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How To Describe A City In Writing (21 Important Steps)

Describing a city in writing is a profound act of literary alchemy, where words become the brushes and the canvas upon which the urban landscape is painted.

It is a journey through the senses, a symphony of sights, sounds, and emotions that invites readers to traverse the bustling streets and towering skyscrapers of a metropolis within the pages of a book.

As writers, we are not mere storytellers but architects of immersive worlds, tasked with the delicate mission of transforming the cityscape into a living, breathing character within our narratives.

In this exploration, we delve into the art of not just portraying the physicality of a city but of capturing its essence, personality, and the profound impact it exerts on the characters and stories that unfold within its embrace.

This guide will unravel the intricacies of describing a city in writing , offering insights into research, sensory imagery, symbolism, and the profound emotional resonance that can be achieved when the city itself becomes a vital protagonist in our tales.

Table of Contents

How To Describe A City In Writing

Describing a city in writing involves painting a vivid picture with words, capturing its essence, and conveying its unique character. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you do that effectively:

Choose Your City

Select the city you want to describe. It could be a place you’ve visited, lived in, or one that you’re researching.

Research and Observation

Gather information about the city’s history, culture, landmarks, and notable features. If possible, visit the city to observe its sights, sounds, and atmosphere firsthand.

Create an Outline

Before you start writing, make an outline to organize your thoughts. Consider what aspects of the city you want to highlight, such as its architecture, people, cuisine, or climate.

Engage the Senses

When describing the city, appeal to the reader’s senses. Describe what the city looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, and feels like. This creates a more immersive experience.

Start with an Introduction

Begin your description with a captivating introduction that sets the scene and captures the reader’s attention. Mention the city’s name, location, and any notable facts.

Describe the Geography and Setting

Detail the city’s geographical location, including its surroundings – whether it’s nestled in the mountains, sprawled on the coast, or situated in a desert.

Architectural Features

Describe the city’s architecture, highlighting iconic buildings, bridges, or skyline. Explain their historical or cultural significance.

Cultural and Historical Context

Provide context by discussing the city’s history, its role in any historical events, and its cultural diversity. Mention any museums, monuments, or heritage sites.

Local Cuisine and Food Culture

Talk about the local cuisine and dining culture. Mention any famous dishes, street food, or culinary traditions that define the city.

Local Residents

Describe the people who call the city home. Talk about their lifestyles, customs, and the unique characteristics that make them distinct.

Climate and Weather

Discuss the city’s climate, seasons, and weather patterns. How do these factors affect daily life and the city’s atmosphere?

Green Spaces and Nature

If applicable, mention parks, gardens, and any natural elements within the city. Describe how these spaces contribute to the city’s ambiance.

Transportation and Infrastructure

Explain the city’s transportation systems, such as buses, subways, or iconic forms of transit. Also, note the quality of the roads and infrastructure.

Economic and Commercial Activities

Discuss the city’s economic activities, major industries, and commercial areas. Mention any famous shopping districts or markets.

Cultural Events and Entertainment

Highlight any cultural events, festivals, theaters, or entertainment venues that contribute to the city’s vibrancy.

Societal Atmosphere

Describe the general atmosphere and mood of the city. Is it bustling and fast-paced, laid-back, or somewhere in between?

Local Lingo and Slang

If there are unique words, phrases, or slang associated with the city, incorporate them to give your description authenticity.

Conclude with an Impression

Summarize your description with a final impression of the city. What makes it special, unique, or worth visiting?

Editing and Proofreading

Revise and edit your description for clarity, conciseness, and coherence. Ensure your writing flows smoothly.

Peer Review

If possible, have someone else read your description to get feedback and make improvements .

Final Touches

Add any final touches, such as descriptive metaphors, similes, or poetic language to make your writing more engaging.

Remember that the key to effective city description is to transport your reader to the city, allowing them to see, feel, and experience it through your words.

Pre-Writing Preparation

Pre-writing preparation is the compass that guides a writer through the uncharted territory of creativity. It’s the backstage pass to the grand spectacle of storytelling, a moment of quiet contemplation before the words burst onto the stage.

Like an architect surveying a blank canvas of land before sketching the blueprint of a majestic city, a writer delves into the city of their narrative.

Pre-writing is where facts marry imagination, and where intentions meet the canvas of possibilities.

It’s a symphony conductor fine-tuning their orchestra before the first note resonates through the concert hall.

In this sacred prelude to the literary journey, authors don the hats of historians, psychologists, and artists, sifting through the sands of time, human behavior, and creative expression to lay the foundation for a city that will exist solely on the pages of their story.

Research the city

Researching the city is akin to embarking on an exhilarating expedition through the annals of history and the vibrant tapestry of contemporary life.

It’s the literary archaeology that unearths the city’s secrets, laying bare its character, aspirations, and idiosyncrasies.

By delving into the rich chronicles of its past, we uncover the hidden gems of culture and tradition that have shaped the city’s essence.

This meticulous exploration brings to light the landmarks, the legends, the whispers of forgotten tales, and the bustling life that courses through its veins today.

It’s a treasure hunt for anecdotes, anecdotes that may be as old as the city itself or as fresh as the morning dew on a bustling market square.

Researching the city is the essential act of donning the shoes of an urban detective, ready to unearth the stories that will breathe life into the written metropolis.

Determine the purpose of your description

Before the quill touches the parchment or the keyboard springs to life, there exists a pivotal juncture in the creative process: determining the purpose of your city’s description. It’s the compass that will set the direction for your narrative ship.

Are you seeking to merely set the stage, offering a vivid backdrop for your characters’ escapades, or is your aim to craft an atmosphere so immersive that it becomes a character in itself, an inseparable part of the story’s essence? Perhaps your purpose is to evoke emotions, to make your readers feel the pulse of the city as if it were their own heartbeat.

Identifying this purpose is akin to selecting the lens through which your readers will view the cityscape you’re painting.

It’s a conscious decision that shapes the tone, the depth, and the emotional resonance of your narrative, ensuring that each brick and cobblestone serves a purpose beyond mere aesthetics.

Sensory Imagery

Sensory imagery is the alchemical magic that transmutes words into sensations, transporting readers to worlds they’ve never physically traversed.

It’s the symphony of sight, sound, scent, touch, and taste meticulously woven into the fabric of storytelling.

With the stroke of a pen or the click of a keyboard, writers can paint vivid, three-dimensional cityscapes, enabling readers to not just see the towering spires, but to hear the whispers of history in the wind, smell the sizzle of street food, and feel the cobblestones beneath their fingertips.

Sensory imagery is the key that unlocks the secret door to a parallel universe, where words are not just symbols, but portals to experiences that transcend the page and ignite the imagination.

Personification

Personification is the literary sorcerer’s wand, the enchanting act of breathing life into the inanimate, a bewitching dance between imagination and language.

It transforms ordinary objects and abstract concepts into vibrant characters, imbued with human traits, emotions, and intentions.

It’s like giving the city a soul, an identity, a heartbeat that resonates with the reader’s own.

The bustling streets become animated veins, the skyscrapers become sentient giants, and the city itself, a living, breathing entity with its own stories to tell.

Through personification, the city doesn’t just exist as a backdrop; it becomes a vital player in the grand theater of the narrative, revealing its own secrets and desires, making it a character as intricate and unforgettable as any human protagonist.

Breathing life into the city

Breathing life into the city is the novelist’s act of rendering urban landscapes with the same intricate care as sculpting characters.

It’s a masterful stroke of the pen that infuses the concrete and steel with pulse and personality.

As a writer, you become an urban alchemist, conjuring a metropolis teeming with life, its streets a symphony of voices, its architecture a silent testimony to the aspirations and dreams of generations.

Through vivid descriptions and narrative insights, the city takes on a heartbeat of its own, influencing the emotions and decisions of the characters that dwell within its embrace.

It becomes a silent, omnipresent character, both nurturing and challenging, shaping the story’s very fabric.

Breathing life into the city is more than description; it’s the gift of a dynamic, breathing entity, a vibrant soul entwined with the tale you’re weaving, ensuring it resonates with readers long after the last page is turned.

Describing the city as if it were a character

Describing the city as if it were a character is a literary feat that invites readers to forge a personal connection with the urban landscape.

By endowing the city with human attributes, quirks, and emotions, it becomes more than a backdrop; it transforms into a dynamic entity that engages and resonates on an emotional level.

The city’s streets pulse with energy, its architecture carries the weight of history, and its mood shifts like the temperament of a well-drawn character.

Just like a person, the city can be enigmatic, nurturing, mysterious, or obstinate. It possesses a story, an identity, and, at times, a silent conversation with the story’s protagonists.

Describing the city in this way offers a unique lens through which readers can engage with the narrative, allowing them to feel the city’s heartbeat alongside the characters, making it a compelling and multidimensional presence within the story.

How the city interacts with its inhabitants

The intricate dance between a city and its inhabitants is a dynamic narrative of relationships, influence, and reciprocity. A city is not a passive stage but an active player in the lives of those who dwell within its bounds.

It weaves an intricate tapestry of encounters, juxtaposing moments of connection and disconnection, solitude and camaraderie.

It can be a demanding lover, challenging its residents to adapt and evolve, or a steadfast friend, providing a backdrop to their daily adventures.

The city’s streets and architecture absorb the stories and emotions of its people, silently witnessing their triumphs and tribulations.

Just as the city leaves its indelible mark on its inhabitants, the people, in turn, shape the city’s character through their actions and narratives.

This symbiotic relationship between city and inhabitant is a rich source of storytelling, a reflection of the ever-evolving, intricate connection that defines the human experience in urban landscapes.

Historical and Cultural Context

Historical and cultural context is the magical time machine that transports readers to bygone eras, illuminating the present with the shimmering torch of the past.

It’s a grand tapestry woven with the threads of events, beliefs, and traditions, a tapestry that unfurls before the reader, connecting the dots of history and culture in a mesmerizing narrative.

Through it, we unearth the buried treasures of forgotten dynasties, witness the rebellious spirit of revolutions, and partake in the timeless rituals of diverse societies.

It’s the secret code that unlocks the city’s deeper layers, revealing the whispers of the past in every cobblestone and skyline, and the vibrant traditions that breathe life into its streets today.

Historical and cultural context is the literary passport that guides us through the city’s ever-evolving story, making the past a vivid companion to the present, and infusing the narrative with a profound sense of time and place.

Character Reflection

Character reflection is the author’s mirror, the poignant moment when characters gaze into their own souls and reveal the intricate tapestry of their thoughts, desires, and vulnerabilities.

It’s a literary confession, the exposed nerve that makes characters not only relatable but irresistibly human.

Just as we ponder our own reflections in a mirror, characters delve into the depths of their experiences, confronting their fears, ambitions, and the truths they dare not speak.

In this intimate journey of self-discovery, characters may find enlightenment or become entangled in the labyrinth of their own complexities.

It is in these reflections that readers discover the beating hearts behind the words, forging connections that bridge the realms of fiction and reality.

Character reflection is the art of capturing the essence of the human spirit, inviting readers to not only observe but participate in the beautiful, tumultuous, and profound voyage of self-exploration.

Describing how the city affects characters’ emotions

The city, like a skilled conductor, orchestrates a symphony of emotions within its inhabitants. It can be an emotional tempest, where the ceaseless urban cacophony elicits anxiety and restlessness, or a soothing lullaby, offering solace amidst the bustling chaos.

The city’s changing moods can sweep characters into moments of exhilaration as they scale skyscrapers or plunge them into melancholy as they wander through abandoned alleyways.

It infuses their souls with a unique rhythm, mirroring their own emotional crescendos and decrescendos. Characters may find inspiration in its vibrant street art or harbor nostalgia beneath its time-worn lampposts.

The city is a silent confidant, echoing the joys, sorrows, and introspective contemplations of those who traverse its winding streets.

As a writer, exploring how the city affects characters’ emotions is akin to weaving an intricate dance between setting and psyche, unveiling the profound symbiosis between the urban landscape and the human heart.

Influences on the characters’ personalities and actions

The city, a living, breathing entity, serves as an invisible hand shaping the clay of its inhabitants’ personalities and actions. Its bustling streets, architectural marvels, and vibrant neighborhoods are like an intricate mosaic that influences character development.

The city can breed ambition, instilling a fierce determination in its residents as they navigate its competitive landscapes. Simultaneously, it can nurture a sense of community, prompting individuals to extend kindness and camaraderie to their neighbors.

The very rhythm of life in the city can turn people into fast-paced, quick-thinking go-getters or patient, adaptable souls who’ve mastered the art of survival.

It can provoke rebellion or inspire innovation, fostering traits like resilience, resourcefulness, and adaptability.

The city’s stories, both whispered and shouted, often become the tales that shape a character’s values and ambitions.

In this dynamic, reciprocal relationship, the city becomes a character itself, intricately intertwined with the very essence of those who reside within its bounds.

Metaphors and Symbols

Metaphors and symbols are the elusive keys that unlock the treasure chest of meaning in writing, turning words into a labyrinth of hidden gems waiting to be discovered.

Like whispered secrets in a crowded room, metaphors invite readers to see beyond the literal, to peel away the layers of reality, and dive into the depths of imagination.

Symbols, on the other hand, are the archetypal lighthouses that guide readers through the darkest narrative storms, offering profound insight into universal truths.

Together, they transform the mundane into the magical, the tangible into the ethereal. In the hands of a skillful writer, metaphors and symbols become the alchemical catalysts that transmute words into feelings, connecting the author’s vision with the reader’s heart.

They are the literary constellations that adorn the writer’s night sky, each dot of brilliance igniting a universe of interpretation, ensuring that every word is more than it seems, concealing worlds within worlds, inviting readers to lose themselves in the infinite labyrinth of storytelling.

Symbols that represent the essence of the city

Symbols, like hidden gems scattered throughout a treasure trove, represent the very essence of the city, encapsulating its identity, history, and collective spirit. Each symbol is a sentinel, standing as a silent witness to the city’s past and its evolving present.

These iconic emblems embody the aspirations and stories of its people, resonating like a timeless melody.

Whether it’s an architectural marvel, a revered monument, or a simple street corner cafe, these symbols become the threads that weave together the city’s unique narrative, serving as a tapestry of memory and significance.

They are more than just objects; they are living metaphors that reflect the city’s soul, serving as touchstones for the emotions and experiences that define life within its bounds.

As writers, these symbols offer us a powerful means to convey the city’s depth, invoking a collective consciousness that binds readers and characters to the heartbeat of the urban landscape.

Narrative Perspective

Narrative perspective is the kaleidoscope through which stories unfold, a prism that shapes the colors and contours of our literary worlds.

It’s the writer’s ultimate sleight of hand, the magic that lets us slip into the shoes of characters, hover like an invisible observer, or wield god-like knowledge over the tale.

First-person perspective invites readers to delve deep into a character’s psyche, becoming an intimate confidant to their thoughts and feelings.

Third-person offers an all-seeing eye, revealing a broader tapestry of events and emotions, while omniscient perspective allows us to traverse time and space, connecting the dots of the narrative’s universe.

Narrative perspective isn’t just a technical choice; it’s a transcendental experience, a shifting of dimensions that immerses us in a story’s soul.

Writers play the role of cosmic architects, selecting the lens through which readers perceive their imaginative worlds, making narrative perspective the gateway to limitless storytelling possibilities.

Progressive Description

Progressive description is the art of storytelling akin to an unfolding flower, revealing its petals one by one. It’s the literary equivalent of a treasure hunt, a tantalizing journey that entices readers to follow the breadcrumb trail of details, layer by layer.

This technique isn’t just about depicting a static cityscape but rather about crafting a dynamic, evolving narrative where every detail unfurls at the perfect moment, much like a seasoned magician revealing tricks in a carefully choreographed show.

It keeps the reader on their toes, inviting them to savor each revelation and fostering a sense of wonder and anticipation.

Progressive description is the storyteller’s symphony, building to a crescendo, leaving readers in rapturous suspense until the final notes of the narrative resound in their imagination, making it a literary technique that turns mere words into a captivating journey of discovery.

