All Questions
Tagged with description creative-writing
86 questions
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What's the literary term for saying you "see fireworks" when there are no fireworks?
So, like the question says, basically. Say a character kisses someone and the writing says "she saw fireworks exploding behind her closed eyes", what is that? Because it seems like it comes ...
- 71
3
votes
2
answers
93
views
Difficulty describing a complex image in a single sentence
I am having difficulty explaining that the sun evaporated the fog that had brushed up against the blooming hills. When I add "with spectacular wildflower blooms", it sounds as if the sun ...
- 61
3
votes
2
answers
274
views
I want to describe a young man sitting astride on a chair, leaning his forearms on the top of the back
I want to describe a young man sitting astride on a chair, leaning his forearms on the top of the back. I am aware that I am focusing too much on the mechanics of the posture, and I will deal with the ...
- 33
1
vote
2
answers
407
views
I need help writing a scene or experience about air being knocked out of you
How would you write a scene of someone trying to breath again after getting the wind knocked out of them?
I am trying to describe the experience and how your body reacts physically while your brain ...
0
votes
4
answers
174
views
Which Is Clearer: 'Being pressed' or 'Pressed'?
Consider these two sentences:
[1] Being pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
[2] Pressed against the wall, he struggled to break free.
I've recently spent some time reading grammar ...
- 75
2
votes
2
answers
147
views
How to refer to alternate versions of a character in a non-sci-fi way?
I'm writing a story featuring a plot element which is a variation on A Christmas Carol involving the multiverse. A character is escorted to other timelines, where she looks at where those versions of ...
- 683
1
vote
3
answers
219
views
Knife meets eye socket question
I'm writing a story and want to immerse the readers by describing the sound of a knife being pulled out of an eye socket. I can't think of a good word. It'd be descriptive, wet, and grating. It could ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
343
views
How to describe a sinister expression
I'm a noob at writing and I wanted to find out how to describe someone's face contorting into a sinister expression. I'm having a bit of trouble doing so. The most prominent features I want to focus ...
1
vote
1
answer
148
views
How to I describe a kissing scene that’s off guard?
I have to write a really spicy kissing scene where the mob boss kisses a random girl who has never been kissed before, who is beyond shocked at his actions. Only to find out that he kissed her to get ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
266
views
Describing light like water
I am currently working on writing a storyline for a text-based videogame. I am trying to describe how there is very little light coming into the room that the character is entering, as the window is ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
562
views
How do you describe the sound of a body being dragged through the snow? [closed]
How to describe the sound of a body bring dragged through snow
- 11
11
votes
2
answers
7k
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Alternatives to raising eyebrows to show surprise
I’m trying to reduce the number of clichés in my manuscript, and I’ve found 11 instances of characters raising their eyebrows. A couple I don’t mind, but it feels like too many.
What other actions can ...
- 323
2
votes
3
answers
120
views
How can I spot if my story is being stalled or interrupted, and how do I arrange my writing so that it continues to move?
I would like for my story to continue moving, but I find that I interrupt action with details or inner thoughts, mood, emotion, etc. Hence, how can I spot an interruption in my writing that could ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
102
views
How do I differentiate between mood, description, and action, and how do I reorganize my writing to focus on them in order to keep my writing moving?
I am trying to implement focus into my writing since I believe that is one of the many traits my writing lacks. It is not focus on the central idea, but description, action, and mood.
I have seen ...
- 11
1
vote
3
answers
2k
views
What are some ways to describe a character's clothing?
I have a hard time viewing clothing outside of the simplest descriptors. A shirt is just a shirt, shoes are simply shoes, pants, etc.
Basically, what I'm asking for is some clothing terminology?
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
How would I describe the feeling of being buried alive realistically?
For context, this would be from the POV of children who are trapped in a high-rise office building during a monster attack in the city. They wouldn't have any injuries from the event; they would just ...
1
vote
1
answer
368
views
Does anyone know any specific words that can be used to describe a character flying?
I feel like I've used words like "floating" and "hovering" too often, to the point of tedium.
