Be descriptive. Be descriptive. Be descriptive.
You hear it all the time. Wanna be a good writer? Be descriptive. Feel like your story is lacking? Be descriptive. Don't know what else to say? Just. Be. More. Descriptive.
But, is there such a thing as being too descriptive? Could there possibly be a metaphorical roof to your pile of literal descriptions?
Description, generally, is a great thing to have in a story. Many good writers discover their talent because of their natural ability to provide detailed and colorful descriptions of things. Also, lots of your favorite stories probably have loads of great details that introduce and get you involved with the worlds that they create. If a story is like a good cake, then description is like the frosting that covers it, making it so much more appealing and tasty.
Description can be used throughout a whole book, and pretty evenly distributed, but often times we associate it with two main things; characters and settings. Describing a scene helps suck a reader in, getting their imagination pulled in and involved with the story. Describing characters does the same, introducing people to the people of the world and getting them connected to their personalities.
However, whats one of the great things about reading about and getting to know a new character? Using not only description, but mixing in your imagination and and creating your own unique spin off while you read.
I know this can be kinda weird to think about, and that you may never have thought about how your perception of a character is any different than anyone else's, but it really is. Often times the characters that are the best are the ones with little description, characters that have a hint of vagueness to them so that instead of being force fed every detail and every trait of a character, we can get to know them over time and make our own perceptions of them.
This is one of those few times where I'm not gonna give an example, just because it would be way to long! A character should be introduced slowly over time with examples that demonstrate the persons traits, not in a single paragraph or two and then call it good. The reader should get to know the character, not just be introduced to them!
Look for that next time you begin a book. Notice that the author will leave out quite a few features for you to fill in with your own imagination. Hopefully this'll help you guys next time you write! Until next time guys, peace.
-Ink
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