topic previously, so I won't elaborate. This is just an example.

Similarly, we can write the same scene in a Third person point of view as well. But here, I will take a different scene or say picture to depict in words because that's all description is about.

It was a hot summer day. The sun was high overhead, showing no mercy to the beings living down below. He ran his hand over his face, wiping off the sweat gathered on his brow, lest it fell on his glasses. He huffed as he continued to walk in the blistering heat, seeking the comfort of some shade. But there was none to be found on the coconut tree-lined dirt path. He could walk on the right side of the road though, where the foliage was dense but he was scared of the beings hidden in the greenery. Alas, he tortured himself walking in the heat, the wind not of any aid as he made his way home.   

The paragraph above is pretty direct in terms of explaining what is going on, how the weather is and how it's affecting the character. But even then it tells us about the character a lot without making it look like information overload. We learnt little things about the character along with his purpose for walking.

Coming to the more technical aspect of writing, we have to remember a few key points.

Over describing:
While writing, we obviously get lost in the flow if we are motivated and what happens then is we write too much. The sentences end up becoming wordy and they only drag when it's completely unnecessary. You must have come across a great writer with great vocabulary and everything but sometimes even they end up over describing a scene. This could be because they used metaphors in each sentence such as, ‘sweet a honey’, ‘pink as roses’, ‘bittersweet like dark chocolate’, and so on.

Using metaphors and similes is good but not in every sentence. I remember my English teacher told us that we should use an idiom or phrase only once every paragraph. That was for writing answers and well, you should know the Indian education system, especially when it comes to English, was quite different when I was studying it. But over the years I've been reading, I have noticed that it is just as true for writing a story.

So, the first point, do not over-describe by getting lost in the flow.

Under describing (I really don’t know if it's a word but who cares? This is my guide):
Not describing a scene with enough words is worse than over-describing. Imagine reading a book that has nothing besides the basic info like who is the character and what they are doing. I’m reading such a book right now and let me tell you, it's not only boring but it's also affecting my writing skills.

So, even if you find it hard, at least try adding a few more words to describe what your character is doing. In a book, a character can't simply walk, they walk briskly, fast, slow, turtle-like, with a bounce in their step, etc. You got me? Adding a little bit can take you far.

Word vomit:
You know those specific paragraphs that are dedicated to how the character looks? They go like, 'I'm 5'7 with a thick-thin body and I'm wearing a black skirt with a white tight shirt and I look smokin' hot'. Oh, and that's not all, they continue to describe how the friend, the villain bish, the popular boy, the bully, the nerd, the teacher, the teacher's wife and a random kid and an old lady on the side of the road and the crush dress. So, yeah, you got my point?

Just don't. Don't do that. I beg you, don't do that. The reader is gonna stop reading the moment you do that. Say bye bye to votes and reads.

I mean, why would you even do that? Is it a fashion catalogue or something? And do you really think people are gonna remember the outfit after two more paragraphs? No, they won't. But, describing what your character is wearing is just as important, isn't it? I'll give an example of how you can do it without making it look like an information dump.

1. Her black skirt fluttered around her knees, the cold winds making her shiver. The white shirt she had chosen to wear today wasn't thick enough to provide her any warmth and the lack of any jacket or coat made her wrap her arms around herself.

2. He whipped his thin shirt over his head, the heat of June making it hard to even breathe. The grey shorts he wore were better though and it's not like he could lounge around in nothing but his underwear; that would be just stupid.

3. Aera twirled in front of her mirror. She smiled in satisfaction as the skirt of her emerald green dress spun around her legs. The top fit her snuggly, accentuating her curves and the cinching at her waist perfectly. It made her pretty and powerful.

Better?
The key point is to include receptory senses—how something feels, how the weather is or how the surroundings or the dress itself makes the character feel or how it affects them. It all comes together to form a mental image and your character looks more human. 

Images:
This is the last section and a very important one. No matter who does it or no matter who tells you to do it, do not use pictures in between the paragraphs to show your readers what you have in mind. I mean there are certain books that do need images but those are fantasy books where they need to show a map of the world they’ve created. But those authors explain the topography nonetheless because it's a book and a book is made out of words not images+words, that will become a comic.

Another additional thing to avoid is adding the author's note in smoothly going writing, it breaks the reader's flow of reading and quite honestly, it's annoying. Do it in the very beginning or very end. The same goes for any image or gif which is absolutely necessary to set the mood, either in the beginning or end.

The next is something I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with and complain about. It's about how to set a tone for your writing. Like it happens a lot, people with the same idea write something but both give different vibes. While one might be really well described with great flow and everything, the other might look dull and unappealing.

A lot of people have a habit of putting it on their talents or creativity. No one was born with a certain talent, we've learnt everything the other ‘good’ writers did while growing up. The difference is that they were willing to learn from each and every source available. Writing, as opposed to what most believe, can be learnt as long as you are capable to think soundly, have creativity and have the willingness to learn it.

How would you achieve it though? Simple, use Google, duh.

No, I'm serious. I’ve learnt a lot of things from Google ever since I started writing seriously. I searched up different articles about writing and the trends and the stories that are popular. Since my desire to read knows no bounds, I end up reading a lot of books online instead of buying them, or simply borrowing from friends.

You can learn a lot from just reading and studying the writing style, to be honest. One of my go-to life pro tips for writing would be to read a good book that matches your writing style or the writing style you wish to achieve while writing.

How does it exactly work? When you read a good book, your mood is uplifted, you start getting engrossed in the book which affects how you think and perceive things. It directly affects your writing. If you read well, you write well. I mentioned above how the writing style of a particularly bad book was affecting me, it damn near sent me in a writer's block. So, keep your mind activated while writing.

Use thesaurus to find fancy words, expand your vocabulary so your descriptions don't turn wordy but at the same time makes the reading experience much better.

I think this is all for now but if you have any questions, you can put them in the comments here  ☞￣ᴥ￣☞

I have been thinking about making a discord server lately with the same concept as this guide. Since my schedule has changed recently, I find it difficult to write about anything but I also don’t wanna keep anyone hanging. If you like the idea of a writers server where we can hold discussions and share tips with each other, do let me know and I’ll work on creating a server.

Now, for the joke of the day…
Singing in the shower is fun until you get soap in your mouth.

Then it's a soap opera! 🤣🤣🤣