3
votes
3
answers
349
views
How does one go about describing subtle movements in characters actions?
I'm struggling with figuring out a way to describe subtle movements in a scene that wouldn't normally be picked up on if not shown. For example:
A character is being put in a prison cell and another
...
- 441
3
votes
3
answers
2k
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Help with describing an unconscious character
One of the characters in my book, the narrator, is suddenly knocked unconscious. How would I describe what he sees/feels?
Do I just have a big timeskip, with him confused as to what happened when he ...
- 727
3
votes
2
answers
89
views
How to maintain vivid description for recurring elements without repetition?
For my current project, the use of vivid description is essential for carrying across the particularly alien experience of the protagonist. This leads to a problem, however, when my protagonist needs ...
- 131
1
vote
6
answers
431
views
Is it bad if you start all your chapters with a description of the surroundings?
Is it bad if you start all your chapters with a description of the surroundings? I wrote 4 chapters and it looks terrible, because I always start in a room and I am just describing the room with the ...
user36239
1
vote
3
answers
341
views
How would a character with a certain personality react in a certain situation? [closed]
I'm at a point in my story where the main character(M17) was in a huge car crash. He'd been in an overturned vehicle for about 10 minutes and had sustained heavy damage. A few of his friends had come ...
- 441
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How should you describe turning pages quickly? [closed]
I want to describe this action. How should I describe this action?
- 255
0
votes
2
answers
208
views
What are some examples of the "simple but vivid" description that Chekhov talks about in the quote below?
(The quote below is from one of Chekhov's letters to other Russian writer, Maxim Gorky.)
Your nature descriptions are artistic; you are a true landscape
painter. But your frequent personifications (...
4
votes
7
answers
1k
views
Alternative to "it is commonly said"
I have a sentence I am trying to write that just doesn't feel right. It currently reads "It is commonly said that X, but the truth is that Y." The second part feels okay, but the first part feels like ...
- 182
1
vote
3
answers
369
views
How can I describe an incredible release of power, realistically [closed]
In my writing, a goddess is removed from her position as a god and reduced to a human. (See my previous question) At the moment of the loss of power huge amounts of energy would be released into the ...
0
votes
2
answers
182
views
Where to draw the line between bloody and purely repulsive?
Violence and gore are an integral part of my story. However, I can usually keep the focus on the emotions, and the reactions, rather than the description of the injury.
My problem comes with one of ...
- 3,347
2
votes
3
answers
113
views
Do we simplify descriptions when they sound weird? [closed]
The woman said as she pulled a small coin out of a small wallet ... The
woman said as she pulled a small coin out of a small box she
opened/used earlier.
I am wondering if "opened" or "used" is ...
user36239
1
vote
2
answers
241
views
How to convey the anatomy of a humanoid race? [closed]
I am writing a extra-terrestrial high fantasy novel. The story is completely set in an alien world. No visits from Earth and no visits to Earth.
My characters are humanoids, who look like elves, ...
- 957
7
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How to realistically describe pain?
So, I was doing a writing excersie, I came up with, to help me with sentence structuring and developing my style. One thing, I ran into, however, was that I couldn't describe pain very well.
The ...
- 3,347
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is this kind of description not recommended?
I think I read somewhere that when writing, you shouldn't describe characters by their characteristics
i.e.
The tall man walked across the room
Is this true? Maybe I'm misremembering
- 2,041
3
votes
1
answer
105
views
How do we follow up a description within a descriptive text with another description?
How do we follow up a description within a descriptive text with another description? Let's say you mention A and B in the first sentence, and then follow up with a long description of B, how do you ...
user36239
2
votes
3
answers
227
views
What's wrong with impersonal and lifeless descriptions in a novel? [closed]
It feels like there is something wrong with using impersonal descriptions in fiction. But what is it?
