@bigredcrazyk

2 months ago

For descriptions in general, keep it to the rule of 3's. Readers have a difficult time grasping more than 3 descriptors at the same time. An example would be: Her skin was fair, weathered, and freckled. or Her fair skin was weathered and freckled. Although the second sentence has a nicer flow, either of these examples get a pass because, regardless of the descriptor placement, you are limiting them to only 3. Her fair skin was weathered, freckled, spotted, and wrinkled. By breaking the rule of 3's, the sentence becomes convoluted, having too many descriptions. Readers are not going to retain all that. Likewise, the pacing becomes muddled and you run the risk of breaking the reader's immersion. Whether you're describing a grand fantasy capital or someone's basic attire, don't overload the reader with too many descriptions. The rule of 3's should also apply to entire paragraphs. Do not cover more than 3 concepts in a single paragraph. In the example of describing a capital city, you could set the tone by describing the sprawling grandeur in the first sentence, then move on to the skyline with the next sentence, and lastly the architecture in the final sentence, but after that, it's time to move on to the next paragraph, which might describe the people, or a particular part of the city where the scene kicks off, such as the marketplace. And when describing big concepts like a capital city, don't spend more than 3 paragraphs on it. Half a page isn't terribly long to spend describing something like a capital city, but after 3 paragraphs, you really need to move along with the narrative. Readers only have so much attention span, and if you spend a page or more going into strenuous detail, your readers aren't going to stay locked in. Whether it be a bit of dialog or something to distract the character from their observations, you need to break up the monotony of a wall of text, preferably by moving along the narrative. If you apply the rule of 3's to your writing, your pacing will improve and your readers will appreciate you for it. World-building is fun and you can devote all the time in the world on the little details, but most readers aren't going to care about how the plumbing works, only that the plumbing does work. Your setting should be a background character, not the main POV. It should be present and make sense, but not constantly in the forefront overpowering your narrative flow. I always mention Stephen King regarding this topic because he's one of the few authors that can spend an entire page describing how black the inside of a coffin is, yet he still manages to keep you utterly captivated. It takes tremendous skill to pull something like that off, so do not try to emulate him. Especially if you are a new writer. Don't attempt to emulate your faves, because you are not yet in the same league as them. Just focus on telling the best version of the story you want to tell in the most efficient way you can. You prose and pacing will improve over time, and so will your world-building.

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