creative writing description of a town

Writing Nestling

How To Describe A Village In Writing (10 Creative Words, Quotes & Steps)

Describing a village in writing is akin to embarking on a poetic journey through a miniature universe, where every word becomes a brushstroke on the canvas of the reader’s imagination.

It is an art form that transcends mere description, allowing the writer to transport readers into a world rich with sensory delights, cultural tapestries, and the lives of the people who call it home.

In this exploration of the picturesque and the profound, the village becomes not just a setting but a living, breathing character, woven into the very fabric of the narrative.

This endeavor is a symphony of words, orchestrating the senses, emotions, and experiences of the reader, inviting them to wander the cobbled streets, breathe in the scents of a bustling marketplace, and connect with the souls that populate this rustic idyll.

Join us on this literary expedition, as we delve into the nuances, the techniques, and the magic of describing a village in writing , a journey that promises to ignite the imagination and leave an indelible mark on the literary landscape.

Table of Contents

How To Describe A Village In Writing

Describing a village in writing involves capturing its essence and painting a vivid picture for the reader. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you do just that:

Observation

Begin by visiting the village or recalling your memories if you’ve been there before. Pay close attention to its unique features, such as its natural surroundings, architecture, people, and culture.

Choose a Focus

Decide on the aspect of the village you want to emphasize. It could be the landscape, the community, a specific event, or the atmosphere. This focus will guide your description.

Create an Outline

Plan the structure of your description. Consider whether you want to follow a chronological order or organize your thoughts thematically. An outline will help you stay organized.

Start with an Introduction

Begin your description with a captivating introduction that sets the tone for the entire piece. Mention the name and location of the village and provide a brief overview of what readers can expect.

Describe the Landscape

Paint a picture of the natural surroundings. Mention the terrain, vegetation, bodies of water, and any prominent geographical features. Use descriptive language to convey the beauty and uniqueness of the landscape.

Capture the Sights

Describe the village’s buildings, landmarks, and any noteworthy structures. Highlight the architectural style and historical significance of these places.

Introduce the People

Provide insight into the community. Describe the residents, their way of life, traditions, and occupations. Share anecdotes or personal encounters to make the description more engaging.

Convey the Atmosphere

Use sensory details to convey the atmosphere of the village. Describe the sounds, smells, and general ambiance. Is it bustling with activity or peaceful and serene?

Highlight Unique Features

Mention any specific customs, festivals, or events that make the village distinct. Explain their significance and how they shape the culture of the place.

Include Personal Experiences

Share your personal experiences or feelings about the village. This adds a personal touch to your description and helps the reader connect with your perspective.

Use Descriptive Language

Employ vivid and sensory-rich language. Paint a picture with your words by using metaphors, similes, and descriptive adjectives.

Organize the Description

Make sure your description flows logically. Transition smoothly between different aspects of the village, ensuring that the reader can follow your narrative effortlessly.

Summarize your description by reiterating the key points and leaving a lasting impression on the reader. You can also share your overall feelings or insights about the village.

Proofread and Edit

Review your writing for grammar, spelling, and coherence. Make necessary revisions to enhance the clarity and quality of your description.

Seek Feedback

Share your description with others and ask for their feedback. They can provide valuable input on how well your writing conveys the essence of the village.

By following these steps, you can create a compelling and evocative description of a village in your writing .

Words To Describe Village

Quaint: The village, with its charming cottages and cobblestone streets, transports visitors to a simpler, bygone era.

Serene: Nestled in a valley, the village enjoys a tranquil atmosphere, offering a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Community-focused: Residents actively engage in communal activities, from shared gardening projects to local events, fostering a strong sense of belonging.

Scenic: Breathtaking vistas of rolling hills and meadows surround the village, creating a scenic backdrop that enhances its natural beauty.

Timeless: With historical buildings and traditional customs intact, the village feels timeless, preserving its cultural heritage for future generations.

Sustainable: Embracing eco-friendly practices, the village thrives on locally sourced produce and renewable energy, exemplifying a commitment to sustainability.

Welcoming: The friendly locals extend a warm welcome, making visitors feel like part of the community from the moment they arrive.

