Thursday, December 9, 2010

Descriptive Writing

Trying to find new ways to describe your books hero or heroin?
I read an article recently about descriptive writing that I found useful.

Definition of Descriptive Writing:

A rhetorical strategy using sensory details to portray a person, place, or thing. One of the progymnasmata and one of the traditional modes of discourse.

Doesn't seem so hard, does it? But for some reason some of us find our wrists frozen in ice when we actually try it.

So here's a suggestion. Make a list of several items, such as 'left over food in your fridge' or 'a restroom in a train station'. Then sit down and write a two or three paragraph description. Practice doing this over and over, and when you feel up to it, start describing your hero's.

It works, and it's a great exercise.

Have a great night!

Diane