Questions tagged [description]
Painting a picture with a thousand words.
305
questions
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1answer
82 views
How do I tastefully handle a female-to-male transforming character?
My character is a girl who is later revealed in my story to be under a curse that allows her to transform into an older man. She is sharing a body with a powerful male spirit who can take control and ...
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3answers
101 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 ...
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2answers
511 views
How do we end a description properly?
Sometimes, I have trouble coming up with a way to end a description properly, especially one that's at the very end of a chapter. What are some of the things you can do, especially when the ...
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2answers
504 views
How to describe a character when writing in First Person [duplicate]
Can someone give me ideas to describe my POV character to my reader when I am writing in First Person. I ask this because it's unnatural for a character to describe their appearance in their mind. I ...
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1answer
352 views
Where to put a description of characters that have a uniform?
In my novel, the protagonist starts out as a runaway slave, and I want to point out to the reader that she is avoiding those who are in charge of slaves who all wear a uniform involving a blue shirt ...
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4answers
3k views
How do i describe a vampire from the perspective of someone who has no idea what they are?
The concept of my story is that i would rewrite the story of the first ever vampire in a medieval setting, and from two perspectives, one from the vampire's friend and brothers in arms, and the other ...
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2answers
1k views
Chopped sentences with too many conjunction, and repeating the subject again and again
I have tendency to write chopped sentences with too many conjunctions, repeating the subject again and again. I don't want that but I'm not skilled in English.
For example how do write the following ...
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1answer
101 views
How to deal with Infalliable Narrator issue?
So, what I'm writing is a novel where I'm the narrator who describes life events of my another self. The whole story revolves around this character. This page contains the following passage in the ...
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1answer
131 views
How to add a new word to the dictionary
Background
Okay, so I've decided now is my personal time to shine! I have thought of a great new word, and want to add it to the dictionary. Theoretically, if enough people read my book and see this ...
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2answers
478 views
Am I just a coward, or will my reader be a coward too?
So I was trying to write about creatures that would vomit maggots, and then a different creature would lick it back up and vomit it out again to keep the meal going around. There was loads of maggots ...
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3answers
169 views
Whether to describe personality of a character or let the readers deduce it based on the actions
I am facing this situation where description of the personality of a character is quite important. Is it good to describe the personality traits or shall I let the readers deduce it based on the ...
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2answers
55 views
Does descriptive language in written fiction work as well as physical characterization in visual media?
Character design in visually oriented works (comic books, film, television) is often a useful shorthand for making characters stand out and be memorable in terms of their appearance. For example, ...
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2answers
104 views
Are there any good alternatives to "a fire inside" of someone?
I'm trying to express the idea of a character undergoing a realisation, thus feeling an idea along the lines of a "fire being ignited inside of him".
However, I was wondering, are there any better ...
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2answers
222 views
Setting exposition vs scene descriptions
If my main character goes to a new building – let's say in the beggining of a short story – and I describe the facade and the design of the building, is this exposition (i.e. information that is not ...
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1answer
96 views
In a script - Is it ok to have a general description of a character “YOUNG MAN”, then the actual description?
For example: A YOUNG MAN drifts into a bar. Something absent in his yes. His varsity jaket, dirty and torn. Blood still drips down his face from the accident. This is -- JAMES SMITH, 17, the boy next ...
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2answers
7k views
How to describe a husky, low, sinister voice? [closed]
Hello! While I was writing for my fantasy novel, I was stuck on how to describe a very scratchy and low, but malicious voice for a grim reaper kind of like ghost in my story. The voice I'm trying to ...
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1answer
443 views
Which makes better sense? [closed]
Is it correct to say:
Sign Up to our Newsletter
Or
Sign Up for our Newsletter
Thanks!
1
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1answer
89 views
Best blind sequence? [closed]
I'm trying to write a story in which the sun has essentially gone out and visibility is constantly limited, and sometimes completely gone. Being a very visual person, I'm finding it hard to describe ...
1
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1answer
62 views
How can I describe a character who is black, but lighter-skinned?
So I have a character who's on the lighter shade for black and I want to describe her better:
"Hi, Mama," An attractive curly-haired woman greets. Her honey brown eyes gaze around the ...
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2answers
198 views
How do I add more details in my story? [closed]
I'm writing a story where two lovers meet then I having one of them die at the end. I am curious to see how much imagery I should add.
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1answer
28k views
How to write a polite quotation request email? [duplicate]
Good day! I'm working at Sales Dept. in a manufacturing enterprise. Lately my company strategy is to find other suppliers to have more competitive prices and I appointed to do this task. But I make a ...
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3answers
218 views
How much realism do I put into a war simulation story for Young Adults?
I am writing an action/thriller light novel for YA audience.
The story involves characters "playing" in a war-simulation game in an extremely realistic and full immersive Virtual Reality. By "full ...
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5answers
4k views
How do i properly name a fictional species and describe it?
I'm currently developing a fictional species set in a fantasy world, and I want to name it, but I don't want it to sound too... scientific? For example, our scientific name is Homo sapiens, but we don'...
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4answers
248 views
Writing differently when following different character POVs - mainly age difference. (3rd Person)
I'm writing a sci-fi novel with more than one main character.
Since I'm not an experienced writer, I still struggle with some basic "rules" within writing that may or may not exist.
