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Descriptive
Writing Examples & Words to Create a Compelling Story
Description is the
corner stone of a good story. Descriptive writing may not come
natural to you and it's easy to throw your hands up in the air and
move on. (Side note: I could have simply written "it's easy to
quit" but chose more descriptive words to convey my thought.) Below
are descriptive writing examples.
Sample Descriptive
Paragraphs
 Lydia
died in an explosion.
Lydia
was knitting on the living room couch. A cup of coffee sat on the
side table. The aroma of the coffee filled the house. She mistakenly
left the oven gas on and the home exploded when she lit a cigarette.
This first sentence is straight to the point, but as you can imagine
dying in a fire is a dramatic experience. Fleshing out the scene to
include descriptive words that demonstrate exactly what happened
will turn a mundane sentence into one that draws the reader in.
Ireland
lip was swollen from her father's fist.
The
fist came towards Ireland when see wasn't excepting it. Her father
usually gave clues, his voice would rise, his face would distort.
These signals allowed Ireland to cower and use her hands as
protection. This time she didn't have time. He walked into the room
and lunged at her.
The first sentence is more descriptive that simply writing Ireland's
father gave her a fat lip, but the piece lacks information that
makes the readers feel empathy. The second sentence gives the reader
insight on Ireland's relationship with her father.
I am
too drunk to drive home.
I'm
not safe to drive.
As you can see,
descriptive writing doesn't require a full descriptive paragraph. A
short, simple sentence is enough description.
Descriptive
Writing Activities
Descriptive writing
takes time to hone. To master writing descriptive prose, study a
novel in any of your favorite genres. Learn how the author uses
narrative writing to develop scenes and characters.
For example, my
favorite author is Toni Morrison. Here's a way she described a
partial scene in The Bluest Eye. Where I would've the describe the
drugstore owner as a drunk Irish Catholic who didn't notice the
protagonist, Toni Morrison writes this:
How can a
fifty-two-year-old white immigrant storekeeper with the taste of
potatoes and beer in his mouth, his mind honed on the doe-eyed
Virgin Mary, his sensibilities blunted by a permanent awareness of
loss, _see_ a little black girl?
Whenever I read
Toni Morrison, I realize my writing has a long way to go.
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