Describe What You See

How is your writing going?  Got something for me?

Wow…I asked you to write some simple sentences.  How hard can it be?

Okay, let’s try this.  There’s an apple.  It’s a deep, ripe red.  Its stem is still attached, and there are no blemishes on the apple.  The light gives it a shine in spots.  Have you pictured the apple in your mind?

Good.

Now, picture the apple sitting on a plate.  Just a plate, nothing else.  What does the plate look like?  It could be a fine white China plate, or it could be a cheap, gaudy, plastic plate from the dollar store.  Open your word processor, and describe the plate you see in your mind.

I’ve described the apple…the plate is your job.

Once you’ve described the plate in words to your satisfaction, picture the plate sitting on a table.  What kind of table?  It’s in your mind’s eye, so you describe it.  Make it so that anyone reading can see the table, too.

Is there anything else on the table besides the plate and the apple?  How about a knife?  A napkin?  What kind of knife, and what kind of napkin?

Describe what you see.

That’s writing.  You describe what you see detailed enough that the reader can see it in their mind’s eye.

That makes the reader feel as if they’re in the story.  They can relate.  They understand.

Now, practice your descriptions.  Pick an object, and describe it sufficiently, so that anyone will know what you’re talking about.

And,  keep reading!

Michael  (T. M.)