Below, you can find some tips on how to make your descriptive writing instantly better!

Ok, so descriptive writing is something that people think they’re either good at, or aren’t.

Actually, this is a myth! It’s a skill, so like anything, it can be learned, honed and perfected. Writing well goes hand in hand with reading, so my first tip would certainly be to make sure you read a lot of stories – if you can’t manage full books, try short stories – you can find a list of recommended ones here.

Thanks for reading! If you need more help and support with your descriptive, narrative and creative writing, why not check out our full courses here:

Basic Descriptive Writing

Advanced Descriptive Writing

Here are some more important tips to help you develop your writing skills:

  1. Be precise!! This is sometimes called being ‘concrete’. It means that you shouldn’t be vague or general about your descriptions – don’t say ‘The weather was bad.’; instead say something like ‘Sheets of rain had been pouring down for days on end.’.
  2. Be evocative! Create specific feelings and emotions with your words. Instead of saying ‘She looked tired’, you could say ‘Her eyelids drooped as her chin rested on her hand, which started to slide backwards as she drifted on the edge of sleep.’.
  3. Be plausible! Don’t go too far into creating obscure images that will be totally impossible for your reader to understand – if you do this, they will lose focus. Always keep the reader in mind while you write, and write for a general but intelligent audience.

Here are some more examples of concrete, evocative and plausible descriptive phrases:

  • Instead of saying ‘The person left’, you could, for instance, say ‘The thief faded into the coal-black darkness
  • Instead of saying ‘There were waves on the beach’, you could say ‘The waves rolled in a smooth, soft beat along the shore, as though dancing with the ground.’.

Thanks for reading! If you need more help and support with your descriptive, narrative and creative writing, why not check out our full courses here:

Basic Descriptive Writing

Advanced Descriptive Writing

A Reading List for Students who want to improve their comprehension and literacy skills