Now Novel
Think back to the first time you met someone you now know well. Can you remember what you noticed about them first? Describing characters’ first appearances effectively is key to building characters who linger in the mind. Here are 6 tips on how to describe your characters at first introduction:
Great descriptive writing brings story scenes to life. We see the flickering candlelit banquet halls or chaotic battlefields great descriptions conjure. Here are 6 tips to write descriptive sentences that are evocative:
There are endless ways to describe someone, from physical description to verbal tics, personal views and more. Here are 10 questions to ask about your description words to help you make your writing vivid:
Describing hands is useful for showing characters’ psychological traits and personality, age and more. Many amateur writers stop at describing eye colour or how characters say their dialogue. Yet there are many different physical details you can use to show a character’s nature. Read examples that show how to describe hands in such a way that your writing is rich and detailed
Adjectives – words that describe nouns or pronouns – add specificity and detail to writing. The literal definition of adjective is ‘throw towards’, from the Latin prefix ad- (towards) and the verb jacere (throw). That’s what great describing words do: They ‘throw’ readers into your fictional world; let them see, hear, taste it. Read adjective examples from works by esteemed authors that show how to be creative with your descriptions:
‘Show, don’t tell’ is something every aspiring author has heard or read at some point. It’s true that telling the reader about your characters’ acts and emotions or your settings is often weaker than showing them. Read examples from books that put ‘show, don’t tell’ in context and reveal how to blend showing and telling effectively:
Knowing how to describe setting vividly helps you craft settings that mirror your characters’ psychologies and personalities. A character’s home, for example, can give readers insightful details about them. Here are six ways to bring setting to life (sign up to Now Novel to get feedback on your setting descriptions when you’re finished reading):
Setting is the time and place that forms the backdrop for your story. Good novel settings require imaginative and vivid description. Immerse your readers in a mesmerizing fictional world and they will want to turn the page, not close the book. Here are 7 simple tips for getting your setting description right:
Learning how to describe eyes in a story without resorting to cliché helps set your writing apart from amateurish fiction. Many beginning authors over-rely on eye descriptions and eye color to create an impression of their characters. Here are 7 tips for talking about your characters’ eyes creatively:
