Page 4 - How to Write Descriptive Text in a Very Good Way

Improve Your Descriptive Writing

Good writing can immerse your reader into the world you’ve created and make it feel

real by adding depth and vibrant details that bring it to life. However, scenes that aren’t

described effectively can confuse readers and give them a hard time following along
with everything that’s happening. But what is descriptive writing, and how can you

improve your descriptions in a story? Keep reading because, in this post, we’ll cover

this exact topic and give you five strategies to help you use descriptive writing
effectively.

What is Descriptive Writing?

Descriptive writing is writing that describes a character, setting, or another element in
great detail, which evokes a vivid picture of the scene in the reader’s mind. The goal

of descriptive writing is to immerse the reader into the scene or situation, allowing them
to visualize and experience it as if they were there themselves.

Here's an example from Anthony Doerr's Pulitzer-winning novel, All the Light We

Cannot See:

The surf breaks nearby; water purls past her shoes. Marie-Laure wades forward; the

floor of the room is sandy, the water barely ankle-deep. From what she can tell, it's a
low grotto, maybe four yards long and half as wide, shaped like a loaf of bread. At the

far end is a thick grate through which lustrous, clear sea wind washes. Her fingertips

discover barnacles, weeds, a thousand more snails. "What is this place?”

From these few sentences, we get the feeling of being right there with Marie-Laure as

she explores the old grotto in the town of Saint-Malo. We hear the sound of the surf
breaking nearby, feel the sandy floor and ankle-deep water, and understand the shape

of the room through the comparison to the loaf of bread.