Grammaropolis
The Writing Company · with the Mayor

Write to Describe

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Write to Describe

When you describe, you draw a picture with words. Give the reader two senses, and they're standing beside you.

When you describe, you draw a picture with words. Here's what your picture needs now.

  1. Your thing
    Name what you're describing. One sentence.
  2. Two senses
    What do you see? What do you hear, smell, or feel? Give the reader two.
  3. The trade
    Trade a feeling word for a sense detail. Not "it was fun." Show the fun.
  4. Your best detail last
    End on the detail you want the reader to keep.

Spend your tools

Your craft moves still help. Here they are, pointed at describing.

Jake portrait

Jake · Show, don't tell

Could we be more specific? Don't tell me the fish are cute. Show me one thing they do, and I'll decide they're cute myself.

The fish are cute. The littlest fish wiggles up for a flake.

Nelson portrait

Nelson · Specific nouns

Listen up. A noun names a person, a place, a thing, or an idea. "Pets" and "food" stay vague. "Fish" and "flakes" are the exact things. Name the exact one.

The pets swim up to the food. The fish swim up to the flakes.

Vinny portrait

Vinny · Strong verbs

Fear not! Some writers add an adverb to a weak verb, like "moves quickly." One strong verb does it better. The fish flashes. Pick the one strong verb.

The orange fish moves quickly between the plants. The orange fish flashes between the plants.

Connie portrait

Connie · Join two sentences

Come on in! Two short sentences can become one. Use "and," "but," or "so" to join them. "The flakes drift down, and the fish rise" reads smoothly.

The flakes drift down. The fish rise to meet them. The flakes drift down, and the fish rise to meet them.

The Describe Plan

Same three moves as always. When you describe, the plan is the Close Look.

The Mayor's Power Plan

  • Pick it. Choose one thing you know well.
  • Plan it. Look close, and find two senses.
  • Pour it on. Write, and make your trade: sense details in, feeling words out.

The Close Look

Look close, find two senses, and your reader stands beside you.

  1. Pick your thing. What are you describing?
  2. Two senses: what do you see, and what do you hear, smell, or feel?
  3. The trade: which feeling word goes out, and which sense detail comes in?
  4. Save your best detail for last.
Watch the Mayor plan it

Watch me describe a place you know from the fish afternoon: the fish tank in the front room.

Pick it. The fish tank. I watch it every day. My reader has never seen it.

Plan it.

  • My thing The fish tank by the window.
  • Two senses I see the orange fish flash between the green plants. I hear the filter bubble in the corner.
  • My trade Not "the fish are cute." The littlest fish wiggles up for a flake.
  • My best detail last The flakes drift down like snow, and the fish rise to meet them.

Pour it on. When I write it, I don't say the tank is nice or the fish are cute. I show the flash and the bubbling and the wiggle. The reader watches the tank with me, and they decide.

Start the quiz →