To access the sensory details that will make your descriptions effective, ask yourself questions. Don't worry if they sound naïve or silly. Those kinds of basic questions will jog your memory. As we go through the world, we take in a lot subconsciously. As readers, those kinds of details -- the ones we might normally overlook -- need to be present for the scene to feel realistic.
So if you're writing about New York City, you might ask yourself, "What does it look like?" And you might answer:
The sidewalks are crowded. It's morning rush hour in Midtown, so there are tourists in shorts and T-shirts, looking a little lost, but also people in suits; women in high heels; twenty-something office workers sporting the latest trends, strung up to their white iPods; workers unloading boxes. Steam rises out of the subway grate; a screen shows headlines from a Korean TV station.
"What does it smell like?"
It's summer, so the city is rich in smells, to say the least, of coffee from a stand, of trash, of urine. Later they'll set up the Halal stand and the sidewalk will smell like grilling meat.
"What do you hear?"
Car horns. People talking in English, Spanish, and Korean. Men commenting on a young girl in a tight dress walking by. Poor thing didn't know the effect she was going to have, especially at 9:00am, when everyone else is dressed more conservatively. A police siren is joined by that of a fire engine. What could have happened so early in the day?
"What does it feel like?"
I can feel the sidewalk tremble as the subway passes beneath my feet. All around people are hurrying to work. The tourists are curiously watching us walk by. There's a lot to take in, but the city gives you energy as well. Everyone has a purpose, and in that purpose, there's a kind of joy.
Answer these questions for one of your settings, complete a more formal exercise working on setting descriptions, or return to the list of description tips.
