Friday, August 24, 2012

Friday Round-Up - #215






Laurel Garver, over at Laurel's Leaves, gives a great tip on how to fix long, dull descriptions.

Writers: How do you hand setting descriptions?

Readers: Do you skim over descriptions?

Have a blessed weekend!

9 comments:

Cindy R. Wilson said...

Sounds like a good post. I sometimes skim descriptions, but there are some writers who do it masterfully, eloquently and briefly. And THEN I love it!

Tyrean Martinson said...

I'll head over to her post in just a moment. Off the cuff, I have to say that I enjoy descriptions that are intertwined with plot, dialogue, and a character's innner dialogue.
As a writer, I try to limit descriptions to a paragraph or less, and then try to mix it in with the rest of the story.

Nancy said...

One book named Rebecca starts with about four pages of description. I stuck with it and this is one of my favorite books. The setting is a main character in my view. It would be interesting to see this rewritten with the senses approach that Laurel describes. Yes, I do read all of the descriptions in a book because they are important.

Karen Lange said...

I'll have to head over. Thanks for the link!

Happy weekend,
Karen :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Cindy - I'm with you all the way on this one. :)

Hi Tyrean - Yes, those are the ingredients that make description exciting instead of dull.

Hi Nancy - I think I read the same book many years ago. Perhaps I should pick it up again and re-read it.

Hi Karen - You're welcome. Enjoy your weekend.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Jeanette Levellie said...

In my writing, I use colors, smells, and sights in descriptions, but try to make them brief.

As a reader, I skim them if they go on for more than two or three sentences. I prefer dialogue and action.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jen -

I like description details woven into the story rather than in an endless information dump. Sensory details do help with the setting.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Come At Me Bro said...

This is great!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Bro -

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Glad you enjoyed the post.

Blessings,
Susan :)