As an example, I'm unhappy with the following passage I wrote, because the descriptions aren't ...
user36239
3
votes
1
answer
98
views
How do we properly manage transitions within a descriptive section? [closed]
I wrote the following:
She invited him to look out the window, which he did. He looked out of
the gray window and saw a field of green vegetables under a lush blue
sky. Children were playing in ...
user36239
3
votes
2
answers
258
views
How can I emphasize the horror of a ritual without getting too overly graphic?
A person is born with a certain amount of mana, which increases with age and peaks at a certain point. Individuals are born with all the mana they will ever have, but it can be refined with practice ...
- 1,991
5
votes
3
answers
224
views
When is using a simile better than giving a literal description?
Definition of simile
: a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses)
Similes are nice tools that every narrator has (even if I'...
- 15.9k
17
votes
11
answers
9k
views
Describing a chess game in a novel
I have a scene in a upcoming novel where two people play a game of chess, and I realized how difficult it was to describe it. The problem is due to the fact that there are many pieces and you can't ...
user36239
1
vote
3
answers
7k
views
How do we succintly describe a boxing match?
I am writing a short story, and the boxing match which comes after 2/3 of the story is likely to exceed the length of the entire story, so how do you cut the action short? Do you describe the match ...
user36239
8
votes
3
answers
465
views
Knowing when to use pictures over words
When writing about food, be it a cookbook or a food blog, as long as the media supports it, the use of pictures is going to make a difference in the quality of the work. So when I am writing about ...
- 4,471
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What are some ways of extending a description of a scenery?
I find it very hard sometimes to describe a scenery, especially when the features are very bland, like you describe a city where all of the buildings are tall and look about the same or a plain with ...
user36239
22
votes
8
answers
29k
views
How to write painful torture scenes without being over-the-top
I'm trying to write torture scenes but I'm not really all that confident about it since I've never written anything like it before and have never really witnessed anything violent. I know the methods ...
- 221
16
votes
5
answers
2k
views
How much description is necessary?
I have trouble imagining things. With me everything is blurred, as if I were almost blind. That's why I find it hard to describe things. For example, the protagonists enter a castle. I have a very ...
- 261
2
votes
3
answers
159
views
How can I make distinctions between a hive-mind and a super consciousness?
Not sure if this is a worldbuilding or writing question, but here it goes.
In this setting, gods of humanity are beings of absolute order that exist in another plane of existence. They are ...
- 1,991
0
votes
1
answer
136
views
Describing new/strange foods [closed]
Alright, another question from the POV of Eris, my unreliable narrator living in a post-apocalyptic world who has just met other humans and is experiencing a variety of new things. She just met a ...
user34214
2
votes
3
answers
797
views
How to describe a horse from the POV of someone who has never seen one? [closed]
In my story, my narrator has only recently met other humans and the biggest creature she has ever interacted with are dogs. In the survivors' camp, she encounters their horses and is pretty freaked ...
user34214
5
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Best way to write chilling, short thriller/horror without getting gory in a natural setting?
What are the tricks to writing short, chilling stories that don't resort to blood or cliched monsters, in a setting in nature of hunter/hunted?
EDIT: While this edit isn't meant to invalidate any of ...
- 663
3
votes
0
answers
48
views
Describing something I've never been through [duplicate]
I have this young character who grows up to be very strong and powerful but while he was young he was still discovering how strong he was. This incident happened to a friend he's protective of. He ...
Dorrien
40
votes
7
answers
6k
views
How often should I remind my readers of the setting?
My story takes place in a city during a hard winter: streets are covered with snow, the wind is blowing, the river is frozen. I describe all the setting in the very first scene. My character leaves ...
- 767
6
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do I describe an accidental kiss between the two main characters that is romantic as well as regretful?
How do I describe an accidental kiss between the two main characters?
I want to make it so they got caught up in the situation and that both of them apologise to each other after that, like a kiss ...
- 370
19
votes
9
answers
5k
views
Is it ok to reference something modern to give the reader a better idea of what something looks like if the book is set in the Middle Ages?
This is a random example but would it be bad if I said something like this when the book is set in a historical setting: “Edwards sword was black and shiny like a brand new car” is it not ok? Should I ...
- 1,654