I've noticed I can't really describe things too good like people's hair type, color, clothes, settings, locations, scenery. I don't know why but my vocabulay just fails me when I'm trying to describe things. I just don't know the word for this paticular thing or that color. It's messing up my writing and my novel. Any advice?
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Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream?
- E.A.P. -
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58,086 / 50,000
Jun 27, 2008 - 07 15
Instead of using vocabulary try using simple words and similes. "His clothes hung off of him like dirty rags hanging on a clothes line" or "Her skin was so pale I had to look away every thirty seconds as if I was staring directly at the sun"
Sometimes complicated words are just distracting or pretentious.
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60,054 / 50,000
Jun 27, 2008 - 07 37
Read and practice. The best way to build your vocabulary is to read more... see how other writers do it.
And go practice... sit down in a busy, active place that has lots of what you want to describe... and describe it! It's easier to describe something you see than something that's in your head. :)
----------Heather
Forums Moderator
102,293 / 50,000
Jun 27, 2008 - 10 21
I also struggle with descriptions--mostly because I have a picture already formed in my mind and for some reason I just fail to get it down on paper. Anyway, describing your surroundings can help, and if you still feel like you're lacking something in your vocabulary I have a cheat. I tend to use MS Word, so if you write the word you have been using but want something different, you can right-click on it and check the synonyms. I do this a lot, and although it might be considered cheating, it does help to expand a person's vocabulary.
Anywho, that might help for now, as would be re-reading your favorite books, looking at how the author describes things (and for how long). Best of luck.
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57,563 / 50,000
Jun 27, 2008 - 11 10
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First it's too well. Well is a modifier for a verb. Good is a descriptor for a subject because it's an adjective.
Don't worry about colors, hair types, clothes, settings and locations. Get the feel for the place, avoid florid prose, misplaced similes, and bad metaphors. What makes a scene resonate is the ability to integrate action with description. Wat is the character doing? You don't need fancy names for colors to get good description. You don't need azure, baby blue, sapphire, etc. What you need to is to understand where your characters are in a given setting and what they are doing then detail when its important details like her hair is blonde, etc. Give physicality to the characters when it matters. Let your readers fill in the rest. Larn how to trust your reader with detail and when to not. Then you are well on your way.
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Telling someone you're a writer is like telling them you're an obsessive compulsive bipolar schizophrenic that goes to AA meetings once a week.
Telling someone you're a writer is like telling them you're an obsessive compulsive bipolar schizophrenic that goes to AA meetings once a week.