5 MORE Ways to Write Better Descriptions in Your Novel

On the point of adjectives: I notice a lot of people when they are trying to avoid repetition will simply crack open a thesaurus and substitute words. This isn't inherently bad, but words will start appearing that are noticeably out of place compared to the rest of the work. The more grandiose the synonym the more noticeable, obviously. Also, say with 'red', if nothing is said to be red but practically everything is some synonym, then that also becomes noticeable. I find a good way to help alleviate this issue is not just to substitute a word, but to alter the way its described entirely. "Red" example - Yes, one can use different words to substitute with red, like crimson, burgundy, maroon, scarlet, etc. "His heart swelled at the sight of her full, taunting red lips." Crimson, sure. Scarlet, maybe. Ruby. "His heart swelled at the sight of her seductive lips. Full, taunting, they appeared as tantalizing as ripened strawberries and colored just the same." Perhaps not the BEST example, but the point is that one doesn't have to simply replace a word to break up the repetition. You can describe through simile, metaphor, and such to relay the information in a way that doesn't become monotonous. And further, it's important to not OVER correct and try to never repeat any adjectives, either. There's a balance to be struck.

I can't emphasize enough how description = characterization has really changed how I look at describing things. I'm one of those people who loves dialogue and can't stand describing things, but looking at it in this new light really drives home how important it is and how to make more interesting and cohesive descriptions!

I've been trying to improve my writing for the first time since I put away my pen 10 years ago. I came across your videos, and have been binge watching them in my free time bc they're so fantastic. This video and the previous one are amazingly helpful! Thank you so much!

12:16 "The tropical rain fell in drenching sheets, hammering the corrugated roof of the clinic building, roaring down the metal gutters, splashing on the ground in a torrent..." I could hear the SFX in my head.

Great point about a repeated adjective becoming comical like "Crimson." You can also use this to your advantage if you have a character like Marv from Sin City. He could describe everyone and just about everything as "punchable" if the descriptions are coming from the character. And if he were to see his daughter maybe he describes her as "Loveable" or "Huggable" to set up some contrast.

The sense that a word appears "too often" and is therefore brought to the forefront is our brain performing the task of statistical analysis. Behind the curtain of awareness, there's an expectation from how often we've experienced each word, and major deviations from that familiarity pop up as mental alerts.

Distinct words are such a trap. Triphammer is such a rare word that it was used once in The Shining and once in The Stand and I still noticed it both times. Edit: I like this video even better than the last one! Tips 2, 4 and 5 were especially great, thank you :)

Really liked the one about using / withholding adjectives as a way to emphasize certain points! It also feels like the most advanced and difficult to implement advice out of the five to me

I also think the repetition of adjectives in Darkly Dreaming Dexter helps enforce an idea that Dexter is obsessive on top of his meticulous nature. Changing the structure helps to make it more subtle and less obtrusive to the reader's mind, but it still pushes an obsessive mindset. I'm glad you made this video. I would never have thought of that before. I made a pass applying some of the other tips to my draft, and it's crazy how much of a difference it makes.

I've seen both adjectives, verbs, etc, but also full on sentences being used/repeated too often. The more unusual the word or sentence is, the less often you can use them. In my own very long book I used a sentence twice. My friend immediately picked it out and said "remove one" it feels repetitive. That was twice in a 360k words long book. So yeah, sometimes even just twice, can be too many. :P

Loved this video! Currently in writing school and am willing to use these tips later. I feel I am a cutthroat author and I love to just get straight to the point, which makes my story very fast paced in general. Something I feel I def have to work on... not rushing writing scenes...

My favorite Youtube editor girl.

Hi Ellen, Would it be possible for you to make a series of videos about the different story structures like nonlinear narrative for example. I really appreciate your videos. You’re straight to the point and professional. And for me, someone with a learning disability, you make the writing craft very easy to understand. So thanks for being you lol

So glad you’re back!

absolutely love the insight regarding using the right adjectives to drive home the point of the description and the idea that's trying to be conveyed!

Great work Ellen! Loved the part on using adjectives when they add to the theme of the description.

Ellen, thank you, your videos on sentences, paragraphs and on descriptions, all incredibly helpful!

Love it! The last video was great and I actually really WAS hoping for this kind of video. Amazing as always Ellen! I've been working on my attempts at re-writes and trimming down and this and the other 'better descriptors' vid comes at the perfect time!!!

Love your channel. Your information is useful and concise. Thank you. ❤

Great video Ellen and helpful analysis. Much thanks for putting this together.