In order to be good fiction writers, we need to discover our artist's or child's eye; the ability to notice all those little details the ordinary person overlooks, the ability to see things as if for the first time - the stain of coffee on a sugar cube or the clump of weeds growing up through tarmac. These details are only tiny, but speak volumes. These are the things that help to give fiction its illusion of reality.
(From 'The Five Minute Writer' by Margret Garaghty, 2009)
(From 'The Five Minute Writer' by Margret Garaghty, 2009)
| description_sight.pdf |
| description_sight_and_sound.pdf |
| description_sight_and_smell.pdf |
Activity
Read the extracts of excellent descriptions above taken from this book. Notice the the details the author has chosen to focus on.
Read the extracts of excellent descriptions above taken from this book. Notice the the details the author has chosen to focus on.
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Now try writing your own description. Example: think of a place - maybe somewhere you visit regularly - and try to recall the small details. Never mind the spatial arrangement - that's the easy bit. Go for the little things; the fabric on the seats, the colours, the textures, the things you can hear and smell. One carefully chosen detail is worth more than a page of flowery description.