Building the city’s image progressively

Building the city’s image progressively is akin to a masterful brushstroke that gradually unveils the vivid portrait of an urban landscape.

It’s a process of strategic revelation, designed to engage readers’ senses and curiosity step by step, much like a captivating mystery slowly unraveling its secrets.

As the narrative unfolds, the city’s details emerge organically, creating a gradual immersion that mirrors real-life exploration.

This technique allows readers to forge a deeper connection with the setting, as if they are uncovering the city’s character, one layer at a time.

It kindles anticipation and fosters a sense of attachment to the story’s backdrop, making the city not just a static canvas but a living entity that breathes alongside the characters.

In the hands of a skillful writer, building the city’s image progressively transforms the setting into a dynamic, integral part of the narrative, ensuring that it resonates in the reader’s imagination long after the final page is turned.

Emotional Resonance

Emotional resonance in storytelling is the echo that lingers in a reader’s heart long after the book is closed. It’s the indelible mark left by words that can make us laugh, cry, or ponder life’s enigmas.

Like an ethereal connection between the author and the reader, emotional resonance transcends the pages, making characters and their journeys feel vividly real.

It’s that unspoken understanding, the feeling that the author has bared their soul on the page, and we, as readers, have been seen and understood in return.

Whether it’s the poignancy of a character’s triumph, the bittersweet farewell, or the deep well of empathy for their struggles, emotional resonance is the essence of storytelling’s magic, leaving us irrevocably changed, as if we’ve not just read a book, but lived it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Describe A City In Writing

What is the purpose of describing a city in writing.

Describing a city in writing serves various purposes, such as creating a vivid mental image, promoting tourism, conveying the city’s unique character, or capturing the essence of a place for literature or travel guides.

Do I need to visit the city to describe it effectively?

While firsthand experience is beneficial, it’s not always necessary. You can conduct research, gather information, and use your imagination to describe a city effectively.

What aspects of a city should I focus on when describing it?

Focus on various aspects, including the city’s geography, architecture, culture, history, people, cuisine, climate, and local attractions.

How can I make my city description more engaging to readers?

Engage readers by using descriptive language, appealing to their senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch), and sharing personal anecdotes or stories related to the city.

How do I balance facts and creativity when describing a city?

Balancing facts and creativity is essential. Use facts to provide context and accuracy, and then weave in creative language and storytelling to make the description engaging.

Are there any common mistakes to avoid when describing a city in writing?

Avoid clichés, overusing adjectives, being overly biased, and neglecting to edit and proofread your work. Also, be sensitive to cultural nuances and avoid stereotypes.

What is the ideal length for a city description?

There’s no fixed length, but it should be long enough to capture the city’s essence without becoming overly verbose. It can range from a few paragraphs to several pages, depending on your purpose.

Can I include personal opinions and emotions in a city description?

Yes, sharing your personal opinions and emotions can add authenticity to your description, as long as you balance them with factual information.

How can I make my city description stand out from others?

Make your description unique by highlighting less-known aspects of the city, using vivid language, and adding a personal touch or perspective that sets it apart from typical descriptions.

Can I use online resources or travel guides for information when describing a city?

Absolutely, online resources, travel guides, and books about the city are valuable sources of information to enhance the accuracy and depth of your description. Just be sure to credit your sources when necessary.

In the tapestry of storytelling, the city stands as a vibrant thread, woven intricately into the fabric of our narratives.

Describing a city in writing is more than a creative task; it’s an invitation for readers to embark on journeys of exploration and emotion, guided by our words and immersed in the sensory world we’ve constructed.

As we conclude this guide on how to describe a city in writing , we must remember that cities are not static backdrops but dynamic, breathing entities that influence the characters and narratives within them.

Through careful research, evocative sensory imagery, personification, and rich symbolism, we can paint cityscapes that resonate deeply with readers, fostering an emotional connection that extends far beyond the confines of the page.

The city, with its towering spires and bustling streets, becomes not just a setting but a living, breathing character, an integral part of our stories.

So, let us continue to craft cities that speak to the soul, forging narratives that transport readers to distant urban landscapes, allowing them to lose themselves in the intoxicating hum of the metropolis and, in doing so, to discover the magic of storytelling in its fullest form.

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Describing words for places

Ever feel stuck describing a place in your writing? “Beautiful” and “quaint” just don’t cut it anymore. You want your readers to be transported, to feel the cobblestones beneath their feet, smell the salty air, and hear the bustling city symphony. Fear not, fellow wordsmiths! This blog is your treasure map to unveiling vivid words that paint stunning pictures of locations, from bustling cityscapes to serene landscapes.

Here are 100 describing words for places along with brief explanations and examples:

Serene – A peaceful and tranquil place. (e.g., a serene garden)
Bustling – Full of activity and energy. (e.g., a bustling market)
Picturesque – Visually attractive, like a painting. (e.g., a picturesque village)
Secluded – Sheltered or hidden away from others. (e.g., a secluded beach)
Majestic – Grand and impressive in appearance. (e.g., a majestic mountain)
Vibrant – Full of life, color, and energy. (e.g., a vibrant city)
Pristine – In its original condition; unspoiled. (e.g., a pristine forest)
Quaint – Attractively unusual or old-fashioned. (e.g., a quaint cottage)
Sprawling – Extending over a large area in an irregular or untidy way. (e.g., a sprawling estate)
Lush – Luxuriant, abundant in vegetation. (e.g., a lush tropical rainforest)
Charming – Delightfully pleasant or attractive. (e.g., a charming little town)
Remote – Far away from other places, secluded. (e.g., a remote island)
Cosmopolitan – Reflecting various cultures; worldly. (e.g., a cosmopolitan city)
Rustic – Relating to the countryside; charmingly simple or unsophisticated. (e.g., a rustic farmhouse)
Tranquil – Calm, peaceful, and quiet. (e.g., a tranquil lake)
Exotic – Strikingly unusual or different in appearance. (e.g., an exotic bazaar)
Idyllic – Extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque. (e.g., an idyllic countryside)
Historic – Having great and lasting importance. (e.g., a historic landmark)
Sleek – Smooth and elegant in appearance or style. (e.g., a sleek modern building)
Scenic – Providing or relating to views of impressive or beautiful natural scenery. (e.g., a scenic overlook)
Cozy – Giving a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation. (e.g., a cozy cabin)
Bustling – Full of activity, excitement, and energy. (e.g., a bustling street)
Desolate – Deserted and barren, showing a sense of bleakness. (e.g., a desolate wasteland)
Enchanting – Delightfully charming or captivating. (e.g., an enchanting forest)
Barren – Bleak and lifeless, lacking vegetation. (e.g., a barren desert)
Diverse – Varied and inclusive of different cultures, backgrounds, or characteristics. (e.g., a diverse neighborhood)
Opulent – Lavish and luxurious, displaying great wealth. (e.g., an opulent palace)
Isolated – Far removed from other places or people. (e.g., an isolated cabin)
Gritty – Showing the harsh reality of life, often in an urban setting. (e.g., a gritty cityscape)
Welcoming – Friendly and inviting to visitors. (e.g., a welcoming inn)
Mysterious – Full of secrets or difficult to understand. (e.g., a mysterious forest)
Historic – Having great and lasting importance. (e.g., a historic district)
Enigmatic – Puzzling and mysterious, difficult to understand. (e.g., an enigmatic ruin)
Dazzling – Brilliantly impressive or magnificent. (e.g., a dazzling skyline)
Contemporary – Belonging to the present time, modern. (e.g., a contemporary art gallery)
Secluded – Sheltered or private, away from the hustle and bustle. (e.g., a secluded retreat)
Inviting – Appealing and attractive, encouraging visitors to enter. (e.g., an inviting cafe)
Charismatic – Exuding charm and personality. (e.g., a charismatic town)
Industrial – Relating to the manufacturing or processing of goods. (e.g., an industrial park)
Magnificent – Impressively beautiful or grand. (e.g., a magnificent cathedral)
Enveloping – Surrounding and enclosing completely. (e.g., an enveloping forest)
Mythical – Relating to or resembling myths or legendary stories. (e.g., a mythical land)
Urban – Relating to or characteristic of a city or town. (e.g., an urban environment)
Coastal – Relating to or near the coast. (e.g., a coastal village)
Squalid – Extremely dirty and unpleasant, often as a result of poverty or neglect. (e.g., a squalid slum)
Ornate – Elaborately or highly decorated. (e.g., an ornate palace)
Harmonious – Marked by agreement in feeling, attitude, or action. (e.g., a harmonious community)
Timeless – Not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion. (e.g., a timeless castle)
Resplendent – Attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous. (e.g., a resplendent garden)
Remote – Far away from other places, secluded. (e.g., a remote village)
Inaccessible – Difficult or impossible to reach or enter. (e.g., an inaccessible mountain peak)
Enigmatic – Mysterious and difficult to understand. (e.g., an enigmatic ruin)
Hospitable – Friendly and welcoming to visitors or guests. (e.g., a hospitable community)
Stately – Impressive in appearance and manner, often suggesting dignity. (e.g., a stately mansion)
Hidden – Concealed or not easily found. (e.g., a hidden waterfall)
Timeless – Not affected by the passage of time or changes in fashion. (e.g., a timeless village)
Secluded – Sheltered or private, away from the hustle and bustle. (e.g., a secluded beach)
Charming – Delightfully pleasant or attractive. (e.g., a charming town)
Rustic – Relating to the countryside; charmingly simple or unsophisticated. (e.g., a rustic cabin)
Majestic – Grand and impressive in appearance. (e.g., a majestic castle)
Exotic – Strikingly unusual or different in appearance. (e.g., an exotic island)
Cozy – Giving a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation. (e.g., a cozy cottage)
Tranquil – Calm, peaceful, and quiet. (e.g., a tranquil forest)
Serene – A peaceful and tranquil place. (e.g., a serene lake)
Lush – Luxuriant, abundant in vegetation. (e.g., a lush garden)
Pristine – In its original condition; unspoiled. (e.g., a pristine beach)
Welcoming – Friendly and inviting to visitors. (e.g., a welcoming hotel)
Charming – Delightfully pleasant or attractive. (e.g., a charming village)
Secluded – Sheltered or hidden away from others. (e.g., a secluded retreat)
Quaint – Attractively unusual or old-fashioned. (e.g., a quaint town)
Vibrant – Full of life, color, and energy. (e.g., a vibrant market)
Scenic – Providing or relating to views of impressive or beautiful natural scenery. (e.g., a scenic trail)
Remote – Far away from other places, secluded. (e.g., a remote cabin)
Historic – Having great and lasting importance. (e.g., a historic site)
Picturesque – Visually attractive, like a painting. (e.g., a picturesque landscape)
Bustling – Full of activity and energy. (e.g., a bustling plaza)
Vibrant – Full of life, color, and energy. (e.g., a vibrant city center)
Cozy – Giving a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation. (e.g., a cozy cafe)
Tranquil – Calm, peaceful, and quiet. (e.g., a tranquil garden)
Charming – Delightfully pleasant or attractive. (e.g., a charming village square)
Lush – Luxuriant, abundant in vegetation. (e.g., a lush valley)
Contemporary – Belonging to the present time, modern. (e.g., a contemporary art museum)

Now it’s your turn! Share your favorite descriptive words for places in the comments below. Let’s build a vibrant vocabulary together!

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Quick tips for describing places in your stories

Making your settings tangible is an important part of writing great stories, but doing that is easier said than done. Here are some things to avoid, some quick tips for writing descriptions well and a few helpful exercises for describing places in your writing.

For more help with your settings and descriptions, I’ve also written about seasons in your story setting and about writing character appearance .

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Other related posts: Researching your historical fiction setting

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How much description is too much when you describe a place in writing?

Although you should describe your settings somehow, you shouldn’t do all of it at once, and usually, you should make sure your readers get to know your characters first. That said, it’s impossible to say how much is the right amount.

When your descriptions really bring your settings to life and they’re important to the dramatic effect of your story, it’s fine to have more of them. But if you’re struggling with this aspect of storytelling or the settings aren’t vital for your character’s experience, I’d recommend sticking to the bare minimum.

If you’re not sure, ask for someone else’s opinion! Show them your writing and ask if they get a real feel of your settings or if they think your descriptions add nothing to the story.

What is exposition?

Exposition is close to description, and it means inserting background information into your story. Some exposition is usually needed to make your places feel realistic because knowing the history and meaning of your settings is important too. The names of characters and places also count as exposition, and those things are obviously important.

You might feel like it’s absolutely necessary for your reader to know everything about the places in your story. After all, you’ve imagined these settings, and it’s important to you that your readers see them as they should. Still, you can’t give all the information at once. Let your readers discover the world at a slower pace.

Try to find a balance between inserting information in your narration and having your characters think or talk about your setting. Of course, this is easier said than done, but that’s what editing your novel is for.

The best ways to describe places in your story

The two best ways to describe places in your writing

Here comes my best tip for describing places in your story: use your character’s senses . Preferably all five of them.

How does this work? It’s essentially just a more specific way of saying “show, don’t tell”.

So instead of writing “The house smelled bad”, you could say “Steve covered his nose, hoping he wouldn’t gag.” And instead of telling your readers how cold and rainy this village in Scotland is, you could show us how her wet shoes make your protagonist feel and how she’s shivering despite four layers of clothing.

That said, not everything in your story needs to be or can be described in this way. Sometimes you just need to use a single adjective, and that’s okay. Experiment with different levels of descriptions and see which one fits the tone and pacing of your scene the best. But anything that you want your readers to really experience should be described in a way that involves your characters’ senses.

Show your story settings through character actions and feelings

Another way to show what your settings are like is through the actions of your characters. Maybe they wipe the dust off their trousers, or they could be slipping on ice in addition to shivering in cold. Characters also have feelings about everything, which they express through thoughts and words as well as actions.

Imagine you’re writing about a mansion with several very expensive things. If you were just listing all these items, your reader would likely get bored, and none of that would bring the story forwards. If at all possible, always have your characters moving! Have them close the heavy velvet curtains, dust off the silver candlesticks and fall onto the marble floor.

You could also write something like “Maureen had always had certain disdain for people who lived in places like that. People who had inherited everything from their ancestors and hadn’t worked a day in their lives to earn the luxuries they were drowning in.” This, of course, says something about the character as well, because it’s impossible to describe things without revealing a bit of yourself. (This goes for the writer as well, just to be clear.)

Writing exercises for describing places

Let’s pretend you’re a character in a novel. (Or were you doing that already?) Look around where you are right now and write down these things with a word or two: temperature, what it smells like, how bright or how dark it is, what the surface of what you’re sitting/standing on feels like, what is the most noticeable feature in your surroundings.

Let’s say you’re reading this outside and it’s very sunny. Instead of flat out saying how sunny it is, you could say how the sun makes you squint and how it makes your eyes water. You could say how glad you are you took sunglasses with you so you can avoid getting another headache. Now do the same for all the other items on your list.

The second exercise requires you to watch a movie or something on television, and pick a scene where one of the characters arrives in a new setting. Pause the movie and write down what the setting is like. Then press play again and pretend you can’t see the setting at all, just the character. How is the character experiencing the setting? How are they interacting with it? Write it down.

Your third exercise: Choose a place you absolutely adore and write about it in detail. Then write about it from the point of view of someone who completely despises the place. If you don’t think there’s a difference, you need to re-read my tips above and try again.

Are there other aspects of storytelling besides describing places that you struggle with? Let me know in the comments and I’ll write another post for you!

Get even more writing exercises

If you’d like to get more writing exercises that teach you about describing things in your writing and everything else important that a great story needs, I’ve got what you need.

I created the 30 Day Writing Challenge for writers who want to stop reading writing tips and start to actually apply them to their writing. You get a writing exercise for each day and an explanation of why it’s important, and after a month you’ll be a considerably better writer.

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Protagonist Crafts is a blog written by Katri Soikkeli. Katri is a published author, creative writing teacher and tiny business owner who writes fiction, poetry, blogs and nonsense. You can find more of her writing in the blog and you can get her best author tools at Writer Lifestyle on Etsy.

