February 2006: Description (cont.)

Finally, hold the object and ask yourself, if this object were in a story I was writing, what is the most important thing I would want the reader to know about it? That the pencil is very sharp, so sharp it could hurt someone? That the ruler makes a loud sound when it slaps against the desk? That the stick of gum, though it’s old and brittle, still has a spicy smell?

Describe your object again, but this time choose just one sense, the one that seems most important for your readers to be able to experience this object, and describe it with that one sense.

If you were reading a story and came across your description of your pencil, your ruler, your stick of gum, would you pay attention? Would the object seem real to you?

That’s what writers do. Using only words, we make the world on the page come alive.

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