Descriptive Writing

I’ve been thinking a lot about descriptive writing lately.

Since I’ve culled the feedback from my beta readers and am making a final pass on my manuscript, I am making a real attempt to look at my sentences with a fresh and honest eye. Do they really say what I mean them to say? Are the words I’ve chosen the very best ones for the task? Am I showing or telling?

So when I came across this video titled “How to Write Descriptively,” by Nalo Hopkinson (produced by TED-Ed), I had to give it a view. I’m so glad I did. It is, by far, the best summary I’ve heard on how (and why) to use descriptive writing in prose. And in under 5 minutes!

I started pulling quotes from it to share, but there are just too many. I’ll just let you watch and soak up all the goodness on your own. Enjoy…