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A Guide to Descriptive Writing

by Melissa Donovan | Jan 7, 2021 | Creative Writing | 8 comments

What is descriptive writing?

Writing description is a necessary skill for most writers. Whether we’re writing an essay, a story, or a poem, we usually reach a point where we need to describe something. In fiction, we describe settings and characters. In poetry, we describe scenes, experiences, and emotions. In creative nonfiction, we describe reality. Descriptive writing is especially important for speculative fiction writers and poets. If you’ve created a fantasy world, then you’ll need to deftly describe it to readers; Lewis Carroll not only described Wonderland (aff link); he also described the fantastical creatures that inhabited it.

But many writers are challenged by description writing, and many readers find it boring to read — when it’s not crafted skillfully.

However, I think it’s safe to say that technology has spoiled us. Thanks to photos and videos, we’ve become increasingly visual, which means it’s getting harder to use words to describe something, especially if it only exists in our imaginations.

What is Descriptive Writing?

One might say that descriptive writing is the art of painting a picture with words. But descriptive writing goes beyond visuals. Descriptive writing hits all the senses; we describe how things look, sound, smell, taste, and feel (their tactile quality).

The term descriptive writing can mean a few different things:

The act of writing description ( I’m doing some descriptive writing ).
A descriptive essay is short-form prose that is meant to describe something in detail; it can describe a person, place, event, object, or anything else.
Description as part of a larger work: This is the most common kind of descriptive writing. It is usually a sentence or paragraph (sometimes multiple paragraphs) that provide description, usually to help the reader visualize what’s happening, where it’s happening, or how it’s happening. It’s most commonly used to describe a setting or a character. An example would be a section of text within a novel that establishes the setting by describing a room or a passage that introduces a character with a physical description.
Writing that is descriptive (or vivid) — an author’s style: Some authors weave description throughout their prose and verse, interspersing it through the dialogue and action. It’s a style of writing that imparts description without using large blocks of text that are explicitly focused on description.
Description is integral in poetry writing. Poetry emphasizes imagery, and imagery is rendered in writing via description, so descriptive writing is a crucial skill for most poets.

Depending on what you write, you’ve probably experimented with one of more of these types of descriptive writing, maybe all of them.

Can you think of any other types of descriptive writing that aren’t listed here?

How Much Description is Too Much?

Classic literature was dense with description whereas modern literature usually keeps description to a minimum.

Compare the elaborate descriptions in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy with the descriptions in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series (aff links). Both series relied on description to help readers visualize an imagined, fantastical world, but Rowling did not use her precious writing space to describe standard settings whereas Tolkien frequently paused all action and spent pages describing a single landscape.

This isn’t unique to Tolkien and Rowling; if you compare most literature from the beginning of of the 20th century and earlier to today’s written works, you’ll see that we just don’t dedicate much time and space to description anymore.

I think this radical change in how we approach description is directly tied to the wide availability of film, television, and photography. Let’s say you were living in the 19th century, writing a story about a tropical island for an audience of northern, urban readers. You would be fairly certain that most of your readers had never seen such an island and had no idea what it looked like. To give your audience a full sense of your story’s setting, you’d need pages of detail describing the lush jungle, sandy beaches, and warm waters.

Nowadays, we all know what a tropical island looks like, thanks to the wide availability of media. Even if you’ve never been to such an island, surely you’ve seen one on TV. This might explain why few books on the craft of writing address descriptive writing. The focus is usually on other elements, like language, character, plot, theme, and structure.

For contemporary writers, the trick is to make the description as precise and detailed as possible while keeping it to a minimum. Most readers want characters and action with just enough description so that they can imagine the story as it’s unfolding.

If you’ve ever encountered a story that paused to provide head-to-toe descriptions along with detailed backstories of every character upon their introduction into the narrative, you know just how grating description can be when executed poorly.

However, it’s worth noting that a skilled writer can roll out descriptions that are riveting to read. Sometimes they’re riveting because they’re integrated seamlessly with the action and dialogue; other times, the description is deftly crafted and engaging on its own. In fact, an expert descriptive writer can keep readers glued through multiple pages of description.

Descriptive Writing Tips

I’ve encountered descriptive writing so smooth and seamless that I easily visualized what was happening without even noticing that I was reading description. Some authors craft descriptions that are so lovely, I do notice — but in a good way. Some of them are so compelling that I pause to read them again.

On the other hand, poorly crafted descriptions can really impede a reader’s experience. Description doesn’t work if it’s unclear, verbose, or bland. Most readers prefer action and dialogue to lengthy descriptions, so while a paragraph here and there can certainly help readers better visualize what’s happening, pages and pages of description can increase the risk that they’ll set your work aside and never pick it up again. There are exceptions to every rule, so the real trick is to know when lengthy descriptions are warranted and when they’re just boring.

Here are some general tips for descriptive writing:

Use distinct descriptions that stand out and are memorable. For example, don’t write that a character is five foot two with brown hair and blue eyes. Give the reader something to remember. Say the character is short with mousy hair and sky-blue eyes.
Make description active: Consider the following description of a room: There was a bookshelf in the corner. A desk sat under the window. The walls were beige, and the floor was tiled. That’s boring. Try something like this: A massive oak desk sat below a large picture window and beside a shelf overflowing with books. Hardcovers, paperbacks, and binders were piled on the dingy tiled floor in messy stacks. In the second example, words like overflowing and piled are active.
Weave description through the narrative: Sometimes a character enters a room and looks around, so the narrative needs to pause to describe what the character sees. Other times, description can be threaded through the narrative. For example, instead of pausing to describe a character, engage that character in dialogue with another character. Use the characters’ thoughts and the dialogue tags to reveal description: He stared at her flowing, auburn curls, which reminded him of his mother’s hair. “Where were you?” he asked, shifting his green eyes across the restaurant to where a customer was hassling one of the servers.

Simple descriptions are surprisingly easy to execute. All you have to do is look at something (or imagine it) and write what you see. But well-crafted descriptions require writers to pay diligence to word choice, to describe only those elements that are most important, and to use engaging language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Instead of spending several sentences describing a character’s height, weight, age, hair color, eye color, and clothing, a few, choice details will often render a more vivid image for the reader: Red hair framed her round, freckled face like a spray of flames. This only reveals three descriptive details: red hair, a round face, and freckles. Yet it paints more vivid picture than a statistical head-to-toe rundown: She was five foot three and no more than a hundred and ten pounds with red hair, blue eyes, and a round, freckled face.

10 descriptive writing practices.

How to Practice Writing Description

Here are some descriptive writing activities that will inspire you while providing opportunities to practice writing description. If you don’t have much experience with descriptive writing, you may find that your first few attempts are flat and boring. If you can’t keep readers engaged, they’ll wander off. Work at crafting descriptions that are compelling and mesmerizing.

Go to one of your favorite spots and write a description of the setting: it could be your bedroom, a favorite coffee shop, or a local park. Leave people, dialogue, and action out of it. Just focus on explaining what the space looks like.
Who is your favorite character from the movies? Describe the character from head to toe. Show the reader not only what the character looks like, but also how the character acts. Do this without including action or dialogue. Remember: description only!
Forty years ago we didn’t have cell phones or the internet. Now we have cell phones that can access the internet. Think of a device or gadget that we’ll have forty years from now and describe it.
Since modern fiction is light on description, many young and new writers often fail to include details, even when the reader needs them. Go through one of your writing projects and make sure elements that readers may not be familiar with are adequately described.
Sometimes in a narrative, a little description provides respite from all the action and dialogue. Make a list of things from a story you’re working on (gadgets, characters, settings, etc.), and for each one, write a short description of no more than a hundred words.
As mentioned, Tolkien often spent pages describing a single landscape. Choose one of your favorite pieces of classic literature, find a long passage of description, and rewrite it. Try to cut the descriptive word count in half.
When you read a book, use a highlighter to mark sentences and paragraphs that contain description. Don’t highlight every adjective and adverb. Look for longer passages that are dedicated to description.
Write a description for a child. Choose something reasonably difficult, like the solar system. How do you describe it in such a way that a child understands how he or she fits into it?
Most writers dream of someday writing a book. Describe your book cover.
Write a one-page description of yourself.

If you have any descriptive writing practices to add to this list, feel free to share them in the comments.

Descriptive Writing

Does descriptive writing come easily to you, or do you struggle with it? Do you put much thought into how you write description? What types of descriptive writing have you tackled — descriptive essays, blocks of description within larger texts, or descriptions woven throughout a narrative? Share your tips for descriptive writing by leaving a comment, and keep writing!

Further Reading: Abolish the Adverbs , Making the Right Word Choices for Better Writing , and Writing Description in Fiction .

Ready Set Write a Guide to Creative Writing

I find descriptions easier when first beginning a scene. Other ones I struggle with. Yes, intertwining them with dialogue does help a lot.

I have the opposite experience. I tend to dive right into action and dialogue when I first start a scene.

I came across this article at just the right time. I am just starting to write a short story. This will change the way I describe characters in my story.

Thank you for this. R.G. Ramsey

You’re welcome!

Great tips and how to practise and improve our descriptive writing skills. Thank you for sharing.

You’re welcome, Bella.

Hello Melissa

I have read many of your articles about different aspects of writing and have enjoyed all of them. What you said here, I agree with, with the exception of #7. That is one point that I dispute and don’t understand the reason why anyone would do this, though I’ve seen books that had things like that done to them.

To me, a book is something to be treasured, loved and taken care of. It deserves my respect because I’m sure the author poured their heart and soul into its creation. Marking it up that way is nothing short of defacing it. A book or story is a form of art, so should a person mark over a picture by Rembrandt or any other famous painter? You’re a very talented author, so why would you want someone to mark through the words you had spent considerable time and effort agonizing over, while searching for the best words to convey your thoughts?

If I want to remember some section or point the author is making, then I’ll take a pen and paper and record the page number and perhaps the first few words of that particular section. I’ve found that writing a note this way helps me remember it better. This is then placed inside the cover for future reference. If someone did what you’ve suggested to a book of mine, I’d be madder than a ‘wet hen’, and that person would certainly be told what I thought of them.

In any of the previous articles you’ve written, you’ve brought up some excellent points which I’ve tried to incorporate in my writing. Keep up the good work as I know your efforts have helped me, and I’m sure other authors as well.

Hi Stanley. Thanks so much for sharing your point of view. I appreciate and value it.

Marking up a book is a common practice, especially in academia. Putting notes in margins, underlining, highlighting, and tagging pages with bookmarks is standard. Personally, I mark up nonfiction paperbacks, but I never mark up fiction paperbacks or any hardcovers (not since college).

I completely respect your right to keep your books in pristine condition. And years ago, when I started college, I felt exactly the same way. I was horrified that people (instructors and professors!) would fill their books with ugly yellow highlighting and other markips. But I quickly realized that this was shortsighted.

Consider an old paperback that is worn and dog-eared. With one look, you know this book has been read many times and it’s probably loved. It’s like the Velveteen Rabbit of books. I see markups as the same — that someone was engaging with the book and trying to understand it on a deeper level, which is not disrespectful. It’s something to be celebrated.

Sometimes we place too much value on the book as a physical object rather than what’s inside. I appreciate a beautiful book as much as anyone but what really matters to me is the information or experience that it contains. I often read on a Kindle. Sometimes I listen to audio books. There is no physical book. The experience is not lessened.

I understand where you’re coming from. I used to feel the same way, but my mind was changed. I’m not trying to change yours, but I hope you’ll understand.

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How to Describe Place, Create Setting, Mood and Atmosphere in Creative Writing

by melaniewp | May 5, 2013 | Creative Writing , Of Mice and Men , Pathetic Fallacy , Setting | 0 comments

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Writing a Descriptive Essay About A Place - Guide With Examples

Understanding Descriptive Essays

A descriptive essay is a type of writing that aims to describe and portray an object, person, or place. The essay typically includes sensory details to help the reader imagine its contents more vividly. Descriptive essays can be written about a person , place, or other themes like nature , autumn , food , or even yourself .

A descriptive essay about a place should provide enough details for the reader to build a mental image of it. To do this, you need to include vivid descriptions and relevant information that could paint a picture in their minds.

Let's read some examples to see what a good descriptive essay looks like.

Examples of Descriptive Essay About Any Place

Here are some descriptive writing about a place examples:

Example of a Descriptive Essay About a Place

Descriptive Essay About a Place You Visited

Descriptive Essay About a Place Called Home

Descriptive Essay About a Place You Loved as a Child

Descriptive Essay About a Place of Interest I Visited

Descriptive Essay About a Favorite Place

Do you need more sample essays? Check out more descriptive essay examples t o get inspired.

Tips for Writing an Excellent Descriptive Essay About A Place

Now that you've read some examples of descriptive essays about places, it's time to learn how to write one yourself. Here are some tips on writing a great essay:

Choose The Right Topic

The topic of your essay should be something that you have a strong connection to or feeling about. It could be a place you've visited recently or a place from your childhood. Moreover, make sure that it's something that you can write about in enough detail to make your essay interesting.

Check out this blog with 100+ descriptive essay topics to get your creative juices flowing.

Gather Information

Gather as much information as possible about the topic of your essay. This will help you craft vivid descriptions and portray an accurate picture for your readers. Gather your observations, research online, and talk to people who have visited the place you're writing about.

Make sure to research the topic thoroughly so you can provide accurate and detailed descriptions. Read up as much as you can about the history of the place, and any interesting facts or stories about it.

Structure Your Essay

Outline your descriptive essay before beginning to write so all points flow logically from one to another throughout the entire piece.

Make sure to include a strong introduction and conclusion, as well as several body paragraphs that help support your main points.

Include Sensory Details

Use sensory language by including details such as sights, smells, tastes, sounds, etc. This helps to engage readers and transport them into the setting of your essay.

When writing a descriptive essay, make sure to include vivid descriptions that involve all five senses. This will help create a more engaging and immersive experience for your readers.

Use Vivid Language

Make sure to use strong and powerful words when describing the place you're writing about. Use metaphors and similes to bring your descriptions to life and make them more interesting for readers.

Proofread Your Essay

Proofreading is an important step in any writing process, especially when it comes to descriptive essays. Make sure to check for any typos or spelling errors that may have slipped through in your writing.

You also need to make sure that the flow of your essay is logical and coherent. Check if you've used a consistent point of view throughout, and make sure that all ideas are well-supported with evidence.

Follow these tips and examples, and you'll be well on your way to writing a great descriptive essay.

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Writing About Place

Techniques for writing about real places and settings effectively.

Regardless of genre, the use of setting in creative writing is of singular importance. However, there are further complications to the use of real world settings in your writing. Whether an author claims an alternative history, or a parallel world, there are particular expectations from readers about the way in which a setting in a real place is shaped. This following discussion is going to outline a number of recommendations for writers when considering how to best develop real settings.

Meg Mundell in her discussion of literary place-making comments that “every story takes place somewhere ,” 1 and offers the five modes of place-orientated experiential techniques (POETs) as a structure for writers. Mundell’s model is a practice-based framework designed to help with the process of literary place-making. As a set of techniques it is well considered and offers useful advice specifically to those writing in real places.

The five POET techniques are Retrospective, Immersive, Collaborative, Vicarious and Nebulous, and will be unpacked in more detail through the following discussion. I will also discuss some perceived complications, adjacent values, and demonstrations of application. This discussion is designed to offer writing advice, but is not a step by step writing process, rather I invite the reader to take from it what would best benefit your own writing.

POET One: Retrospective technique

The first technique Mundell outlines concerns the harnessing of place-based personal memories. Both recent and older memories can be utilised and can often be a powerful source as our memories are not the visuals alone. Rather memories come with additional sensory and emotional information that can help an author provide a setting with more than just description. The retrospective technique, Mundell states, is drawing on autobiographical memories of place.

It is easy to see the value in starting here. Most authors will draw from their own experiences when developing their narratives anyway. This may not correspond directly to the plot or characters, but rather is often utilised in a myriad of ways throughout the stories. For instance, an author could consider the inclusion of a particular habit that takes place in a certain setting. Such as crouching down to run their fingers through the sand when they visit the beach. Or it could include a preference by a character for a certain season or time of the day. Even without noticing most authors will utilise their own preferences and memories to populate a narrative’s setting.

