Creating Compelling Descriptive Phrases

Do you use unique descriptive phrases when you're describing scenes in your novels? Or do you get lazy, and fall back on the old "tried and true" ways to say something?

I hope, after you read this page, that you'll dig a little deeper and come up with more creative ways to say things, the next time you're editing your novel.


A Rose By Any Other Name

When I write first drafts, I spew words so fast I'm not always paying attention to how I'm saying things - or how my characters are saying things. Sometimes, when I go back, I find they've said something totally inappropriate (or I have).

Because I write fantasies most often, my characters can't talk about a hard drive, unless they're discussing the muddy, rutted roads over which they've just driven their wagon.

While that's an obvious error I wouldn't make, I do surprise myself sometimes with weird things that shouldn't be there.

So how do I come up with descriptive phrase that mean something to the modern reader, but fit the more old-fashioned era of my novel?

By considering what technology (and lack thereof) is available to my characters, as well as what their lifestyle is like.

For instance, I have a character whose occupation involves music. So I often try to come up with music-related ways to describe what's going on around him, or happening in his head. "His heart pounded like a kettledrum," is an example of this.

In this way, I've not only conveyed my meaning, I've kept the phrasing true to the book I'm writing. The guy's naturally going to think in musical terms when he experiences things. He should express things that way.

So, when you're writing in your fiction genre, in your specific fictional world, use turns of phrase that match that world and you'll bring a lot more authenticity to your story.


Getting Into the Groove

This isn't to say you should be constantly writing in flowery (or grim, if horror's your thing) descriptive phrases. Far from it. You need to match everything you're writing to the tone you're trying to create.

Certain genres lend themselves more easily to "fancier" writing. The romance genre comes immediately to mind. But not every sentence is overflowing with gaudy wording. If they were, you'd quickly become sick of the book.

Instead, the novel should use appropriate description throughout, without getting too full of itself.

Even if you don't write in that particular genre, that shouldn't limit you in your use of creative description!

Horror is equally well told if you think hard about how you describe your hero and villain, how you depict your settings. Yes, the mood may be dark and full of dread, but that just means your description should mirror that.

Don't think you have to write your rough drafts this way (though you'll find yourself doing more and more of that if you write a series, or always write in one genre). If it's not second nature to you, that's fine. That's what editing is all about. Going back and making each sentence work harder to express the image you want your reader to see.


At the End of The Day

Half (or more) of writing a novel is rewriting. This is when you can dive into the fun art of creating vivid descriptive phrases.

Though it's time-consuming, I suggest you work on one chapter at a time, one paragraph at a time. You'll find your mind boggling after awhile and will need to set your writing aside.

Keep in mind the feel you're aiming for, and ask your brain to work on it when you're doing other things. (I mean this seriously, even though it sounds nuts. It really works!)

Then, when you come back to the chapter you're editing, you'll be full of more ideas to make your words worth their weight in pictures.

There, see how easy that was? "Worth their weight in gold" is the normal phrase, and I bet you were expecting it when I started.

But "pictures are worth a thousand words" was the rest of my thought, and the two sayings flowed together easily because I was open to the suggestion from my mind.

And I created a different - hopefully unique - picture in your mind by using the unusual turn of phrase.

So, go forth and be creative in your descriptive phrases!