Rustic: Weathered barns and weather-worn fences contribute to the village’s rustic charm, embodying a connection to the land and its history.

Quirky: Eccentric festivals and unique local traditions add a touch of whimsy, making the village stand out with its own delightful idiosyncrasies.

Close-knit: Regular gatherings at the village square or communal spaces showcase the close bonds shared by neighbors, creating a tight-knit social fabric.

Quotes About Village

“Villages are like pearls. Each one is unique, formed with care, and treasured by those who truly appreciate their beauty.”

“Life in the village teaches us that happiness is found in simple pleasures, shared with the ones we love.”

“A village is not just a place on a map; it’s a tapestry of stories, woven together by the threads of its people.”

“Village life is a mosaic of faces, each telling a story of resilience, laughter, and the enduring spirit of community.”

Setting the Stage

Setting the stage for a village description is like selecting the perfect brush for a masterpiece or tuning the orchestra before a symphony.

It’s the magical moment when you choose the portal to transport your readers into a world where time slows, and nature’s brushstrokes paint the most exquisite landscapes.

The village you pick is the key, a hidden gem in the tapestry of your narrative, unlocking doors to a realm of sensory wonder.

The season and climate act as your mood-setters, whispering secrets of ambiance, their whispered cues woven into every word.

It’s the grand prologue to a tale of pastoral beauty or rustic mystique, and it all starts here, setting the stage for a journey of the senses.

Selecting the village for description

Selecting the village for description is a writer’s quest for the heart and soul of their narrative canvas. It’s an artful deliberation, a delicate dance between the personal and the poetic.

The village you choose can be a character in its own right, a silent protagonist in your literary tapestry. It may be a place you intimately know, where you’ve strolled its cobblestone streets and tasted the stories hidden in its nooks and crannies.

Alternatively, it might be an uncharted territory, where your research weaves an intricate web of discovery.

The choice is profound, for it shapes not only the setting but also the emotions, themes, and messages that will emerge from your work.

It’s an ode to the significance of place, a commitment to the magic of storytelling, and a promise to immerse your readers in the enchanting world you’re about to create.

Capturing the Senses

Capturing the senses in writing is akin to a symphony for the soul. It’s the art of weaving words that sing with the hues of visual tapestries, dance to the rhythm of ambient sounds, and beckon with fragrances both familiar and exotic.

With the deft strokes of a pen, a writer can conjure the warmth of a sun-soaked morning on your skin, the taste of freshly baked bread on your tongue, the whispers of wind rustling through leaves in your ears, and the fragrant embrace of a garden’s blossoms all around you.

Each sensory detail is a brushstroke on the canvas of imagination, inviting readers to not just read, but to feel, taste, hear, and smell the very essence of a world they’ve never physically inhabited.

In the realm of storytelling, it’s the symphony of senses that turns mere words into a sensory feast, captivating the heart and mind in a vivid, ethereal dance.

Visual imagery

Visual imagery in writing is the painter’s palette of words, a vivid and evocative tapestry for the reader’s mind. It’s the art of crafting scenes so rich in detail that they come alive, immersing the audience in a world of colors, shapes, and landscapes.

With carefully chosen metaphors and similes, a writer can transform mere words into living, breathing images that linger long after the page is turned.

Whether it’s the play of sunlight on rolling hills, the intricate carvings of ancient architecture, or the sparkle of stars against an indigo sky, visual imagery transcends the written word, enabling readers to see, feel, and even dream within the intricate landscapes painted by the author’s imagination.

Auditory elements

Auditory elements in writing are the symphony of sounds that bring a narrative to life. Just as a composer orchestrates melodies and harmonies, a skilled writer conducts a cacophony of sounds, creating a vivid auditory backdrop for the reader’s imagination.

Whether it’s the gentle rustling of leaves in a tranquil forest, the rhythmic cadence of a bustling market, or the haunting silence of a deserted corridor, these auditory details not only enhance the atmosphere of a story but also evoke a powerful emotional response.

The sounds of a narrative can be a conductor of tension, nostalgia, or comfort, serving as a bridge between the written word and the reader’s sensory experiences.