Memories, as mentioned, are incredibly powerful. It is not just the visualisation but the encoded states that accompany these. For example, when trying to utilise the setting of a windswept coast in the narrative, a writer may remember the coast line where they grew up. This will be encoded with polysensual information such as smells and tastes, the feel of the cold air on their skin, or how the salt stings sunburnt skin, or how cold the water is first thing in the morning. It will also be populated with corresponding emotions, such as pleasure, joy, or even grief and despair. This is a rich place for an author to draw from to help create settings that resonate meaningfully with the reader.

A retrospection does not need to rely upon memory alone. Photographs, video, even collected items from visiting these places can be useful. They can help clarify descriptive details, such as the specific type of blue of the ocean in the morning. They could also provide context for memories, such as exactly where something is located. This can be useful to then prompt further research into that place. They may also work to jog memories that have faded with time.

There is power in harnessing these personal memories. At times it can be easy as a writer to focus on the plot and dialogue, to the degree when a scene becomes merely talking heads in a vacuum. Retrospective techniques invite the author to immerse themselves within a place. To feel and exist in that place. Polysensual inclusions in writing are important, these refer to the use of senses in writing, but more specifically the use of multiple senses (as opposed to just sight, which is just description) when creating place. 3 By drawing not only on sight, but also on the sound of the crashing waves, the smell and taste of salt in the air, the feel of the breeze on the skin, all of this creates a more meaningful sense of place than simply describing a blue ocean.

POET Two: Immersive technique

The immersive technique is the direct encountering or experiencing of a place. This refers to the use of site visits by the author themselves. This has already the obvious limitation of access. A site that is difficult to access, especially in a Covid world, can limit the availability a writer has to the immersive technique. However, this limitation is confined to very specific places. For instance, I may not be able to visit a market in Delhi easily, but I can visit both in-closed and outdoor markets near my home. No, I am not going to be able to capture the resonance, the very flavour, of the real experience, but there are commonalities that I can access. To divide this into two categories I want to examine immersion in specific place and immersion in general place.

Experiencing and even recording real places

Immersion in specific places

Immersion in specific places refers to the ability to actually visit a location. Mundell refers to this as the primary purpose of this technique and highlights the importance of accessing “an immediate sensory and emotional engagement with place.” 4 This is a powerful experience, to be able to stand in a real place and just be in the moment. This can be especially powerful when we consider very unique opportunities, such as visiting the pyramids in Egypt or to go snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef. Such real experiences would be hard to mimic even through the viewing of film, documentaries and photographs of that place. It is also helpful when visiting such specific places to create your own documents that can be used throughout the writing process using the retrospective technique.

The immersion in a specific place can also be about capturing specific themes, tones and polysensory information that are unique to not just that place, but the specific time you are there. For instance, visiting the highlands of Scotland is very different in summer and winter to the degree that it can feel as if they are completely different places. The contrast of the place to also the writer’s own sense of place is very important. To understand and perceive a different cultural or historical location can be hard to experience without being there, without experiencing the “culture shock” for yourself. These are experiences that make it hard to replicate in any other way.

Immersion in a specific place is also about time. To visit the Cairo souks for the day may give a small snap shot of that place, but to spend a month visiting at different times and with different people would begin to help capture the essence of the uniqueness of these bazaars. Immersion can also offer the access of the collaborative technique, where talking and getting to know the people in a place can help shape an understanding of what it means, its very spirit. Finally, immersion in a specific place can also be a place the writer has lived their life, a place they have seen every season with, a place that is resonate already with their lived experiences. This is an immersion that is hard to replicate for any other writer.

Immersion in general places

However, as mentioned, a writer cannot always access a real place, and not always for a long enough period of time to develop a deep understanding of the essence of place. There are other techniques, such as retrospective if you’ve visited before, or collaborative by accessing other’s experiences, that can be used to off set this. However, this does not diminish the importance of drawing on immersive techniques.

A story is made up of a hundred small places. The larger setting may be Cairo, but there will be cafes, streets, museums, parks, waterways, farms, lounges, kitchens, bedrooms, and more. A hundred little places that all have their own construction and add to a larger real sense of place. An immersion in general places can help support the construction of these. What are the smells and sounds of a café? How does it feel to stand in a park in the middle of the city in the middle of Autumn? What ways do people set up their bedrooms and what does this say about them? An author can engage with real places in an immersive manner wherever they are.

What then is the act of the immersive technique? The act of immersion is captured well in its definition. It is first to have an “absorbing involvement.” 5 What does this mean? It means not being on your phone, not thinking about what to have for dinner. It means actively working through a set of observations: what do I see? what makes this place unique/special/important? what do I feel/smell/taste? what are the levels of sound present; obvious, ambient, distinct, uncommon? The writer needs to be absorbed in the place and focus only on the recording of the place. Later visits it can be useful to then picture how your character/s interact with the place, but for the first visits it needs to be an absorbed involvement.

Secondly, it is “based on extensive exposure to surroundings…that are native or pertinent to the object of study.” 6 This is more referring to being immersed in learning, but this can apply to the writer. We are making an extensive study of place. This refers to the need to return multiple times to the same place to learn its different moods. It is helpful also during these processes of immersion to keep autoethnographic (auto – personal experience, ethno – understand experience, graphy – to analyse) 7 notes of your own thoughts and experiences of the place and reflect upon your interpretation of place based on your own personal history. For instance the emotional tenor of your writing about a particular park could be impacted by the fact you were dumped here by your greatest love. This does not diminish the value of your observations, but it needs to be reflected upon that this could influence your construction of the sensory elements of that place. For instance, when describing the park’s dreary, miserable environment, this is perhaps not the place to set the most uplifting part of your story.

POET Three: Collaborative technique

The collaborative technique addresses some of the issues raised in the immersive technique as it utilises sources and people that already exist. Mundell explains this technique as “tapping into an accumulated stock of place-based cultural knowledge.” 8 This can include the access of intertextual sources such as written or visual artefacts or interpersonal sources such as interviews, conversations and so on. There are three great source accesses that all writers have for collaborative use, and that is the internet, already published stories, and the people in their lives.

This technique is also important as it is the first opportunity for the writer to move beyond their own perspective. Retrospective and immersive privilege the author’s own experiences and context, which is a valuable source for all writers, but is limited when considering the diversity of perspectives and experiences that a story should include. Place is a multifaceted thing, it belongs to everyone and it is not experienced in a singular, linear manner. Collaborative as a technique is important in addressing this concern.

There are of course limitations to this approach. Firstly, a writer needs to learn to operate outside their own echo chamber. A story where everyone has the same background, same point of view, and same experiences is not particularly interesting. A writer needs to read outside of their preferred genres, they need to watch different things, and they need to talk to different people. This can often be framed through the importance of research. Most authors conduct research for their writing. Not necessarily to the degree of being academic research, but they explore sources for historical information, cultural perspective, to find other experiences they have not had. A beginning place is often film and novels as these help show social uses of shared spaces that a writer can draw from. This is also the area where there is an opportunity to apply these techniques to a secondary world story. For instance, it is unlikely that a writer will have an opportunity to experience outer-space for themselves, but through accessing stories, film, even lived experiences of real astronauts, a writer can access shared understandings of this place.

Collaborative techniques also open opportunities to engage not just with place, but with the people that populate them. Ask five of your friends what the beach means to them and they are likely to give you five nuanced experiences. It is also an opportunity to make use of artefacts in the same way that is done retrospectively; that a writer can make use of artefacts such as maps, webpages and photos, to explore a place. To collaborate is to experience place through more than a writer’s own eyes, and this can only enrich a narrative.

POET Four: Vicarious technique

The vicarious technique can be understood through a number of points, but at its heart it is the act of empathising with place. The writer through their vicarious emplacement of themselves into a place, can “mobilise perspective-taking and narrative empathy to help emplace characters within the story.” 9 This is the act of feeling about a place by imaginatively inhabiting the place through the body of the character. We, the writers, feel how this place feels through their own context and experiences. This is where instead of the park being where you were unceremoniously dumped, it is the park the character remembers swinging on their father’s arm in. The place, its setting and environment, may not change, but the resonance of the emotion can change.

This technique is about considering how the place can be used to position the reader’s experience. Mundell refers to this as “how stories resonate for readers, as the body and emotions become shared sites of understanding.” 10 A character that inhabits a place that can be experienced sensuously rather than simple described, works to provide the reader with access to a real experience in that place in that moment in the context of the story. This is more likely to activate the reader’s own empathy and engage them in the story. This technique is largely a part of the act of narrative writing, however, Mundell is right in calling it out directly. A writer needs to actively consider not only the character and the plot in this moment, but the setting and place. How can the setting be used to help evoke the tone? For instance, if the character is scared, this means different things if they are standing in a darkened dead end alley, or are in their kitchen at home, or are on a train during rush hour. The place can inform the plot, but it will also influence the theme and tone of the scene.

POET Five: Nebulous technique

The final technique is nebulous, both in name and approach. This is the technique that refers to, as Mundell states, “such slippery phenomena as dream content, ‘pure imagination,’ subconscious formulations, intuition, the sublime, the uncanny, hauntings, and genius loci.” 11

Many writers have said they drew content for their work from dreams, and indeed the surreal mashups of our subconscious can yield a fascinating sense of place. This technique can also refer to the combining of places that a writer has experienced or researched, or the combining of other’s experiences into a single place. It can also be the changes made to an experienced place to evoke fantastic inclusions in place, such as the appearance of a set of stairs in the middle of a forest that lead…somewhere. The nebulous technique allows the writer to challenge the limitations of the real into what they need for their narrative. This is the opportunity to draw on retrospective experiences and combine them with immersive techniques and research from collaborative techniques to make a place feel new, unique and that it belongs to your narrative.

This is often the purview of speculative fiction, but it can also be used in realism, and is very effective in giving a sense of place the thematic elements needed for that scene. This is also an area important for consideration for genre writers (fantasy, romance, crime, etc.) where a reader has a particular set of expectations around tonal and thematic elements that need to be present in the setting. Although a writer can play with these archetypes and expectations, it is important to be clear in the promises made to readers about setting. For instance, a gritty crime novel means readers expect late night police stations/detective offices, nightlife areas, run down districts, rain or dark cold nights (note the repetition of night). If a writer is not planning on delivering this they need to be very clear at the start, for instance the TV show Death in Paradise already uses the title to call out this setting change. But even in this idealised, azure ocean, setting most of the above settings are still present. The nebulous technique allows for creative freedoms, but it is still embedded within the creation of place and draws from the writer’s experiences of the other four techniques.

Writing place is of central importance to all writers. It is more than a backdrop setting, a cardboard cut-out to frame the characters, it needs to be embedded deeply in a polysensual manner that helps resonate with the reader experience. Meg Mundell offers the POET format for approaching and considering the writing of distinct places. A writer who utilises retrospective, immersive, collaborative, vicarious, and nebulous techniques when developing the settings of their narratives will hopefully find a construction of a rich, meaningful sense of place emerging.

Writers and readers, what do you think about writing about real places?

Works Cited

Mundell, Meg. (2018). Crafting ‘literary sense of place’: The generative work of literary place-making. The Journal of the Association for the Study of Australian Literature , 18(1), 1-17. https://openjournals.library.sydney.edu.au/index.php/JASAL/article/view/12375 ↩
All images are sourced from Creative Commons ↩
Westphal, Bertrand. (2011). Geocriticism: Real and Fictional Spaces . New York: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230119161 ↩
Mundell, pp.9-10 ↩
“Immersion.” (n.d.). Merriam-Webster . https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immersion ↩
Ellis, C., Adams, T.E., & Bochner, A.P. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Historical Social Research, 36 (4), 273-290 ↩
Mundell, p.10 ↩

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68 Comments

Much as I appreciate a well drawn setting, I feel it needs to resonate with the characters… otherwise it’s like sitting in the theatre after the actors have left.

Place in fiction often lingers more vividly after characters and the intricacies of plot have faded. Thomas Hardy’s The Woodlanders is my favourite novel for the setting more than anything – the isolated hamlet of Little Hintock. The novel’s central characters reflect the beauty and harshness of the land: the unsophisticated Giles Winterbourne is described as ‘Autumn’s very brother’ yet it is the same unsympathetic forces of nature which bring about his untimely death. Hardy’s Wessex is often idealised but it was, as Hardy showed us, often a brutal place in which to live and work – the young Jude Fawley has a premonition too early in life of rural England’s exhausted sterility. The pastoral world of Hardy’s novels often drained the life out of people just as the harsh deprivations of London did for Dickens’ characters.

I was thinking today of the possession of place which is so deeply ingrained in the British psyche: to possess bricks and mortar, to possess land, and yet English literature’s greatest literary achievements often depict characters who have been excluded from this process for one reason or another. Literature often provides an alternative world where many people can reclaim a sense of place and belonging denied to them if they haven’t subscribed to the mortgaged existence. The cost of not subscribing can often be calamitous and Hardy’s greatest achievement for me in Jude the Obscure was showing so powerfully Jude’s rootless existence and the cost to his ambitions for not having a fixed abode.

There is nothing redeeming about the places described in Jude and Hardy shows how warmth and shelter in this possessive-obsessive land is often found in a warm pub or in a train compartment. (And this cruel government is even make these small refuges inaccessible to swathes of the population.)

I would venture to say that it is place, more than character or plot, which tell us so uncomfortable home truths about the world we live in.

I thought place was a really interesting extra dimension in novels until I read Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers when I was on holiday in Galloway. Sadly the book was as interesting as a railway timetable but I did learn just how many trains used to run across vast areas of the Southern Uplands now completely devoid of public transport.

I tend to not write about real places because I’m way too lazy about trying to get things right and accurate.

Yes: our memories are hearing; taste; touch; smell; vestibular; interioception and proprioception.

Moving through a specific place at a specific time as a specific person – and then doing this with the focus character in the focused plot and their point of view/perspective.

I tend to use Collaborative Placemaking as an author.

For me, it is an issue of scale. I obviously use real places for the large scale (planet, country, state, etc) but as the scale grows smaller it becomes more fictitious.

For example: United States (real), Tennessee (Real), Nashville (Real), Lake Charles St. (fake), Metro Police Station 16 (fake), office of Detective Mark Able (fake), Middle left drawer of Able’s desk (fake), a photograph of his wife Dorothy standing in front of the Hermitage (fake picture of a real place?)

Using real places in fiction can be useful. A terrific aid to the writer in visualising the action and maintaining consistency.

Great writeup. Just remember writers, you are describing a fictional version of that place. You can’t expect the reader to know everything, so make sure to describe it as if it were totally made up.

But then you have to get all the little details right for all the people who live there/. 😛

I prefer fictional area in real place. Like fictional small town in real state.

Thing is, you really don’t need to get all the little details right.

Sure, the big details are important – like knowing whether the village is on the east or west coast so your characters can either see a sunrise or a sunset.

But nobody really cares if you get the distance between two buildings slightly wrong, or if the snicket down the side of the pub doesn’t actually lead to a small stream at the edge of a wood, but to a carpark with a load of bottle reycling bins.

There’s a Jackie Chan movie set in Melbourne (sorry, I can’t remember the name). It’s pretty obvious to locals that when Jackie goes up an escalator on one side of the city he shouldn’t pop up on a street at the other side of the city, but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the movie at all.

I like how in one scene in Umberto Eco’s Il pendolo di Foucauilt (I’m not sure if that is the correct title as I am not native English/Italian speaker) there is a dialog exchange between two monks who are walking on a real-life-based street, and the length of the dialog is exactly same as you would actually have realistically if you were to walk there. Though I dont think that amount of dedication is necesarry.

The English title of that book is indeed FOCAULT’S PENDULUM.

[some of us think Michel but this is a much older Foucault – like Middle Ages ancient/medieval].

Very veridical, isn’t it?

Have admired Eco since I was a little girl and NAME OF THE ROSE became popular.

