Q&A for How to Write a Good, Descriptive Story

It could help to have an English speaking friend read through it and show you where it needs improvement.

Don’t state directly that your character is sad and emotional. Instead of, “Jack was sad,” say something like, “Jack’s eyes filled with tears as his dog ran off the leash into the busy street.”

Well you don't want to bore the readers, so kick it up a notch as you go. In an adventurous scene, say how readers are feeling and their surroundings. Don't be afraid to bring personality to the story.

Yes, of course. The method of narration doesn't change the basic rules for writing a good story.

In a way yes, but the best way to get to know more descriptive words is to read books. Most authors who have published books and novels have a larger vocabulary, and by reading these books, you're expanding yours. On top of that, it will be quite a bit more interesting than reading a dictionary.

You can describe a forest in many different ways. It can be wet, green, dark, or flooded with light. It can also be thick and quiet. Think of what kind of forest you want and do some research.

Both are very important. I first look at the cover and if the title sounds interesting I move on to reading the summary, and then the first few pages of the book.

That depends entirely on your story. What effect does the explosion have on your characters? What does it mean for them?

Use lots of sensory details. For example: "Her jet black hair swayed in the warm spring breeze. All was silent except for the whistling of the wind. As she waved her hand at me, I could feel my heart pounding louder. She had a delightful smile on her face that seemed to bring sweat to my palms and butterflies to my stomach." There's a lot going on in this description, but not much is actually happening.

The best way to improve your story is to imagine you are there. Explain what you feel and what you see, but don't bore the reader with overdone details. It can be hard at the start to see the difference. Example: The blackness of the night swallowed everything, everything except a yellow flicker in the room that caused shadows to dance on the bare walls. The description is vivid and it feels like you are there, like you can see it in front of you but it isn't overdone.

If you wanted to start with a bang, you could say something like, “Lora jumped as another bomb crashed into the ground sending waves of dark brown smoke hurdling toward her.” If you wanted to ease into the story, you could say something like, “Lora lived in a normally peaceful town, Raston, until today. Over the past few weeks, her tiny secluded cottage that her family all lived in had been destroyed with bombs, turning the lush green forest into a barren landscape, nothing but dirt for 100 miles around."

Yes! You do need dialogue to make your story better! Almost all the good books have dialogue. However, if it is very short (100 words or less) and it’s describing an object or person, you don’t need dialogue.

You can add something like "If he was still alive he would've been proud to see his son achieve such great things." Or you can write about the past when the person was still alive like "In the past whenever they fought, she would cry herself to sleep in tears of self-pity."