This issue is ...
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3answers
559 views
How can this sentence better convey the immobilizing impact of fear?
Someone on another forum asked for advice on a sentence she was writing, so I thought I'd share it here and see what kind of responses we could get. The sentence in question is marked by italics. (I ...
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2answers
134 views
How to describe movement in zero-G?
Within the setting of my personal project (a hard science fiction) I need to be able to describe movement in zero-G extensively.
Because I wish to write a whole narrative involving very little ...
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5answers
160 views
How late is too late to describe a character?
I haven’t supplied much description of my main character, mainly because it didn’t come up naturally. Her parents are described, so you can get a basic idea, fair skin, light eyes—but I never list any ...
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2answers
228 views
Is it best to make a description metaphorical, or upfront?
Background
I've had this question for a really long time. A lot of my work seems quite 'floaty' and 'old style' because I describe things in a very metaphorical and surreal way. For example:
Her ...
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2answers
222 views
Can overwriting be made to look intentional from a first-person narrative?
I am an aspiring author, trying to get my 80,000-word traditionally published, though I will self-publish it if that doesn't work out.
this article suggests that we avoid it altogether.
I've used ...
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4answers
3k views
Am I being too descriptive?
Each and every time I read my stories to people, only one comment is usually made, albeit in different ways... I'm just not sure if they're being honest, or if I am actually doing something right.
"...
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2answers
154 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 ...
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2answers
159 views
Difference between a descriptive essay and a narrative essay?
Okay, so here's my problem: I am trying to write an essay from a prompt that uses the word "describe", but what I'm being asked to describe is not a single person or object, rather it's more broadly a ...
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2answers
113 views
Should one Infodump the reader when a new environment of a fictional world is introduced? [duplicate]
When a writen story is set in a fiction world or when a character changes locals to an environment that may be vastly different to what was introduce/what they would know from real life (ie. going ...
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1answer
70 views
Can you be too detailed in fantasy writing?
I am wondering if there is such a thing as “too detailed” in writing. If yes, then I want to know if I am doing it. I will insert a descriptive paragraph from my own writing below.
Its scaly head was ...
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1answer
81 views
Resources to describe medieval clothing from different cultures?
I realise this may not be the best place for this question, but I'm not sure where else to ask. I'd like to describe specific clothing from various societies existing when feudalism was still around, ...
0
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1answer
114 views
How to write mishearing/mispronouncing without lying to the reader?
Sometimes the plot requires communication to partially break down between characters. A misheard or mispronounced word can have great consequences, after all. Often people aren't even aware it ...
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1answer
554 views
How do i describe this change in voice?
In this Video, the girl, Seth, at 0:35 transforms and her voice changed along with her transformation.
I am trying to describe something similar, the physical change i can describe just fine however ...
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2answers
152 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 (...
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1answer
83 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 ...
0
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1answer
136 views
Do you capitalize the names of governments in a story?
I know that names of countries, states, cities, and counties are always capitalized, but what about governments and organizations? In my novella there are basically 2 sections of space, and each have ...
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3answers
2k views
How do you describe someone approaching and calling out at the same time without using different font sizes?
So i have this
As Fate's worry grew and grew something drew her attention to a moving star in the sky. it's light got bigger and appeared to be falling to her
"Feeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiitoooooooooooooo-...
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2answers
2k views
How to Describe a Scene from Video?
I'm new to English (three years) and I want help describing this video for my fantasy novel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymcen0EjmiU.
I don't want you to do it at my place, but I really want to ...
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1answer
228 views
Is this a good description of a jew looking out the window at nazis? [closed]
Cautiously I rose, briefly leaving his side. Turning to the lugubrious window when suddenly I was forced to duck down as cantankerous Nazis dehisced from behind great timber doors, parading across the ...
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3answers
100 views
How do I convey my character is of mixed European-Asian ancestry through description?
I have a protagonist who is biracial (mixed-race Caucasian-east Asian ancestry) living in the United States. I have a good idea of what their face and appearance looks like; they’re the kind of person ...
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1answer
94 views
How to Describe Topography
I have an image in my mind but I can't describe the topography, so I would always repeat, "grounds", "a little elavation", "inside the forest","some mounds,"surrounded by houses", is there any ...
0
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1answer
420 views
How to write about pouring water? [closed]
When someone treats a wound, like a burn, there’s this sound of the water pouring down, hitting the sink. Does anyone know what the sound is called? What things should I keep in mind while writing ...
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2answers
4k views
How would I explain the atmosphere in the current scene? [closed]
I would like to find other description of the atmosphere of a scene rather than just using the word 'tense.' Instead of writing, "The atmosphere between Bill and Bob is tense." What other ways would ...
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2answers
141 views
Describing the differences between languages
To help create descriptive differences in the way my characters talk I am looking for a list of how each language sounds.
For example the German language has lots of clusters of consonants, and could ...
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3answers
3k views
Why do writers sometimes use so much description?
Why do many writers use a lot of description when presenting a character or a scene? Is this a writing tradition? Many characters in a book have been described in minute detail , in some ways ...
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2answers
416 views
How to help reader visualize the environment in a story?
In a story where there is
only one character
doesn't talk to anyone
don't know where he is
and is narrating his story
