Friday, March 2, 2012

Description Exercises

Have you ever had a conversation and then walk away thinking, "I should have said that!" You know... hindsight! Don't we all wish we had that! Well that's what I love about blogs. I can say "hey I should of said that or added that" and here I am editing! A comment from IntricateKnot and you can find her blog here  http://intricateknot.blogspot.com/ triggered an AHA moment for me. So with much ado I have to add to this blog post :-))
I was reading a blurb a couple of weeks ago for this one book and the description in the paragraph was mind blowing and not in a good way. They way overdid their description to the point that 12 words out of 20, I didn't know if they were actual words that I could find in the dictionary or if they were made up words, but this got me to thinking about my own writing and I realized I don't describe enough. I tend to rely heavily on dialogue between my characters and make my readers use their imagination, maybe sometimes too much!
So I'm thinking there has got to be a fine line there somewhere. Where do you find it? Or do you? Do you rely too much on the dialogue or too much on the description? I'd love to hear how you balance out the two.


Good Morning and Happy Friday! It is VERY WINDY in my area this morning and it has triggered my blog post for today.
How do you describe the wind? What if it's a blustery wind? Exactly what is a blustery wind? Well according to my dictionary Blustery is
3. vi blow loudly in gusts: to blow in sudden loud gusts (refers to winds)

What is wind? According to the dictionary
1. moving air: air moving across the surface of the planet or through the atmosphere at a speed fast enough to be noticed 
So how do you describe it? What if you needed to describe wind to someone who has never felt it?

What about water? Or try explaining a lush green lawn to someone who can't see it.
Sometimes it's easier to describe solid objects. A person, a house, things we can touch or hold.

But explaining thoughts, feelings, actions, and emotions can be difficult at times.
Take the time to look around you today and work on describing things you see and can't see. .Picture yourself describing these thing to someone who can't see or feel  them. Have fun with it!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!     

8 comments:

  1. Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest to explain, but going back to the basics, like the dictionary, always helps. Hope the tornado generating storms pass you by.

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  2. Hi Jo! Yep, the dictionary comes in handy. Not to worry about the winds I'm in CA. We have strong winds, but not tornado ones. :-)

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  3. Hey, Karen. Oh...I know a lot about CA winds! Seen lots of big trucks blown over by them. Been lucky, though, not ours. Just bought Kyle and Kelly on Amazon. Looking forward to reading it! If you get a chance, stop by my blog. Thanks!

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    1. Hi Jo! How are things with you? I grew up here and you would think I'd be used to these winds by now, but... And it's windy again today. No wonder I've had a headache the last few days. Do you have loads out to CA very often? Overturned trucks? Yes, especially on the 15 just west of the Cajon Pass, terrible place for trucks during these winds.
      Thank You I hope you enjoy it. If you get a chance please leave a review on Amazon. Good or bad, I'm always open to suggestions. :-)
      Well I hope you have a great day. Stay safe and I am headed over to your blog now.

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  4. Excellent writing exercise! Descriptions can definitely trip us up...either getting too long and windy (hah!) or sparse and boring. Thanks, Karen! :)

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    1. Yep you are right! And your comment triggered me to write more to this post, so if you get a chance go back and read the 2 new paragraphs I added at the top.
      Oh and it is still windy here! Love your pun! lol!

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    2. You are so right on! Balancing dialogue with description is a delicate process. I tend to be heavier on the description and I'm constantly going back over my stuff and editing out unnecessary words, phrases, etc. Love the addition you made to your post and thanks so much for the plug. :)

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