Craft, Scenes and Vivid Descriptions

A problem authors usually have is "info dumping," which means that they give the reader more information than what they need. Maybe the author is being too direct about a character's feelings and not allowing the reader to think about said character, maybe they got really excited describing the scenery that they forgot the characters were having an important moment.

But sometimes, the opposite happens. Writers say too little about the characters or the writer forgets about the scenery, confusing the reader who was following the overall scene. In this occasion I want to talk about the second problem: What to do if you feel your descriptions are lacking and need them to complement the scene.

In "The Jewel-Hinged Jaw: Notes on the Language of Science Fiction" by Samuel R. Delany, he gathers a lot of essays about science fiction, and one of them is by Robin Scott Wilson, where he describes an interesting method to work on descriptions, and I think it's a good method for writers to want to polish their descriptions.

Wilson recommends writers to focus on the very beginning of the present scene and use that as base for the next scene, or as he says it: "Notating accurately what happens now is a good way to prompt a vague vision of what happens next." (pg. 164). As an example, Wilson visualizes a man in front of a door and everything around him; he takes note of the man's facial expression while opening the door, how his hands look while opening the door, his movements, the first thing he notices when he enters the room, etc. Wilson writes down all the intricate details and moves the scene by visualizing the actions and details as they happen.

The idea is not to write the most detailed book in history, but I think closing your eyes and thinking about the scene as if it was happening in front of you can be of help when you feel stuck. If you end up with too many descriptions you can always trim them down.

Although I think it's a good technique, it has some weak points, such as not considering people with Aphantasia (the condition that makes people unable to picture things in their mind). I don't have a solution for that condition, but I think looking up references online or asking people to act out a scene could be good alternatives. It's like when actors or artists take pictures of themselves or look up references on the internet. It's all about using all the available resources.

Do you have a problem with descriptions? Do you like Wilson's method? Do you prefer external references instead?

Get the book here if you are interested in learning more about his method! or take note of the details and check your local library.