"  It was a sunny day. The dry pavement was showered with bright, warm early-spring sunrays. Tree branches, just starting to sprout tiny green drops that were to turn into leaves in the near future, cast fluttering shadows on the old tiles, making them look cracked and broken. The slight breeze was a little chilly, taking away all the warmth the sun could muster. It's was as if things were too timid to move, too hesitant to disturb the peace that hung in the air like a heavy blanket. Somewhere far a dog was barking, but that was about the only sound he could hear.

He closed his eyes and sunk further into the bench, pressing his back against the chipped paint. His lips felt dry, and he them, catching just brief lingering taste of chocolate flavor. The ice-cream he had eaten just a minute ago. How sad was eating ice-cream on a bench in a park, alone? He swallowed, but the lump in his throat wouldn't go."

Description, oh the dear torturer description.

It's no secret that description often plays a crucial role in making or breaking your story. The writers on AFF have a nasty tendency to skip description altogether, but let me assure you it's not the path you should take- not if you want to write anything decent. You do need description, there's no question about it. The tricky part is determining how much description you need, and how to deliver all the information you need without boring your readers to death.

As requested by Tabeko, here's a chapter on description.

Description is a way to describe things. You might want  to describe the setting (where the character is), emotions (what the character feels), people (what someone looks like), things (what something looks like/how it functions) or events and actions. You might also describe other things, such as senses, theories, ect, but the ones I listed here are the main ones used in writing fiction.

So how do you know what exactly (which setting, things, feelings) you need to describe? Do you go about describing every shirt your character wears in fine detail, or do you even fail to mention that it's raining outside, only to have your character turn up soaking wet?

There are some points to keep in mind:

1. You describe things the first time your character sees/notices them. 

People have selective attention. Which means we notice some things and filter out the others. What we notice depends a bit on our character, but also on the nature of our surroundings. Imagine this: you want to cross a busy street which has no crossing. What do you notice at that time? What has your attention? Do you notice the smell of gas from passing cars? Are you aware that you're clutching your bag? Do you take notice of the taste of the chewing gum you have in your mouth? Probably not. In this kind of situation, people focus on the important information at hand. So you're more likely to listen carefully, observe the street and the cars, and keep yourself aware of any unusual noise or movement close by. If the street is busy enough, crossing it might be potentially dangerous, therefore the brain simply ignores unimportant information, such as the smell of gas, or the conversations of the passerby, so it could focus on the task at hand- to safely get you to the other side of the street.

In a safe setting, it is a little different. There are certain characteristics that catch people's attention faster than the others.

People tend to notice things that are:

large rather than small

bright rather than dull

loud rather than quiet

strong rather than weak

unfamiliar rather than familiar

stand out from surroundings rather than blend in

moving rather than stationary

repeated (but not repetitive) rather than one-off.

So when a character walks into a room, you should describe (briefly if the setting doesn't play an important role in the story) what catches his eye.

He walked into the huge, brightly-lit room [large & bright]. There were dozens of tables [repeated], lined against the walls, each covered with bright red cloths [bright]. Big, yellow flowers he had never seen before [large, bight, unfamiliar] were on each table, and a heavy sweet aroma [strong] was in the air, making his head spin with ease. Numerous couples were in the middle of the room, dancing [moving]. It took him a moment to notice that soft classic music was playing in the background [he didn't notice it right away, because the music was soft].

2. People have different perceptions.

People view the same things differently. In other words, we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

What is a beautiful dress to one girl, can look hideous to another. What seems like a friendly smile to one person, can appear threatening or sarcastic to his friend. L might not like the purple sweater as much as Hoya does, likewise, Hoya might refuse to even come near that checked shirt L fancies. That's were characterization kicks in.

Question: what was Suzy wearing?

Girl : oh, this adorable pink knee lenght dress, belted at the waist. She had baby pink ballerinas on, and a lovely crystal necklace, which might have been Tiffany, it looked expensive. Oh, she also was wearing this tiny silver ring, with a red stone on it, could be a Rubin. Her hair was curled and up in a loose bun, with strands of hair framing her face. She wore little make-up- just coral pink lip gloss and some neutral eye-shadow. And mascara, of course. She really did look lovely.

Question: what was Suzy wearing?

Boy: ....... *after five minutes* a dress?

3. Only important stuff gets a detailed description.

Only the things or the people that are or are going to be important in the story are described in detail. Therefore, if something or someone is going to play a bigger role in your story, describe it well. If it's o one-off thing, a line or two, or even a few words will do.