To me, it comes down to what kinds of creative liberties you plan to take in your setting. By that I mean, don’t put the onus on me to know when you are writing fiction and when you are pulling from reality. Don’t use real street names if you plan to make up street names too, don’t use real neighborhoods and also invent new ones, etc.

Be aware, people will try to catch you for pulling from reality without doing your due diligence, e.g. getting simple details about the town wrong, like driving past landmarks in an impossible order (Sleepless in Seattle).

I have used real cities for modern fiction. I set mine in Toronto because I can reference a realistic space in my mind as I write. However I have always liked the tongue in cheek of GTA where they are clearly set in Miami, or New York, etc.

Place makes so much sense as a writer.

It’s the double-edged sword of being aware of who we are and where we are: To be able to know what is, has been and will be disassociates us from our present reality: Our connection between what we are and where we are. But it’s a powerful tool to be able to “reality-generate” and inform on what our future might be and therefore change reality to reflect ourselves?

hmm, that would make a good poem…

The Age of Misrule series by Mark Chadbourne made use of a lot of real places, both well known and obscure – everywhere from Stonehenge to the Saint Lawrence Church and the Hellfire Caves of High Wycombe. It added a lot of interesting flavour to the stories.

If you’re going to use real places in your writing, get them right – use places you can either visit or learn about in extensive detail.

I’ll use real cities or make up my own depending on what serves the particular piece I’m writing.

My Sci fi project I’m currently working on is a combination of both- assuming much of northern California has urban sprawled it’s way into one metro area. The last thing I wrote took place in a fictional small town. In general I’ll use real places by default unless I have some narrative reason to make something up just based on the principle that it’s always best to write what you know.

I find writing places to be extremely difficult, even when I’ve been there or studied it on Street View, so I can only imagine trying to invent a new city from scratch.

It’s just hard to be consistent with scale, detail, and functionality of the location. The final Hunger Games book is (IMHO) a great example of failure in that regard, and it feels like most locations only consists of about five blocks and maybe twenty people total.

Using a real place can also be tiring if it is over explained. I, a Pittsburgh resident, once read a book set in Pittsburgh and every paragraph seemed like going redicilously through the Google Maps streets and landmarks. But if you make up a city you also run the risk of overbuilding the world.

In my own short fiction I have a fascination with geography and location, but I try to take an approach of “do research, get facts straight, then make implications from there.” I wrote a bit about a little town I’ve never been to and I made sure to research demographics, population, etc. to place my character where he would have been and make sure my details lined up with reality. Then, from that information, I built the culture and atmosphere and metaphor of the town outwards from the cold hard facts.

Using an actual place just makes things harder. You have to do more research and people will nitpick the details.

Me, personally, I write about places that I’ve actually been to but don’t know a whole lot about. I have been to the Bay Area but never did some in-depth exploring of the area. I did visit a lot of the little cities in San Mateo County and so most of my writing is based on the places that I have actually been to and know a little about.

I didn’t do a lot of Exploring of S.F. but did go to to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf quiet a few times. I also did walk Market Street a few times and went to the Westfield mall. So majority of my writing revolves around those areas that I’ve been to and sites that I had seen before. It makes writing WAY more easier when you’ve actually been to a place and heard the sounds and seen the sites in person.

Knowing where something is is not the same thing as being a resident.

I personally prefer generic/imaginary cities unless it’s super iconic, eg Paris, London, Munich.

Yes, me too. Or rather, if someone sets it Smalltown, Ruralia I really don’t need a vast amount of details about the actual Smalltown, Ruralia. It can end up feeling very parochial and even exclusionary if the tone isn’t right.

So I tend to avoid names and go for things like “main road”, “high street”, “upmarket suburb”, “central park”, “town square” when describing geographic features within a real town. But usually mine are invented, even if they’re based on something.

I’ll take Smalltown, Ruralia. I’ll rename it Littletown. I then have the freedom to add and subtract what features I like.

Most of my projects are set in different places of the world and so I did a lot of research with Google Maps/Earth, websites about those specific cities (not always big ones like New York or Tokyo) and there’s some I’ve been to too but it’s more for geographic purposes than to do a complete showoff of the culture and things like that (and my projects are also mostly set in the future so there is place for creation even there).

This is an interesting read! It would be fun to put some more of these ideas in the context of specific genres and see where there’s overlap or divergence in the usage of techniques. I loved where this was touched on in the nebulous section 😊

This is an amazing article that I will be utilizing in future writing projects. It is very well written and is very helpful for a writer. I didn’t even know there was a technique for writing locations, much less multiple.

I use almost exclusively fictional settings. Many of my stories take place in a city, but the city is either fictional or just vague. I don’t live in your standard big city, so I’m not all that familiar with any of them, so I prefer to invent fictional cities. I go the DC route where Metropolis and Gotham are both fictional cities but are based on New York, for example.

A lot of fictional things are based on/inspired by “real” things and aren’t expected to be 100% accurate. So writers, live a little bit and don’t barrier yourselves. 🙂

A while ago I had the idea of setting a story in my old high school, but for creative reasons/limits I decided to set it in the same world as my epic fantasy trilogy.

I read a book recently that took place in Washington. The author mentioned people heading from Portland to Washington and stopping in Eugene on the way. You can’t stop in Eugene on your way to Washington if you start in Portland. That one error made me suspicious of other geography and historical points from there on out.

My dad is writing a book right now and all the places are real. The only problem he has is finishing the story, like will the places still exist when he finish it.

The best advice given to me is to write what I know.

Very interesting article! I learned a lot about world building.

Authors have been writing about real places as long as there has been writing!

Real places help bring some realism to stories that I personally enjoy, but that’s just my personal bias.

I like books that set up place well, it allows me to enjoy the action that then happens there. I recall one book “Inside Out” that used place in a unique way that surprised me and made the book memorable. I thought it was occurring in an enclosed place on earth, but it was totally satisfying when it was revealed where we actually were. 🙂 Thank you for your essay, it is a really good resource. Place is almost another character in the story I guess, in as much as you need to keep track of where it is at and how it interacts with the action.

I generally go the demi-real method. My story does take place in California, but fake cities within it.

I would love to read a book set in my city even if the story was insane and made us all out to be evil villains. It would be fun to read!

It’s fun to imagine things happening in our real world. Most people have the ability to suspend their disbelief and understand that it’s just a story.

I’m rereading Philip Roth’s The Anatomy Lesson now where place has a center in the story. Much of the book is about the main character’s past at The University of Chicago. At about the midway point of the novel, he returns there and attempts to regain his youthful vitality.

Character and setting tend to blend together for me. The lines between the two are kind of blurred since an individual and his/her environment inform and mirror each other. Thank you for these helpful tips on how best to improve the immersive experience of one’s writing!

A good example of writing about place is “A Discovery of Witches” by Deborah Harkness is set partially in the Bodlian, University of Oxford. Just an example off the top of my head.

I think places like Oxford have sort of entered the public domain of places that are acceptable to set a story. Its instantly recognisable and its been around for so long and has been written about countless times before by others. Another story set in Oxford (at least for a part of a story) is Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials for example and I can assure you that the Oxford there does not match the Oxford IRL.

Yes, that is another one, although I would agree the “Oxford” in Pullman’s book is more some parallel universe type of Oxford.

I use real places down to the level of picking out hedges and storm drains!

I get pretty obsessed with making my settings match real world places. I wanted a water tower in one of my novels set in upstate New York, so I literally went searching for a neighborhood where one exists just like in my story and based it there. Google Earth has been a blessing.

I love that!

So glad I’m not the only one getting creepy with Google Earth up in here.

I think Patrick White’s town ‘Sarsparilla’ is a great name for a place.

I love learning new techniques for effective creative writing. These five techniques can unlock a whole new type of relationship between writer to reader. I resonate with this article because I always thought that any type of literature grants the readers an opportunity to travel around the world, learn different cultures, and maybe even discover themselves by the end of the story. And that is all due to effective writing techniques.

While it is true that everything happens somewhere, it is not true that every narrative has to include the setting. Setting can be expressed through feelings, and never mentioned at all.

Enjoyed this article, thoroughly!

I think it is interesting that you say that dreams can be a way of adding an element of surreality to the setting.

This gave me a lot to think about. Wondering if anyone has any thoughts on how to translate this into non-fiction writing? What aspects can we keep/what differences should we be mindful of?

Writing about a setting or place, or about a person (etc) in a place is much more easily (and believably) done if writing about what one knows. Unless the novel is fantasy, it’s generally not easy to imagine a place one has never been and put that in their writing authoritatively.

One interesting counterpoint to this framework could also be to think about the methodology of writing place—once one is enmeshed in the nitty-gritty of pen-to-paper or hands-to-keyboard perception seems to shift a bit. I find it helpful to consider how place can be induced from the pen as well as being approached in a more deductive way based on prior decision-making.

As someone interested in stories about fantastical settings, I haven’t previously tried the technique of visiting places to write about them, but this article has provided me with a new perspective on this technique. I am intrigued by Mundell’s idea of spending time in a place to capture the “feeling” of being in that place, as opposed to only focusing on the objective aspects of it, and how this can be applied to writing about similar settings, real or imagined.

I think there is such a risk writing about real place settings. If the representation doesn’t align with the readers view/expectations you can lose them before they are hooked on the central story arc.

Michael Crummey also gave an excellent lecture about this that was turned into a book called “Most of What Follows is True: Places Imagined and Real” that discusses his experiences and ideas about setting fiction in place.

Thanks for sharing that Emily – I will check it out 🙂

Very interesting topic ! With experience the reader may spot when a scene is juxtaposition of idea bricks (just a decorum) or a coherent piece. It always fascinated me how a writer can put anchors in our head to see a place but only to make us feel something completely different than just a background. It is even perfect at some point when you forget about it and just feel emotions.

Quite a helpful technique for writing a place!

In a way I don’t think the approach is too different to writing fiction in a real place, you would disregard any of the advice that indicates an imagining but the same principles should be the same. One thing that I am engaged in currently is a geocritical review of a real place, and this means not only am I going there and capturing lived experience, I am also engaging with what is already written about that place. For real NF this would be looking at historical documents, local websites and tourist sites, local papers etc. that help capture a sense of how the place has changed and how it is used. I hope that helps a little 🙂

Really interesting and thoughtful piece of writing here. Thank you for contributing. Got me thinking.

What Is Creative Writing? (Ultimate Guide + 20 Examples)

Creative writing begins with a blank page and the courage to fill it with the stories only you can tell.

I face this intimidating blank page daily–and I have for the better part of 20+ years.

In this guide, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of creative writing with tons of examples.

What Is Creative Writing (Long Description)?

Creative Writing is the art of using words to express ideas and emotions in imaginative ways. It encompasses various forms including novels, poetry, and plays, focusing on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary tropes.

Bright, colorful creative writer's desk with notebook and typewriter -- What Is Creative Writing

Table of Contents

Let’s expand on that definition a bit.

Creative writing is an art form that transcends traditional literature boundaries.

It includes professional, journalistic, academic, and technical writing. This type of writing emphasizes narrative craft, character development, and literary tropes. It also explores poetry and poetics traditions.

In essence, creative writing lets you express ideas and emotions uniquely and imaginatively.

It’s about the freedom to invent worlds, characters, and stories. These creations evoke a spectrum of emotions in readers.

Creative writing covers fiction, poetry, and everything in between.

It allows writers to express inner thoughts and feelings. Often, it reflects human experiences through a fabricated lens.

Types of Creative Writing

There are many types of creative writing that we need to explain.

Some of the most common types:

Short stories
Screenplays
Flash fiction
Creative Nonfiction

Short Stories (The Brief Escape)

Short stories are like narrative treasures.

They are compact but impactful, telling a full story within a limited word count. These tales often focus on a single character or a crucial moment.

Short stories are known for their brevity.

They deliver emotion and insight in a concise yet powerful package. This format is ideal for exploring diverse genres, themes, and characters. It leaves a lasting impression on readers.

Example: Emma discovers an old photo of her smiling grandmother. It’s a rarity. Through flashbacks, Emma learns about her grandmother’s wartime love story. She comes to understand her grandmother’s resilience and the value of joy.

Novels (The Long Journey)

Novels are extensive explorations of character, plot, and setting.

They span thousands of words, giving writers the space to create entire worlds. Novels can weave complex stories across various themes and timelines.

The length of a novel allows for deep narrative and character development.

Readers get an immersive experience.

Example: Across the Divide tells of two siblings separated in childhood. They grow up in different cultures. Their reunion highlights the strength of family bonds, despite distance and differences.

Poetry (The Soul’s Language)

Poetry expresses ideas and emotions through rhythm, sound, and word beauty.

It distills emotions and thoughts into verses. Poetry often uses metaphors, similes, and figurative language to reach the reader’s heart and mind.

Poetry ranges from structured forms, like sonnets, to free verse.

The latter breaks away from traditional formats for more expressive thought.

Example: Whispers of Dawn is a poem collection capturing morning’s quiet moments. “First Light” personifies dawn as a painter. It brings colors of hope and renewal to the world.

Plays (The Dramatic Dialogue)

Plays are meant for performance. They bring characters and conflicts to life through dialogue and action.

This format uniquely explores human relationships and societal issues.

Playwrights face the challenge of conveying setting, emotion, and plot through dialogue and directions.

Example: Echoes of Tomorrow is set in a dystopian future. Memories can be bought and sold. It follows siblings on a quest to retrieve their stolen memories. They learn the cost of living in a world where the past has a price.

Screenplays (Cinema’s Blueprint)

Screenplays outline narratives for films and TV shows.

They require an understanding of visual storytelling, pacing, and dialogue. Screenplays must fit film production constraints.

Example: The Last Light is a screenplay for a sci-fi film. Humanity’s survivors on a dying Earth seek a new planet. The story focuses on spacecraft Argo’s crew as they face mission challenges and internal dynamics.

Memoirs (The Personal Journey)

Memoirs provide insight into an author’s life, focusing on personal experiences and emotional journeys.

They differ from autobiographies by concentrating on specific themes or events.

Memoirs invite readers into the author’s world.

They share lessons learned and hardships overcome.

Example: Under the Mango Tree is a memoir by Maria Gomez. It shares her childhood memories in rural Colombia. The mango tree in their yard symbolizes home, growth, and nostalgia. Maria reflects on her journey to a new life in America.

Flash Fiction (The Quick Twist)

Flash fiction tells stories in under 1,000 words.

It’s about crafting compelling narratives concisely. Each word in flash fiction must count, often leading to a twist.

This format captures life’s vivid moments, delivering quick, impactful insights.

Example: The Last Message features an astronaut’s final Earth message as her spacecraft drifts away. In 500 words, it explores isolation, hope, and the desire to connect against all odds.

Creative Nonfiction (The Factual Tale)

Creative nonfiction combines factual accuracy with creative storytelling.

This genre covers real events, people, and places with a twist. It uses descriptive language and narrative arcs to make true stories engaging.

Creative nonfiction includes biographies, essays, and travelogues.

Example: Echoes of Everest follows the author’s Mount Everest climb. It mixes factual details with personal reflections and the history of past climbers. The narrative captures the climb’s beauty and challenges, offering an immersive experience.

Fantasy (The World Beyond)

Fantasy transports readers to magical and mythical worlds.

It explores themes like good vs. evil and heroism in unreal settings. Fantasy requires careful world-building to create believable yet fantastic realms.

Example: The Crystal of Azmar tells of a young girl destined to save her world from darkness. She learns she’s the last sorceress in a forgotten lineage. Her journey involves mastering powers, forming alliances, and uncovering ancient kingdom myths.

Science Fiction (The Future Imagined)

Science fiction delves into futuristic and scientific themes.

It questions the impact of advancements on society and individuals.

Science fiction ranges from speculative to hard sci-fi, focusing on plausible futures.

Example: When the Stars Whisper is set in a future where humanity communicates with distant galaxies. It centers on a scientist who finds an alien message. This discovery prompts a deep look at humanity’s universe role and interstellar communication.

