Keeping Description Lean

Descriptors are words that help writers convey mental images to readers. When used effectively, they can greatly enchance your writing. They can help you paint word pictures for your readers that will make readers feel as if they are actually experiencing what you are describing. If they're overused, however, they will quickly overwhelm and confuse readers and will ultimately weaken your writing. Keeping descriptors to a minimum will keep your prose leaner and more powerful. A little description goes a long way. Instead of flooding your prose with descriptors, strive to keep descriptive language to no more than 25% of your overall writing. Search for those words that pack the most punch and use one or two stronger descriptive words instead of eight or ten weaker ones to convey the same word picture. You're looking for quality, not quantity, in your descriptive passages. Allow readers to form the majority of word pictures on their own. Give them just enough teasers to prompt them to finish the picture in their mind's eye. When describing, stay with a single theme (such as nature) instead of multiple themes which will confuse readers. Make sure the descriptors make sense and convey exactly the image you want to convey. Use descriptors only when not using them would leave your writing vague and ineffective. Even though it seems counterintuitive, keeping your descriptive language lean and precise will actually make your writing more vivid, not less so.