People were dressed fancy. The men wore black shiny tuxedos, and the women were clad in their finest silk dresses [it's not important what those people wore so it gets described in a few words]. But one woman stood out. Her outfit wasn't anything special, nor was she of outstanding beauty, but the delicate silver tiara sitting on the crown of her hair shone brightly, casting colored shadows on the woman's face. Numerous diamonds, big and small, were encrusted into the soft silver, making it look as if the whole piece was made from tiny droplets of crystal clear ice. When the woman turned her head, the crown glittered, and the light in the diamonds swirled, making it look like a hundred colors had been trapped inside the stones. [we can that tell the tiara is of some importance] 

4. There are more to senses than just sight.

Smell, touch, hearing, sight, taste- your character is capable of feeling all of this. It depends on the scene and the character what he will pay attention to. But adding some other senses to what the character sees, can make the story more realistic.

He was afraid to move. Pressed against the damp ground [touch], he was careful not to move a limb. The wet forest floor smelled of moist soil and decoy [smell], but he did not dare to turn his head and kept his nose almost buried in the fallen leaves. It was dark, as not even the moon was up at this ungodly hour, and he couldn't see anything, except for the half-dead grass in front of his face [sight].

He didn't know just how long he lied there, but as minutes passed, his limbs became numb with cold. He was shivering. There was no sight of the beast anywhere [sight], and slowly, he started pushing himself up, stopping every few seconds to listen.

The night was quiet [hearing], and nothing moved [sight].

He felt it before he saw it. Sharp, razor-like teeth sinking into his leg, tearing his flesh [touch]. He screamed, pain shooting through his limbs like lightening [touch,hearing]. As he fell to his knees, the mad wolf still tearing his leg apart, he tried to twist his body and hit the animal. But the wolf let go of his leg and attacked again, his teeth snapping shut just inches from his face [sight, hearing]. Bile rose in his throat [taste], as the animal opened its strong jaw, preparing for another attack [sight].

5. A thing needs to be described in detail only once.

Describe things in detail the first time your character notices them. If the character comes across the same person or thing a second (or third, or fourth, ect) time, you don't need to describe it in detail again. A simple reminder (blue, big, ect) will be enough.

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WHAT TO DESCRIBE:

Scenery/setting:

every time a scene changes (new location, room, ect), you describe it. Normally it should not be more than  60 words. If you cannot fit all of your description into 60 words, describe the setting while the characters do something, aka incorporate the description into action.

Imagine that you're watching a movie and the actor enters a new room. What you notice on screen should be described on paper too.

Note that science-fiction and fantasy need to describe scenery in greater detail, as the unusual worlds are what make those stories in the first place. The 60 words rule still remains though, but add more detail as the characters act and speak.

Another tip- if you're writing about places you've never been to, do your research. A simple google image search can do wonders. Virtual tours or documentaries are even better.

Your view-point character:

please do tell your readers what the main character looks like. Even if you're writing in first person. Using the mirror method when the character sees himself or herself in a mirror is awfully abused by fanfic and professional writers alike, but it's still better than nothing. Ideally, have your character drop hints about his or her appearance as he does something. Maybe a lock of his long hair fell into his eyes and he raised a hand to casually brush it aside as he bowed to his teacher? Or did he have to tip-toe when he tried to reach that book on a high shelf?

Don't ever assume that your reader should know what the characters look like, even if you're writing about well-known idols. Firstly, there are always those new fans that don't know the idols well enough. Secondly, idols change their hairstyles like socks, you never know if the Jonghyun in this particular story has neat hazelnut hair, or sports his Ring Ding Dong era blonde hairdo. Lastly, it's your duty as a writer to tell your readers those kind of things, so stop being lazy and do it!

Other characters:

saying someone is hot and tall is not enough. What built is his body? What color and length is his hair? How does he dress? What is his expression? Eyes? Face? Hands? What about his voice? ect, ect, ect.

Describe someone the way you look at them. First, people notice the face, hair, ect. Start from the top and work your way down. Doing this the other way around (bottom to top), suggest that the person described is viewed as an object (remember guys sweeping a girls body up and down).

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EXTRA TIPS:

1. Use adjectives. There's nothing wrong with using them. (sweet ice-cream, red dress, French toast ...)

2. Use -ly words. Just don't over-do it, and it'll be fine. (glaringly red car, sickly sweet dessert, heavily-scented scarf... )

3. Use specific nouns. (not just a door, but double doors, not just a sword, but a katana or a longsword; not just a car, but a Sedan or a Jaguar; not just shoes, but Prada stilettoes).

4. Use synonyms and purple prose (just not too much of it). Purple prose is all those flowery words and phrases, like quivering desire and devious cravings. Thrown in once in a while, these little gems can enhance your story and make it more sensuous. Though you might not want to use them in an action packed story.

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any questions? requests?