Watch this great video that explores the question, “What is creative writing?” and “How to get started?”:

What Are the 5 Cs of Creative Writing?

The 5 Cs of creative writing are fundamental pillars.

They guide writers to produce compelling and impactful work. These principles—Clarity, Coherence, Conciseness, Creativity, and Consistency—help craft stories that engage and entertain.

They also resonate deeply with readers. Let’s explore each of these critical components.

Clarity makes your writing understandable and accessible.

It involves choosing the right words and constructing clear sentences. Your narrative should be easy to follow.

In creative writing, clarity means conveying complex ideas in a digestible and enjoyable way.

Coherence ensures your writing flows logically.

It’s crucial for maintaining the reader’s interest. Characters should develop believably, and plots should progress logically. This makes the narrative feel cohesive.

Conciseness

Conciseness is about expressing ideas succinctly.

It’s being economical with words and avoiding redundancy. This principle helps maintain pace and tension, engaging readers throughout the story.

Creativity is the heart of creative writing.

It allows writers to invent new worlds and create memorable characters. Creativity involves originality and imagination. It’s seeing the world in unique ways and sharing that vision.

Consistency

Consistency maintains a uniform tone, style, and voice.

It means being faithful to the world you’ve created. Characters should act true to their development. This builds trust with readers, making your story immersive and believable.

Is Creative Writing Easy?

Creative writing is both rewarding and challenging.

Crafting stories from your imagination involves more than just words on a page. It requires discipline and a deep understanding of language and narrative structure.

Exploring complex characters and themes is also key.

Refining and revising your work is crucial for developing your voice.

The ease of creative writing varies. Some find the freedom of expression liberating.

Others struggle with writer’s block or plot development challenges. However, practice and feedback make creative writing more fulfilling.

What Does a Creative Writer Do?

A creative writer weaves narratives that entertain, enlighten, and inspire.

Writers explore both the world they create and the emotions they wish to evoke. Their tasks are diverse, involving more than just writing.

Creative writers develop ideas, research, and plan their stories.

They create characters and outline plots with attention to detail. Drafting and revising their work is a significant part of their process. They strive for the 5 Cs of compelling writing.

Writers engage with the literary community, seeking feedback and participating in workshops.

They may navigate the publishing world with agents and editors.

Creative writers are storytellers, craftsmen, and artists. They bring narratives to life, enriching our lives and expanding our imaginations.

How to Get Started With Creative Writing?

Embarking on a creative writing journey can feel like standing at the edge of a vast and mysterious forest.

The path is not always clear, but the adventure is calling.

Here’s how to take your first steps into the world of creative writing:

Find a time of day when your mind is most alert and creative.
Create a comfortable writing space free from distractions.
Use prompts to spark your imagination. They can be as simple as a word, a phrase, or an image.
Try writing for 15-20 minutes on a prompt without editing yourself. Let the ideas flow freely.
Reading is fuel for your writing. Explore various genres and styles.
Pay attention to how your favorite authors construct their sentences, develop characters, and build their worlds.
Don’t pressure yourself to write a novel right away. Begin with short stories or poems.
Small projects can help you hone your skills and boost your confidence.
Look for writing groups in your area or online. These communities offer support, feedback, and motivation.
Participating in workshops or classes can also provide valuable insights into your writing.
Understand that your first draft is just the beginning. Revising your work is where the real magic happens.
Be open to feedback and willing to rework your pieces.
Carry a notebook or digital recorder to jot down ideas, observations, and snippets of conversations.
These notes can be gold mines for future writing projects.

Final Thoughts: What Is Creative Writing?

Creative writing is an invitation to explore the unknown, to give voice to the silenced, and to celebrate the human spirit in all its forms.

Check out these creative writing tools (that I highly recommend):

How to Describe a Place

by Jill Williamson | Jul 15, 2015 | Writing

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books for teens in lots of weird genres like, fantasy ( Blood of Kings trilogy ), science fiction ( Replication ), and dystopian ( The Safe Lands trilogy ). Find Jill on Facebook , Twitter , Pinterest , or on her author website . Welcome to Part Two of my four-part series on description. Today we are going to talk about describing places. But first, let’s ponder why we should even bother writing out descriptions. Wouldn’t it be better to leave all this up to the reader’s imagination?

Why Bother Describing Things? Editors and writing instructors vary on their insistence that setting and characters be fully described. Some say to leave it out so that the reader can imagine everything. Others say you need to paint the scene for the reader because if you describe nothing, you have what’s commonly referred to as “talking heads.” The reader sees faces floating in space, uttering strings of dialogue. On the other hand, if you describe too much you can pull the reader right out of the story.

I think somewhere in the middle is best. Give your reader enough details so that they know where the characters are and who is in the scene, then let them fill in the other details however their imagination sees fit to do so.

List the Facts Consider creating a checklist for each scene you need to describe. This will help you remember things when it’s time to go back to that location. You don’t need to create such a list for every location in your story. But I find it helpful to know this for places that my characters spend a lot of time.

The LOCATION is: Use simple words: alley, classroom, gym, bedroom or a specific place if that is important like the great hall at Hampton Court. TIME of day: Morning, afternoon, night—especially if the scene takes place outdoors.

WEATHER/TEMPERATURE: You really only need to share this if it is abnormal or important to the scene. People will assume that the temperature is average and the weather is nice unless you tell them differently. WHO is present? Early on in the scene, list the important characters who are present, especially any who will have dialogue so that they don’t seem to appear from nowhere.

The FIVE SENSES: Be aware of all the things your character might experience with his or her senses in each location. You don’t have to type them out every time you are in the scene, and you don’t always have to use all five, but keep them in mind and try to work them in here and there. It will give your reader more unique things to remember. -What can the POV character SEE? -What can the POV character SMELL? -What can the POV character HEAR? -What can the POV character TASTE? -What can the POV character FEEL?

Any important objects or features to PLANT for later? Do you plan to have one character throw a pillow at another? If so, it’s important to mention pillows in your initial description of the room. That way they won’t become what Jeff Gerke calls “magically appearing” pillows.

Describing Places Now that you have your list, here are some tips as to how to use it.

– First time : Describe important places early on in depth. You don’t have to go on and on for paragraphs, but make sure that your description is thorough.

– Start big and zoom in : It helps readers if you start the description with big information, then get smaller. For example: The Dayville Middle School “gymnasium” was a half-court slab of pavement out back of the cafeteria. One basketball hoop stood at an eighty-five degree angle on one end. What remained of the net looked more like two shoelaces tied together. (We start with the gymnasium, which is biggest, mention that its outside, mention the hoop, then the net, which is smallest.)

– Repeat important details throughout story . Next time the characters travel to that “gymnasium,” you can repeat important details like the fact that it’s outside and only has a half court. The net isn’t really important to repeat. And you could always add a different detail, like a three-row set of wooden bleachers or that the concrete got puddles when it rained.

– In each new scene, give location, time of day, and characters present . When you move between scenes, the reader needs to know that. Tell them that Mark drove home from school. Don’t have him magically appearing at home without having traveled there. Now, if you’re starting with a scene break, you can skip telling us how he got home. But you still need to tell us where he is. So you’d say that Mark entered his house or that he was in his living room after school. Give us the time if it has changed drastically. And always be sure to tell us what important characters are present. If it’s just Mark and his dad in the living room, make sure we know it. But if Mark was in a class at school, you don’t need to name every kid in the class. The reader will assume there are other kids in the class. Just make sure to describe those who speak. (We’ll talk about ways to describe people next week.)

– Plant important objects or features . As mentioned above, be sure to plant any important objects or features in advance of them being useful. If you write that your character is freezing from the cold, but you didn’t mention the cold until three pages into the chapter, that’s confusing to the reader. Make sure the reader knows it’s cold early on.

Editor Jeff Gerke taught me to imagine my scene taking place on a stage and to think about what necessary set design, props, and actors need to be out on the stage before the scene begins. This always helped me avoid “magically appearing” things when setting up my scenes.

– Use specific words . Always use the most specific word. Specific words in description really help paint a picture in the reader’s mind. You want them to see things in as few of words as possible, so make every word count! For example: oily asphalt, rocky cape, rusty iron bars, freshly mowed grass, a cluttered desk, colossal pillars, etc. All these phrases paint pictures in your mind.

– Avoid too many “ly” adverbs . If you need an -ly word in your description, use it. Just be careful not to rely too heavily on them because it’s cheating. Work hard to find specific words to show your reader the scene.

– Use metaphors and similes . Use these whenever possible. They provide your reader with an instant visual. For example: An impressive stone building loomed over ten stories high. The top tapered into a point, tier upon tier like a square wedding cake. A large staircase marked the entrance. (Can you picture the top of the building?)

– Always bring in the POV character’s voice . The description should sound like your point of view character. That means using the types of words he or she would use.

Here are a few different examples of descriptions:

“You’re just not imagining it right,” Joel said, walking up and resting one hand on his friend’s shoulder. He held his other hand in front of him, panning it as if to wipe away their surroundings—the green lawns of Armedius Academy—and replace them with the dueling arena. — The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

In this example, “green lawns of Armedius Academy” say all we need to know. We’ve all seen school campuses. We can imagine green lawns and sidewalks and buildings and lampposts. And when we need to know more, the author will give us that information.

“No, the Seahawk was a ship like countless others I had seen before or for that matter have seen since. Oh, perhaps she was smaller and older than I had anticipated, but nothing else. Moored to the dock, she rode the swell easily. Her standard rigging, tarred black for protection against the salt sea, rose above me, dark ladders to an increasingly dark sky, and indeed, her royal yard seemed lost in the lowering night. Her sails, tied up, that is, reefed, looked like sleeves of new-fallen snow on lofty trees.” — The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

Here we get a nice description of the ship in the voice of our POV character, Charlotte, who clearly knows some things about boats. We also get a nice metaphor at the end.

And finally I have a longer description from Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson that really makes you feel like you’re there. And it’s deliberate that the authors took longer on on this scene since many things will take place there later. They need the reader to see this place well.

Not far from where Peter lay unconscious, a lagoon connected to the sea. It was, in good weather, a beautiful place—a near-perfect semicircle of flawless white sand, perhaps a mile across, bordered by a curtain of tall, graceful palms. In the center of the curved beach lay two dozen or so massive, sea-smoothed boulders, some of them the size of a sailing ship, forming a hulking jumble of rock that stretched from the trees into the blue-green water. Behind the beach the island rose steeply to a ridge several hundred feet high, jungle-thick with vegetation, forming a curved green wall that cut the lagoon off from the rest of the island. The lagoon teemed with life—turtles, jellyfish, crabs, and vast schools of lavishly multihued fish. Normally these creatures were sheltered from the surge of the sea by a coral reef; it ran across the mouth of the lagoon from one side to the other, with only a small break in the center, through which the tide flowed in and out. But the low reef was no match for the waves churned up by this storm. Every few seconds, a towering wall of wind-driven water rose high over the reef and broke upon it with a thunderous crash, sending a surge of churning, foaming water rushing high onto the beach, then back toward the sea, leaving the surf-scrubbed beach empty for a few seconds, awaiting the next incoming surge.

How are your descriptions of places? What do you do well and what do you need to work on? Share in the comments below.

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How To Write About Place In Creative Nonfiction

Dec 26, 2017 by Kayla Dean published in Writing

You may have seen the title of this post and thought I was going to talk about travel writing . But that’s not the only genre of creative nonfiction in which you can write about place! A common misconception about writing about place in creative nonfiction is that you have to write about particularly exotic spaces. Consider that debunked : as we previously discussed, you don’t have to be a world traveler to write about your life. Everyone has unique experiences and takeaways that can be gleaned from their work.

Creative nonfiction presents some great opportunities to write meaningfully about the places you’ve lived in and traveled to as well as place your unique stamp on a locale, even if it is well-known. Like Virginia Woolf in London, Balzac in Paris, and Joyce in Ireland, you can write about place, too!

Define Place

In his essay, “How to Write Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Place” Dave Hood reminds us to expand beyond physical location by including elements like culture, language, values, and customs:

“In creative nonfiction, the place or location where the event or experience took place is more than just about the name of the place. It is also the physical location of the place, the physical attributes, such as the urban setting of crowds, pollution, public transit, traffic jams or the rural setting of open spaces, fewer people, fields, farms, and small communities.”

Don’t just treat the places you write about as a backdrop or an image. Place can be both setting and character, and the implications of that can be far-reaching in our work. When given its due consideration, place can make the early lines of a piece dazzle. Use this to your advantage by brainstorming sublime, unusual, or even pedestrian experiences to provide that ideal impetus for the beginning of your work.

Hood adds that writers should also consider the meaning and significance of a place for them, and includes a great checklist to print out and tape to your desk when writing about place.

Interweave Other Narratives Into Yours to Compare/Contrast

If you haven’t been somewhere, you can’t write about it as if you have. But you can approach writing about a place by summarizing, analyzing, and weaving narratives together from writers who have visited or lived there. Above, I mentioned seminal writers and the places they are commonly associated with. Read writers that are affiliated with the places you want to write about. What point of view did they lend to our understanding of that place? Did they unfairly obscure its reality or open the door to greater understanding?

Right now, the essay form is one of the most malleable there is: You can include other experiences, literary works, historical perspective, philosophy, or science in your narrative. While this may range depending on the publications you wish to write for, it’s possible to lend texture to your work by adding these varied cultural pieces to your own perspective while still relying on moments from your life as a lens. And of course always make sure to cite properly if you quote an author!

Take a Walker’s Perspective

Besides looking at photos, you may feel that you have to stick with your imagination to remember a place. But the vast range of resources online makes it possible for us to envision space beyond even our memories. Just as you might write about a place you’ve never been in a fiction piece, walk it in Google Maps. Has the place changed since you’ve visited? Does it look different in earlier views? This could be potential material.

If you can access the place, it may also be helpful to simply take a walk. Although many of us do write on keyboards indoors, don’t limit yourself to your living room when considering narrative possibilities. What sights, smells, and sounds are out there? How do you feel as a walker on that street? What stands out to you? Asking questions are helpful to a city walker. Also, your unique perspective as a walker can lend a lot to your narrative. It may not feature as the main point, but can do a lot for your approach to the story you want. As Rebecca Solnit writes in Wanderlust: A History of Walking,

“Walkers are ‘practitioners of the city,’ for the city is made to be walked. A city is a language, a repository of possibilities, and walking is the act of speaking that language, of selecting from those possibilities . Just as language limits what can be said, architecture limits where one can walk, but the walker invents other ways to go.”

This is not entirely literal: writers are walkers, navigating their own path towards a narrative that works. Sometimes there are snags because we get lost and scrap material, but this does not have to be a bad thing. Solnit helps us understand that we are selecting from those possibilities and should shift to view writing as a freeing rather than frustrating exercise. This might also allow you to come up with new things to notice and new inventions that don’t rely on older realities.

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How to Describe a Place in English

This article covers the following areas –, use descriptive adjectives for a general description, use vivid visual imagery to describe a place, describe places with auditory imagery, talk about your feelings about the place, describe the changes you noticed now and then, make recommendations about the place, sample conversation: describing a place in english, final thoughts, faq: describing a place in english.

Haven’t you ever been asked by someone to describe a place you loved visiting? Or didn’t you ever feel like talking with your friend about a lovely place you visited? Whether a place is exciting or dull, you can draw a picture of the place with a vivid description. An accurate description can help your audience to experience that place through your eyes.

In this post, I’ll help you with some useful adjectives and other expressions to describe a place in English.

Use descriptive adjectives and visual & auditory imageries to describe a place in English. Also, share your feelings and recommend whether to visit the place or the best time to visit it . If you have been to a place more than once, you can talk about the changes you notice.

Well! To learn adjectives to be able to use in various real-life situations, you may try one of my favorite books, 10,000 Useful Adjectives In English: Types, Degrees and Formation of Adjectives (Amazon Link) .

Using descriptive adjectives is the best way to describe anyone or anything. So is a place. From such adjectives, one can get an overall idea of a place.

