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Good description is the result of three things:
- Careful observation
- Imaginative use of concrete language
- Clear purpose for every bit of description - setting a scene, establishing mood, revealing
character, advancing plot, and so on.
Some fiction also has:
- A system of description throughout the work, operating on a symbolic level
PART ONE:
Sit in a highly "personal" room (a bedroom, a study) not of your own for 15-20 minutes. Open your
senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch);make notes. Later, select details from your notes
that express the character of the room's owner, then write a vivid description of the room that
reveals the character of its owner, using only sensory physical details, but no "conclusions" (a
summation telling us what we are supposed to understand).
PART TWO:
Watch someone you know well doing something ordinary for 5-10 minutes (watching television,
drinking beer, washing dishes); make notes, and remember that you have five senses. Select details
from your notes that express the personality of the person you observed. Write a short
description of the activity you've observed, making it characterize the person, using no
"conclusions."
PART THREE:
Describe two imaginary characters performing an activity together that requires cooperation. Using
only concrete description (no dialogue, no narrated background, no "conclusions"). Communicate
not only the personalities of both characters but also the nature of their relationships (how they
feel about each other).
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