In the realm of storytelling, auditory elements compose the soundtrack of a world, inviting readers to listen, reflect, and become enchanted by the symphony of words.

Olfactory details

Olfactory details in writing are the aromatic keys that unlock hidden memories and emotions within a reader’s mind.

They’re the delicate fragrances that infuse a story with depth and resonance, allowing the narrative to transcend mere words and reach the very heart of human experience.

Whether it’s the mouthwatering scent of a grandmother’s apple pie, the intoxicating aroma of a forest after rain, or the pungent, acrid smell of urban decay, olfactory descriptions tap into the deeply rooted connections between scent and memory.

A well-crafted scent can transport readers to distant places and evoke forgotten sensations, making the world of a story not just visually tangible, but also viscerally alive.

In the tapestry of storytelling, olfactory details are the fragrant threads that weave the reader’s soul into the narrative, leaving an indelible imprint on their literary journey.

Human Presence

Human presence in a narrative is the heartbeat of a story, the ink that transforms words into living, breathing characters. It’s a diverse spectrum of souls, each one carrying the weight of their past, dreams of their future, and quirks that make them distinctly real.

These characters are not just names on paper; they’re the mirrors through which readers catch glimpses of their own humanity. As they traverse the pages, they laugh, cry, love, and sometimes falter, inviting readers to walk in their shoes, to embrace their triumphs and tribulations.

Whether a hero, a villain, or a complex tapestry of both, the human presence is the constellation of voices that echo within the story’s universe, each star shedding light on the human condition.

It’s a mesmerizing journey through the landscapes of emotion, a revelation of our shared vulnerabilities and the rich tapestry of human experience, a voyage that makes literature not just a pastime but a profound exploration of the heart and soul.

Characterizing the villagers

Characterizing the villagers is akin to peeling back the layers of an intricate tapestry woven with the threads of humanity. Each villager is a unique brushstroke on the canvas of a village’s collective identity, with distinct personalities, quirks, and stories to tell.

From the wise elder who carries the weight of history in their eyes to the mischievous child whose laughter fills the streets, the villagers breathe life into the narrative, shaping the very essence of the community.

Whether they are farmers tilling the soil, artisans crafting intricate wares, or storytellers passing down ancient legends, their occupations and traditions reflect the heart and soul of the village.

Through vivid characterizations, the villagers become more than words on a page; they become living, breathing beings, inviting readers to form a deep and lasting connection with the rich tapestry of human experiences that define this rural haven.

Describe the activities and interactions that define the village

The activities and interactions that define the village are the intricate dance of daily life, a mesmerizing choreography that paints the portrait of the community.

From the crack of dawn when the first rooster crows, to the rhythmic sound of children’s laughter as they chase each other through the cobblestone streets, the village thrives with its unique rituals and traditions. Farmers tend to their fields, vendors gather at the bustling market square, and families share meals under the shade of ancient trees.

Whether it’s the animated conversations at the local tea house, the spirited music of a village fair, or the whispered secrets exchanged by neighbors over picket fences, these interactions are the threads that weave the tapestry of the village’s vibrant social fabric.

It’s within these moments of connection and communion that the heart and soul of the village are unveiled, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the beauty of its daily rhythms and the warmth of its tight-knit community.

Historical and Cultural Layers

Historical and cultural layers in a narrative are like ancient manuscripts waiting to be deciphered by the curious reader. They are the archaeological digs that unearth the buried treasures of the past and the vibrant customs that breathe life into a story’s present.

Like layers of paint on a canvas, they add depth and richness, revealing the intricate tapestry of a society’s evolution. The village’s history is the silent architect of its present, leaving its imprints in every cobblestone and timeworn building.

Cultural influences, from the resonance of local dialects to the intricacies of age-old traditions, provide a unique lens through which the village’s identity is filtered.

Folklore and legends become the whispered secrets of the village, weaving tales of heroes and villains, and mirroring the dreams and fears that have shaped generations.