To effectively use descriptive adjectives for describing a place, select words that vividly convey its atmosphere, appearance, and mood. For instance, “bustling” suggests a lively, busy area, while “serene” paints a picture of tranquility. Aim for adjectives that evoke sensory experiences and emotional responses, providing a vivid, immersive description.

Here, I present several descriptive adjectives with their use in sentences to help you to develop your skill in describing a place.

To use vivid visual imagery in describing a place, employ descriptive language that appeals to the senses. Detail colors, textures, and shapes, and incorporate similes or metaphors to liken features to familiar objects, creating a rich, evocative mental picture for the reader.

Visual imagery can play a significant role in describing a place, no matter whether you talk or write about it. It helps you to share what you have experienced through your sense of sight. If you can use visual imagery well, you can make your audience visualize the place, even without visiting it in person.

Your vivid description of a place with visual imagery can even take someone to the place for a moment through their visualization.

Here, let me give you some examples of how you can create visual imagery through your words.

Example 1: I loved the green paddy fields beside the river. The boats of different designs, shapes, and colors made a mesmerizing picturesque. On a moonlit night, you can spend hours after hours sitting by the river’s shore, looking at the moon’s reflection on the water.

Example 2: The landscape with a snowy mountain and a sun setting behind it will let you forget all the odds of your life.

To describe places with auditory imagery, use descriptive language that evokes sounds. Mention specific noises, like rustling leaves or bustling streets, and their volume, pitch, and rhythm. This approach helps readers vividly experience the place through its unique soundscapes.

Like visual imagery, auditory imagery can be crucial while describing a place. It appeals to your sense of hearing. Every place has its sound. For example, suppose you were at a big car factory a few days ago. While describing the place, you can talk about the sounds of the machines to help your audience to get a good idea about the place.

Now, imagine you are sitting on a seashore in the evening. It’s usually a very calm and quiet place, except for the sounds of the wave. So if you tell someone that you were sitting at a place where there were sounds of waves, people will be able to guess where the place is.

Here comes the power of auditory imagery. If you can describe the sounds well with your words, your audience may be able to get the feeling of hearing that sound without being there.

Now, let’s see some examples of the description of sounds while describing a place in English.

Example 1: In the bungalow, in the morning, you will wake up with birds chirping, while at night, you will go to sleep listening to the rhythmic sound of crickets.

Example 2: The sound of the waves will outdo all the other noises around the beach.

To talk about feelings regarding a place and express personal emotions and reactions. Describe how the place made you feel, such as peaceful, exhilarated, or nostalgic. Use descriptive language to convey the atmosphere and its impact on your mood and senses.

You get a feeling wherever you go, whether good or bad. A place may seem fascinating, while another place may seem dull. It’s just a general feeling of you about the place. However, the different elements of the place can influence your senses and emotions.

Suppose you love to stay close to nature. In that case, you would love to go to places full of greenery, hills, seas, etc. such sites will give you a good vibe. But, on the other hand, if you go to a very crowded and clumsy city where everything seems deserted, you may not like it.

Below are some examples of how you can share your feelings about a place.

Example 1: I felt relaxed for the whole vacation staying here. The place helped me to rejuvenate myself.

Example 2: I didn’t enjoy the stay here at all. The rooms are very clumsy.

Are you looking for a book or a guide to help you learn and improve your English? You may try English Made Easy Volume One: A New ESL Approach: Learning English Through Pictures (Amazon Link) . This book creatively uses pictures and text in tandem to revolutionize English language learning, making it easier to understand and more effective overall.

To describe changes in a place over time, detail the differences observed in its physical features, atmosphere, or cultural aspects. Compare past and present states using descriptive language, noting alterations in architecture, environment, or social dynamics.

If you like a place, you may visit it again and again. Whenever you get some time, you go there to feel different and relaxed. However, the place you went to three years ago may not remain the same this year. So, if you describe a place you visit frequently, you can talk about the changes you notice now and then.

For example, suppose someone asks you about your hometown. In that case, you can talk about the changes since you have experienced the changes your town went through. For example, maybe your hometown was calm and quiet in your childhood, but now it has become noisy.

Now, let me share some examples that show how to talk about changes that occurred in a place.

Example 1: I visited my hometown last month after twelve years. In my childhood, there were so many playgrounds and open fields there. But now, most playgrounds are converted to parks, while mills and factories have occupied most open places.

Example 2: Though the city was historically primarily horizontal, you will see that most places have become vertical in recent years. There are multi-storied buildings here and there.

To make recommendations about a place, evaluate its features and suitability for various interests. Suggest activities or highlights based on personal experience and advise on the best time to visit, facilities, or cultural aspects, tailoring advice to the audience’s preferences.

Suppose someone new to your city has asked you about the places they would visit here. First, you should recommend places with short descriptions. Then, you can talk about their beauty, specialty, culture, and history.

You may also share the beauty and good things about any place you have visited with your friends. Then, you can recommend to them when to visit that place and what they would do and experience there.

The following examples show some words and phrases you can use to recommend a place while describing it in English.

Example 1: You must visit the longest natural seabeach in the world if you ever visit Bangladesh. This is a fantastic place to enjoy your vacation.

Example 2: Have you ever been to Sundarban? This is the most extensive mangrove forest in the world. I recommend you to visit this forest if you want to explore the true natural beauty.

Formal Setting: Two colleagues stand by the window during a coffee break in a high-rise corporate building with a panoramic view of the city. The cityscape below is a blend of modern skyscrapers and historic architecture.

Adrian: Clara, have you ever visited the old town part of the city?

Clara: No, I haven’t had the pleasure yet. How would you describe it?

Adrian: It’s a captivating blend of history and culture. The cobblestone streets are lined with ancient buildings, each with its own story. Some quaint little cafes and shops transport you to a bygone era. The city square is at the heart of the old town, bustling with artists, performers, and local vendors. It’s like stepping into a time capsule.

Clara: Sounds absolutely enchanting. I must make a point to visit soon.

Informal Setting: While relaxing on a porch, two friends chat about a recent trip to a serene coastal town.

Sarah: Mia, you won’t believe the beauty of Seaview Town!

Mia: Oh, tell me about it! I’m thinking of going there next month.

Sarah: It’s this perfect little seaside haven. Imagine soft golden sands stretching for miles, waves gently lapping the shore, and the distant call of seagulls. There’s a lighthouse at one end, and as you climb its spiral stairs, you get this breathtaking view of the horizon where the sea kisses the sky. The town itself has these charming blue and white cottages, seafood diners, and the air always smells slightly salty.

Mia: Wow, you painted such a vivid picture! I’m definitely booking my tickets.

Describing a place in English can be an enriching experience, allowing you to paint a vivid picture for your audience. By using descriptive adjectives, you create a solid general impression. Vivid visual imagery adds depth, making your description more engaging and relatable. Auditory imagery further immerses your listeners or readers into the environment you’re describing, while sharing your personal feelings adds a human touch, making your description more relatable and heartfelt.

Observing and articulating the changes in a place over time can offer a reflective and often insightful perspective. Making recommendations about the place can be beneficial for those planning to visit. The sample conversation included in the article provides a practical example of how to put all these techniques into practice.

Remember, the key is to engage all the senses, be observant, and express your genuine feelings and insights about the places you describe.

1. Why is it important to accurately describe a place in English?

Accurate descriptions in English allow listeners or readers to visualize a location clearly. It facilitates understanding and ensures that the essence of the place is effectively conveyed.

2. How can one improve their descriptive skills in English?

One should engage in active reading, write regularly, and practice keen observation of different environments to hone descriptive skills. Exposure to varied literature can also be beneficial.

3. Are there specific words or phrases that make descriptions more vivid?

Certainly, utilizing adjectives, adverbs, and sensory words can make descriptions more vivid. Incorporating similes and metaphors also adds depth to portrayals.

4. Is it better to be concise or detailed when describing a place?

The approach largely hinges on the context. While a concise overview might be suitable for some situations, detailed descriptions can provide a richer, more immersive experience in others.

5. How can sensory language enhance a description?

Sensory language taps into the five senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. By invoking these senses in descriptions, one can create a more immersive and relatable experience for the listener or reader.

6. Why is it crucial to understand the audience when describing a place?

Understanding the audience ensures that the description is tailored to their level of understanding and interest. It helps decide the depth, tone, and details required to effectively convey a place’s essence.

7. Are there cultural considerations to keep in mind when describing places?

Yes, cultural awareness is essential. Different cultures might perceive or value aspects of a place differently. Being sensitive to these nuances ensures a more universally relatable description.

8. How can one avoid clichés when describing locations?

Avoiding clichés requires conscious effort. Being original, drawing from personal experiences, actively expanding one’s vocabulary, and reading diverse content can help present fresh perspectives.

9. Can visual aids complement a verbal or written description?

Absolutely. Visual aids like photographs, maps, or diagrams can significantly enhance a verbal or written description, providing a clearer picture and aiding comprehension.

10. Why is it essential to use correct grammar and vocabulary when describing a place?

Proper grammar and vocabulary ensure clarity and credibility in the description. It ensures the message is conveyed accurately and professionally, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

If you have further questions or suggestions about anything specific related to this topic or anything else related to learning English as a second language, feel free to ask me in the comment box. You may also help the ESLA community by putting your valuable suggestions here to help every member improve their English language skills.

How to differently say, “it was a pleasure meeting you.”, how to express agreement in english: a complete guide, different ways to say “for example” in english, how to introduce yourself in english: formal and informal, niaj a a khan.

Niaj A A Khan is an ESL Instructor with over 8 years of experience in teaching & developing resources at different universities and institutes. Mr. Khan is also a passionate writer working on his first book, "Learn English at Ease."

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Teach homeschool teens to describe a place with vivid vocabulary

by Kim Kautzer | Dec 7, 2021 | Teaching Homeschool Writing

“Descriptive writing is an art form. It’s painting a word picture so that the reader ‘sees’ exactly what you are describing.” ~Brenda Covert

What’s the big deal about writing descriptively? For one thing, it’s much more than page-filling fluff. Descriptive writing imprints images into the reader’s mind , making you feel as though you’re “right there.” It ‘ s all about engaging the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch to transport the reader and stir emotion.

By choosing vivid details and colorful words , good writers bring objects, people, places, and events to life. Instead of merely telling you what they see, they use their words to show you.

Writers use this powerful method to make their pieces memorable—even brilliant—rather than dry and boring. In many ways, description is the most important kind of writing you can teach your children. Why? Because it supports other reasons for writing such as storytelling , informative reports, or persuasion .

By choosing vivid details to describe a place, your teens will bring life and emotion to their writing.

Even if your child never aspires to write stories or poetry, description is a wonderful skill to develop. Without it, all other writing falls flat.

1. What It Means to Describe a Place

Vivid writing is especially important when your middle or high schooler needs to describe a place — whether describing a vista for a travel guide or fleshing out a scene in a short story.

Master storyteller Charles Dickens was gifted at using description to create a mood.

But students don’t have to be a Dickens to add color, depth, and interest to their writing. Here, a 14-year-old draws on all five senses to describe a place and create a mood.

With a few tips and tools, homeschool tweens and teens can effectively describe a place too.

A Desert Example

Suppose they’re planning to write about a desert. They’ll need to describe basic desert features, of course: sand, rock, hills, and dunes. But deserts aren’t all alike, so their word choices will need to reflect the kind of desert they want to write about .

Describe a Place | Teaching Teens to Write with Vivid Vocabulary

For example, if they choose a desert in the southwestern United States, they’ll probably describe plants such as sagebrush, Joshua trees, yuccas, or saguaro cacti .

But if they’re writing about an oasis in the Sahara Desert, where vegetation is much different, they’d instead describe date palms, oleanders, acacia trees, succulents, and desert grasses . Their description of either desert scene will spring to life when they tell about these places using rich and appropriate details.

2. Where to Find Vocabulary to Describe a Place

How can you help your homeschoolers study a subject and choose strong words that make their writing sparkle? Whether they decide to write about a desert, city, rain forest, or pond, these ideas will help students find words that form the foundation of their descriptive piece, narrative story, or report.

Search Engine: A Homeschooler’s Best Friend

Search engines such as Google make a great resources for inspiration. In addition to collecting general terms about the location’s flora and fauna (the desert, for example), teens can find concrete, specific nouns and adjectives that add color to their writing. Suggest they begin their search by looking up terms like these:

desert landscape
desert features
desert climate
desert plants
desert animals
desert description

What if your teen wants to describe a city instead of a desert? City words are trickier to find, and they may have to hunt more. Try some of these search terms:

describe city sights
describe Chicago, describe Pittsburgh , etc.
“describe downtown” (use quotes)

Other Sources for Descriptive Vocabulary

While search engines can lead students to a wealth of information, don’t discount the value of print media such as magazines and books. Also consider digital media such as TV documentaries or YouTube videos about the subject.

When describing a place, visit in person , if possible. But if not, can you explore a spot with similar features? Many children are visual and tactile learners. If they want to describe what a sidewalk looks like, send them outside to explore the sidewalk on your street. It will help them describe the texture, color, and appearance of a city sidewalk, even if you live in a suburb.

3. Expanding Descriptive Vocabulary

As your teens search the Internet, ask them to keep an eye out for adjectives that describe desert or city features (or whatever place they want to write about). Encourage them to come up with words on their own, but also to watch for words they meet in articles or photo captions.

When kids don’t understand some of the words, pull out the dictionary and make it a teaching moment! And show them how to use a thesaurus (we love The Synonym Finder ) to find other words that say the same thing. A focused thesaurus, such as the ones below, will also help their vocabularies grow.

The Rural Setting Thesaurus gives teens the inspiration to effectively write about nature, home, and school settings. The Urban Setting Thesaurus helps them draw on all five senses and jogs their memory to help them create believable scenes in city spaces.

4. Descriptive Examples

Some desert adjectives.

Desert: harsh, dry, arid, sparse, severe, hot Rock: sharp, rough, jagged, angular Grasses: windblown, bent, dry, pale green, brown Sand: coarse, fine, glittering, shifting, rippling, sifting, white, golden Sky: pale, intense, cloudless, azure, purple, crimson Cactus: tall, short, squatty, spiny, prickly, thorny , bulbous Date palm: tall, bent, leathery (leaves), frayed (leaves)

Some City Adjectives

City: active, bustling, noisy, busy, clean, dirty, windy Traffic: loud, congested, snarled Buildings: old, shabby, rundown, crumbling, modern, futuristic, sleek, towering, squat Buildings (walls): brick, stone, marble, glass, steel, graffiti-covered Monuments, statues: stone, copper, carved, ancient, moss-covered, faded, green, bronze Sidewalk: concrete, cement, slick, cracked, tidy, littered, swept Paint: fresh, weathered, peeling Signs: neon, weathered, worn, bright, welcoming, flashing Buses, cars, taxis: belching, crawling, speeding, honking, waiting, screeching People: hurried, bundled, smiling, frowning, eager, rushed

Use these suggestions to encourage teens to come up with ideas to describe a place of their own. You’ll both discover that hunting for words can become a favorite prewriting game ! And as your kids dabble more and more in descriptive writing, I’m confident their words will soon begin to “ show” more and “tell” less .

Do you struggle with teaching and grading writing in your homeschool? Does your middle- or high schooler’s writing need a boost? Consider adding WriteShop to your curriculum choices for this school year! The first seven lessons of WriteShop I specifically teach descriptive writing . This important skill is then practiced in the remaining informative and narrative writing lessons. In addition, WriteShop teaches—and offers practice in using—a wide array of sentence variations that enhance a student’s paper with fresh style and vigor. When combined with strong, dynamic word choices, sentence variations give dull writing new life .

For younger children, WriteShop Primary introduces K-3rd graders to activities that widen their writing vocabulary. Book C contains three specific descriptive writing lessons. WriteShop Junior for grades 3-6 also provides many opportunities for students to incorporate description.

