The Description Toolbox: 3 Tools Every Writer Needs

Dialog and description. What people say and what they do in the world they inhabit. There would be no stories without them. 

I know there are thousands of articles and books about writing description out there in this big ol’ wide world, so why waste my time with one here on this mostly unknown blog by a D-list indie writer of pulp and genre fiction? 

Because I’m both vain and stubborn, I guess. 

Now that that’s out of the way, the real reason is that since we each have different ways of approaching our work, I figured it might help someone else out there if I shared what worked for me. Your mileage may vary, as the saying goes. 

Description, defined personally, is the art of putting a place to your work. It’s where the world is created with words and each item in that world worth mentioning is created as well. But there’s a fine line between not enough description and too much description. How do you know if an item in or a detail of that world is needed or not? 

I go to my toolbox. I have one for description and one for dialog. The description toolbox contains three key tools that help me answer that question for my writing. These are, in effect, my hammer, screwdrivers, and wrenches for my stories. For most situations, they get the job done for me, in spite of any additional fancy, schmancy gadgets I may also have access to.  

Tool #1: Journalism School (The Four W’s)

I come from a background in both fiction and nonfiction writing. I cut my teeth on magazine and newspaper articles, and as such, I had to learn quickly the most important questions for informative nonfiction. They’ve been called the “W’s” for years. 

They are: 

Who?

What?

When?

Where?

Now, I know it’s tempting to add “Why” to this list, but hold off on that for now. Honestly, if we can’t detail a clear picture of these four questions, then why doesn’t really matter to your story. We need to know who is on the set, what is on the set and what is happening, when it’s happening (era or time of day or season, etc.), and where it’s happening. Once those details are clear, readers will have all they need to ponder the why in their own minds and in Literature classes for time to come.

Without all that, who cares? It’s just a list of plot points and random dialog. 

Most writers devote more time to who and what than anything else, but it’s important to remember that each is equally important to your work. 

Read the full article: 

https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-description-toolbox-3-tools-every.html