Activity

Hey Everybody,

Made it one week in before I fell behind.  Yay go me.  😛

Alright, anyway, this week’s challenge.

Writing description is a delicate balance of providing enough details to create a picture, while moving on to the actual story fast enough to keep from boring the reader.  One critically important method of doing this is finding single, specific details that paint vibrant scenes with unspoken words.  For example, if a character is at a fast food joint and the author describes a counter littered with straw wrappers and melted ice, you’re probably going to envision details like a trash can, soft drink dispenser, ketchup packets, multi-colored “sugar” envelopes, and an overstuffed napkin dispenser. Why does this work?  Because empty straw wrappers are a specific but common detail that only exist in a few different settings in the real world.  So, when you bring us to a world with straw wrappers and provide the context of a fast food restaurant, our imaginations automatically populate the scene with all of the associated items.

Your mission this week is to practice identifying these sorts of details in the world around you. Pick a common location, like a grocery store, livingroom, or college classroom, and write down a list of 10 unique, specific details which will help generate full pictures in your reader’s mind.

Tip: to do this correctly, you’re probably going to have to go to the place you picked.

Can wait to see your lists!

@gracelivingston
@emma-starr
@missfaeriekaiti
@happyholly_c
@archer360
@jane-maree
@scribbles
@quinn-ofallon
@kayla-joy
@ashlyvye
@pookiemonster
@inkling-for-christ
@sir-leeds
@aster
@morgan-tailor
@rolena-hatfield
@skredder
@grace-tolkienista