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How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

Learning how to describe a person so that the reader forms a vivid impression of your characters is essential for writing compelling stories. Read 8 tips for describing characters so they come to life:

Post author By Jordan
12 Comments on How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

Knowing how to describe a person so that your reader forms a vivid impression is vital for immersive writing. How can you describe a person precisely and avoid pace-crushing info dumps or eyes, eyes, eyes? Read 8 ways to write better, varied character description:

8 ways to describe people in a story

Start with character profiles and pin boards
Focus on details that reveal personality, use detailed descriptive language
Practice describing people in brief
Prioritize unique character features
Describe character actions and gestures
Find descriptive precise adjectives and fitting comparisons, use descriptive verbs too
Describe personality via dialogue and voice
Read writers renowned for good characterization

Let’s dive into each of these ideas for bringing your characters to life:

1. Start with character profiles and pin boards

Before you begin describing people who’ll populate your story, it’s useful to sketch character ideas . It helps if you can answer questions such as:

What clothing does my character wear?
What is idiosyncratic or recognizable about how my character moves? What does their body language reveal?
What would a stranger notice first about this character if they entered a room?
What is their physical description? What is their eye and hair color, do they have freckles, scars or tattoos?

To build richer descriptions , you could create a pin board on Pinterest before you draft of clothing your character would wear, places they might love to visit. Any visual reference point that captures the essence of their persona.

Another option is to answer character prompts to build a character profile , which you can do in the Now Novel dashboard as you build a downloadable story outline packed with useful story background.

Describing people and outlining in Now Novel Dashboard

In our monthly writing craft webinars, writing coach Romy Sommer also suggests ‘reverse-casting’ your characters for inspiration:

2. Focus on details that reveal personality

A character’s hair or eye color doesn’t tell the reader much (there are other ways to use eye descriptions to build personality).

When you introduce a character, focus on details that reveal character personality or psychology .

Here’s Dostoevsky describing his character Katerina Ivanova (who has tuberculosis) in Crime and Punishment (1866):

Describe habitual actions to reveal personality

Katerina Ivanovna had just begun, as she always did at every free moment, walking to and fro in her little room from window to stove and back again, with her arms folded across her chest, talking to herself and coughing. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866), Chapter 7.

Dostoevsky conveys Katerina’s fragile mental health and state clearly. The coughing is a reminder of her life-threatening condition. The fact she continues to pace despite her discomfort suggests her determined, fighting spirit, which we see in further scenes.

You could also use descriptions of a character’s physical appearance to show their personalities, for example: ‘Jenna’s curly hair was bouncy, like her character. bouncy and bubbly.’

Use objects such as possessions left behind to suggest persona

The acclaimed short story author Alice Munro is a master of understated character development.

In her story ‘Free Radicals’, Munro describes a recently-widowed woman named Nita coming to terms with her husband’s death:

She thought carefully, every morning when she first took her seat, of the places where Rich was not. He was not in the smaller bathroom, where his shaving things still were, along with the prescription pills for various troublesome but not serious ailments which he’d refused to throw out. Alice Munro, ‘Free Radicals’, available via The New Yorker

Munro creates the emotional affect of a deceased spouse’s absence by describing objects in detail that remain once they’ve gone.

A precise detail – the prescription pills Rich refused to throw out – describes something about his hoarding character.

Detail the type of behavior characters might exhibit

Another way to describe a character’s personality is to give an example of something they might do.

Further on in the story, Munro describe pranking behavior that was typical of Rich to suggest a playful nature:

He was of course not out on the half-scraped deck, ready to peer jokingly in the window – through which she might, in earlier days, have pretended to be alarmed at the sight of a peeping tom. Munro, ‘Free Radicals’

The details Munro shares combine character behavior (Rich’s joking at the window) and setting detail (pills left behind that he refused to discard) to simultaneously create a sense of character and place . Her details describe the way people inhabit their spaces. This creates Rich as a vivid, lingering, ghostly presence in Nita’s memory.

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3. Practice describing people in brief

One thing to avoid in choosing how to describe a character in a story is an info dump.

Info-dumping character description makes your reader go, ‘Oh, the author wants to squeeze in everything they possibly can about their character.’ It alerts your reader to the author’s hand, the wizard behind the curtain conjuring Oz. Such spurious description may lose your reader.

Instead, pick a specific detail to focus on for an introduction, and bring in other visual or descriptive character details as they become relevant to the story/action.

Examples of how to describe people succinctly

Here are a few examples of character descriptions that are precise and impactful:

Her hair had been long and wavy brown then, natural in curl and colour, as he liked it, and her face bashful and soft – a reflection less of the way she was than of the way he wanted to see her. Alice Munro, ‘Dimensions’, Too Much Happiness (2009), p. 2. Available online .

Note how Munro succinctly creates a sense not only of a character’s appearance but how it is affected by her being in a controlling relationship (which we find out more about as the story continues).

A sense of time and change is bundled with character description as we read a factor that shaped the protagonist Doree’s past appearance, now changed at the story’s start.

Below, Kent Haruf uses simile drawn from two elderly brothers’ farmland world to describe their appearance:

Their faces were red and weather-blasted below their white foreheads, the coarse hair on their round heads grown iron-gray and as stiff as the roached mane of a horse. Kent Haruf, Eventide (2004), p. 3.

Practice describing characters in three lines or less. What can you compare their appearance to? What does it say about them?

4. Prioritize unique character features

A large part of learning how to describe a person believably is showing what makes them unique or distinctive.

The Victorian author Charles Dickens, a master of characterization, described people with vivid, characteristic humor.

Here Dickens describes the schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, ‘a man of facts and calculations’ in his novel Hard Times (1854):

The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s voice, which was inflexible, dry, and dictatorial. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s hair, which bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface, all covered with knobs, like the crust of a plum pie, as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside. Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854), full text on Project Gutenberg .

Although Dickens describes his character’s hair, he uses a striking visual metaphor (‘a plantation of firs’).

This leads quickly back to description showing the schoolmaster’s fact-obsessed nature (‘…as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside’).

Dickens takes the description of Gradgrind as obstinate and fact-obsessed further:

The speaker’s obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders, – nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was, – all helped the emphasis. Dickens, Hard Times

Thus Dickens mines a single, defining detail – Gradgrind’s tyrannical obsession with fact over imagination – for cohesive, comical description.

If Dickens had simply said ‘he was balding and inflexible and would lecture the students about facts’, this would create some sense of character. Dickens instead writes stronger description to show us what the character is like.

Yet the unique details Dickens chooses make Thomas Gradgrind especially vivid.

5. Describe character actions and gestures

Showing characters’ gestures and actions is an important part of bringing characters to life.

The way your characters move , their body language and gestures, is a key part of describing personality, status, or mental state.

In the example from Dostoevsky above, Katerina Ivanovna’s anxious pacing conveys her mounting fear over her husband (who drinks away the little money they have).

In Hard Times , Dickens uses movement and body language to reinforce the impression of Gradgrind as domineering and forceful:

“Girl number twenty,” said Mr. Gradgrind, squarely pointing with his square forefinger, “I don’t know that girl. Who is that girl?” “Sissy Jupe, sir,” explained number twenty, blushing, standing up, and curtseying. Dickens, Hard TImes

Dickens extends Gradgrind’s ‘squareness’ through his pointing. Sissy Jupe’s own body language conveys both her own bashfulness and the fact that Gradgrind wields stern authority over his pupils.

Dickens could simply use dialogue for the schoolmaster’s inquiry. Because of Gradgrind’s gestures, though, we get a clear sense of his dominant, demanding persona.

6. Find descriptive adjectives and fitting comparisons

There are two useful tools for accurate description of characters in stories: Precise, exact adjectives , and comparative language.

Finding adjectives to describe people with positive and negative connotations

Positive adjectives to describe a person include:

Kindness: Kind, fair, caring, thoughtful, non-judgmental, respectful, loving
Conscientiousness: Principled, upstanding, disciplined, rigorous, thorough, careful, decisive
Selflessness: Selfless, giving, generous, dedicated
Intelligence: Smart, insightful, perceptive, brainy, whip-smart, aware, informed, knowledgeable
Attractive: Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, hot, sexy, alluring, glamorous, studly, magnetic, hypnotic, fit [UK slang]

These are just some adjectives to describe a person in positive terms. If you need a good word for description:

Look up a similar, broader word in a thesaurus.
Find a word you like and look up its full definition and even etymology to ensure it has the right connotations (latent or associated meanings).

Negative adjectives to describe a person might include:

Cruelty: Cruel, unkind, nasty, vicious, wicked, evil, despicable, malevolent, vindictive
Ugliness: Hideous, vile, gross, creepy, fugly, monstrous, disgusting
Boring: Dull, dreary, insufferable, tedious, insipid, bland
Non-intelligence: Stupid, thick, ignorant, cretinous, basic

Keep in mind that some words to describe people negatively may have socially-offensive connotations (for example ‘dumb’ in the informal sense to mean stupid comes from ‘mute’).

If in doubt, find the most exact adjective whose connotations cannot be read another way.

Find fitting comparisons and use figurative language describing character

Comparisons are a great tool for writing character descriptions that are vivid. Look at how Dickens describes Gradgrind’s bald head in the example above, for example. Dickens uses metaphor (there is no ‘like’ or ‘as though’ which would make it a simile): ‘[Gradgrind’s hair] bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface.’

Now this isn’t the most fitting description (Gradgrind’s head has nothing to do with trees or a plantation of firs). Yet it conjures a precise, memorable image.

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon , a father’s anger is shown using the metaphor of a volcano likely to erupt at an time.

Morrison extends this metaphor beautifully to show how Macon’s (the father) anger affects his daughters:

Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear. His hatred of his wife glittered and sparked in every word he spoke to her. The disappointment he felt in his daughters sifted down on them like ash, dulling their buttery complexions and choking the lilt out of what should have been girlish voices. Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon (1978), p. 10.

7. Describe personality via dialogue and voice

In deciding how to describe characters in your story, dialogue and voice in narration are two powerful tools to create a persona.

People’s speech describes so much about who they are:

Tone : Is a person often angry, huffy, disappointed (like Macon in the example by Toni Morrison above)
Vocabulary: Does the person have an extensive vocabulary suggesting they are educated or well-read or the opposite?
Diction: Does the character have a marked accent, drawl, lisp or other distinguishing feature of the way they speak?
Voice: What are the actual timbral qualities of your character’s voice? Is it high, low, or in-between? Loud or soft? Grating or pleasant to the hearer?

What your characters talk about (and what they leave unsaid) describes their persona in addition to visual descriptive details. Tweet This

8. Read writers renowned for their characterization

To learn how to describe a person brilliantly, collect memorable character descriptions . Read authors who are particularly noted for their vivid characters.

Many short story authors ( such as Anton Chekhov ) are good at compressing character detail into shorter passages.

Here, for example, is Chekhov describing his character Mihail Petrovitch Zotov, an old man, through dialogue and action tags in his story ‘The Dependents’:

“What an existence!” he grumbled, rolling crumbs of black bread round in his mouth. “It’s a dog’s life. No tea! And it isn’t as though I were a simple peasant: I’m an artisan and a house-owner. The disgrace!” Anton Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’, available online.

Chekhov combines this portrait of the character’s psychological state with description of his appearance:

Grumbling and talking to himself, Zotov put on his overcoat, which was like a crinoline, and, thrusting his feet into huge clumsy golosh-boots (made in the year 1867 by a bootmaker called Prohoritch), went out into the yard. Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’.

Start keeping a journal where you collect character descriptions that strike you as effective. This can become a useful source of inspiration to page through when you are sketching out your own characters.

Before concluding, let’s briefly take a look at how to detail character if you are writing in the first person. So far, we have looked at how to describe when you are writing in the third person point of view. First person description examples will need to be slightly different as you don’t have access to the omniscient narrator device.

There are various ways to do so, however, and effectively. For example another character could comment on the appearance of the first-person character. Here are some ways:

‘John looked at me with a shocked expression and asked why I had black dots under my eyes.’

‘I glanced into the mirror, and noticed my mascara had smudged, leaving a trail of black dots under each eye.’

Ready to flesh out your characters and get feedback on character descriptions? Start outlining characters , and get constructive feedback from the Now Novel community when you’re ready to revise.

Now Novel is a great platform for all writers to check out – especially for plotting, brainstorming, characterisation and even world building. Their customer service is top notch and I highly recommend NN!— MJ

How to describe hands: 6 ways to make characters real
How to describe setting: 6 ways to bring setting to life
How to start a novel in third person: 7 tips
Tags character description , description writing , how to describe a person

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

12 replies on “How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways”

Great post 🙂 Thanks for the tips!

Thanks, Amy! It’s a pleasure. Thanks for reading.

My name is Muhammad saqlain mushtaq I am from pakistan

Hi Muhammad, welcome to our blog. Let me know if you have any questions about character description (or anything else writing related) and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for very descriptive and inspiring inputs. Impressive and very helpful. This is helpful not only for me but also for everyone. My salute .

Hi Alex, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for reading our blog.

Hi😊 It’s your newest fan here. Thanks Jordan😊

Hi Glajol, I’m glad you’re a fan of our blog. Thank you for reading and saying hi.

I feel like everything you wrote was meant for me because I’m having alot of trouble describing my characters,so thanks alot

Hi Kaitlyn, I’m so glad to hear that. Hope your story goes well further.

Jordan- Wow! This information on building vivid characters is exactly what I was looking for. I am in the early stage of my writing career and struggling with describing my scene or setting and characters. Thank you for providing this resource. This information is great!

Dear Melika, Thanks so much for your comments! So pleased to hear them. All the very best with your writing.

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The best way to describe a place is showing how you would see it yourself the first time. That intense personal experience of taking in the first few senses will convey it better than using of big words. Use all the senses. Be it smell, sight, touch, feeling, the more the better. Say you wish to describe a library.
How To Write About Place In Creative Nonfiction
Define Place. In his essay, "How to Write Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Place" Dave Hood reminds us to expand beyond physical location by including elements like culture, language, values, and customs: "In creative nonfiction, the place or location where the event or experience took place is more than just about the name of the place.
How to Describe a Place in English
To talk about feelings regarding a place and express personal emotions and reactions. Describe how the place made you feel, such as peaceful, exhilarated, or nostalgic. Use descriptive language to convey the atmosphere and its impact on your mood and senses. You get a feeling wherever you go, whether good or bad.
Describe a Place
1. What It Means to Describe a Place. Vivid writing is especially important when your middle or high schooler needs to describe a place — whether describing a vista for a travel guide or fleshing out a scene in a short story. Master storyteller Charles Dickens was gifted at using description to create a mood. It was a town of machinery and ...
How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways
What your characters talk about (and what they leave unsaid) describes their persona in addition to visual descriptive details. Tweet This 8. Read writers renowned for their characterization. To learn how to describe a person brilliantly, collect memorable character descriptions. Read authors who are particularly noted for their vivid characters.

How To Describe A City In Writing (21 Important Steps)

How To Describe A City In Writing

Choose Your City

Research and Observation

Create an Outline

Engage the Senses

Start with an Introduction

Describe the Geography and Setting

Architectural Features

Cultural and Historical Context

Local Cuisine and Food Culture

Local Residents

Climate and Weather

Green Spaces and Nature

Transportation and Infrastructure

Economic and Commercial Activities

Cultural Events and Entertainment

Societal Atmosphere

Local Lingo and Slang

Conclude with an Impression

Editing and Proofreading

Peer Review

Final Touches

Pre-Writing Preparation

Research the city

Determine the purpose of your description

Sensory Imagery

Personification

Breathing life into the city

Describing the city as if it were a character

How the city interacts with its inhabitants

Historical and Cultural Context

Character Reflection

Describing how the city affects characters’ emotions

Influences on the characters’ personalities and actions

Metaphors and Symbols

Symbols that represent the essence of the city

Narrative Perspective

Progressive Description

Building the city’s image progressively

Emotional Resonance

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Describe A City In Writing

Do I need to visit the city to describe it effectively?

What aspects of a city should I focus on when describing it?

How can I make my city description more engaging to readers?

How do I balance facts and creativity when describing a city?

Are there any common mistakes to avoid when describing a city in writing?

What is the ideal length for a city description?

Can I include personal opinions and emotions in a city description?

How can I make my city description stand out from others?

Can I use online resources or travel guides for information when describing a city?

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