All Write - Fiction Advice

Some writers are naturally brilliant at description, while others are unsure and less confident about it, and probably afraid to use it because they feel they are not that good at it. But every writer has different skill levels, and every writer approaches their writing in their own way. That’s what makes writing unique. Description need not be feared. In simple terms, it’s simply about adding extra details to a scene. But even if you don’t have much confidence in your ability to show rather than tell, which is what description is, it’s really all down to practice. The more you do it, the better you’ll become at enhancing your writing. It’s all down to what you’re writing, and what’s happening in that scene at that moment. In simple terms, think about the scene you’re writing, whether it’s a tense, atmospheric scene, an action scene or a reflective or romantic scene, and then think about what’s happening with the characters in that scene, and then create your descriptions aroun

A lot of my work involves editing other authors, and if there is one thing that is most overlooked where writing is concerned, it’s description. Even the most talented writers forget the need to describe things, and that means a well thought out story won’t work half as effectively as it should – it’s flat and emotionless. Description is important. It’s the one thing guaranteed to take your reader from their present reality to the heart of your fictional story. They won’t see that fictional world without some sensory detail to guide them; they won’t become part of it unless you describe it and they visualise it. That’s how imagination works. You describe and they imagine. If you don’t allow your readers to do this, your story will fail. This is why the ‘show, don’t tell’ mantra should never be ignored - it’s there for a very good reason. It’s a reminder to writers what storytelling is .   Don’t tell the reader about the shadows lurking down a dark corridor...show them by descr