Description

Good fiction conjures an alternative world, gives you a window into someone else’s life, takes you somewhere other. Above all, it’s convincing. Effective description is fundamental to this process. The aim is to entrance your reader by the cunningly set stage to the extent that they don’t notice the ropes and pulleys supporting it all. The art is in judging what is salient and what is boring, when to zoom in and when to draw back, when to show and when to leave intriguing gaps, when to elongate and when to contract. Effective description, just like a palatable brew, takes skill and judgement: too much cloys, too little is bland; get it right and the good times roll.