February 2006: Description (cont.)

Now, write about that object, using as many senses as fit. Use words to give someone else a sensory experience of that object. Maybe your book didn’t taste like anything, so you’ll leave taste out. But books have a smell as well as color and size. They have weight, too, and the covers are smooth and satiny or some covers are a bit rough. The pages are rough or smooth, too. Some books, especially old books, have a musty smell. Write about all that.

Now go back through your description. Have you used lots and lots of adjectives? When adjectives are piled on, they begin to lose their power. See if you can choose no more than one adjective for each noun in your sentence and still give us a clear, strong picture of the object you are describing. If sometimes you find you are certain that more than one adjective is necessary, that’s fine. But weigh each one to see if you are just piling on or if each one tells us something important, something that we need to know to experience the object you are holding.

<<backmore>>