In the narrative’s exploration of historical and cultural layers, readers embark on a time-traveling journey through the complexities and nuances that define the heart of the village, a journey where past and present converge in a harmonious dance of storytelling.

The village’s history

The village’s history is a silent, ancient storyteller, etching its tales into the very fabric of the landscape. It is a narrative that unfolds in the gnarled bark of age-old trees, the cobblestones worn smooth by countless footsteps, and the timeworn facades of rustic cottages.

This historical chronicle paints a vivid picture of the village’s origins, revealing the trials and triumphs of its founding settlers. It whispers secrets of forgotten wars, celebrations, and the enduring spirit of the community through generations.

The village’s history provides a lens through which the present is understood, showing how it’s shaped by the footsteps of those who came before.

It’s a treasure trove of stories, waiting to be unearthed, and a testament to the enduring legacy of the people who have called this place home.

In the village’s history, readers find not just tales of the past but also a deeper connection to the essence of the community and the roots that anchor it in time.

Cultural influences

Cultural influences in a village’s narrative are the threads that weave together a rich and colorful tapestry of traditions, customs, and ways of life.

They are the mosaic of languages spoken in the streets, the vibrant festivals that punctuate the year, and the cherished rituals that have been passed down through generations.

These influences reflect the essence of the community, offering a window into the beliefs, values, and identity of its people.

Whether it’s the spicy aroma of a local delicacy sizzling in a pan, the melodious tunes of traditional songs echoing through the village square, or the vibrant colors adorning the clothing of the residents, cultural influences are the strokes of paint that define the village’s unique character.

They infuse the narrative with authenticity, allowing readers to immerse themselves in a world where history, values, and customs blend seamlessly, making every street corner, every conversation, and every dish a testament to the enduring legacy of the village’s culture.

Mood and Atmosphere

Mood and atmosphere in a narrative are the master illusionists of storytelling, conjuring emotions, and painting the backdrop of a reader’s imagination with vivid brushstrokes of feeling.

They are the unseen puppeteers, pulling the strings of heartbeats and breaths, transforming mere words into palpable sensations. Whether it’s the heavy, oppressive air of an ominous night, the crisp, hopeful dawn of a new adventure, or the enchanting, ethereal haze of a hidden forest, these intangible elements whisper secrets to the reader’s soul.

They transcend the boundaries of the page, making readers not just observers but participants in the emotional symphony of the story.

In the realm of storytelling, mood and atmosphere are the enchantresses, inviting readers to step through the looking glass into a world where emotions are tangible, where the senses are engaged, and where the very air they breathe is alive with the magic of words.

Creating a sense of place

Creating a sense of place in writing is akin to being an architect of the reader’s mind. It’s about crafting an immersive environment so tangible that one can feel the cobblestones beneath their feet, smell the rain-soaked earth, and hear the echoes of distant conversations.

The alchemy of words can turn a mere setting into a living, breathing character, complete with a history, personality, and quirks. Whether it’s a bustling city square, a tranquil mountain hamlet, or a mysterious, long-forgotten ruins, the sense of place acts as the stage where characters dance, emotions swirl, and stories unfold.

It’s a portal to far-off lands, a vessel for memories, and a key to unlocking the reader’s imagination.

In the hands of a skilled writer, the sense of place becomes the heartbeat of the narrative, allowing readers to journey not just through words but through the very soul of a world waiting to be explored.

Conveying emotional tone

Conveying emotional tone in writing is like an orchestra’s conductor, wielding the power to set the mood, to make hearts race or tears well up, and to ensure the resonance of a narrative in the reader’s soul.

Through carefully chosen words, sentence structure, and imagery, a writer can evoke a wide spectrum of emotions, from joy and laughter to sorrow and despair.

The emotional tone becomes the life force of a story, infusing it with empathy, empathy, and a profound connection between the reader and the characters.

It’s the invisible brush that paints the feelings on the canvas of words, creating an atmosphere that lingers long after the last page is turned.

In the realm of storytelling, conveying emotional tone is an intricate dance of the heart, inviting readers to not just read the words but to feel the emotions coursing through the narrative’s veins, making it a powerful and immersive experience.

Symbolism and Themes

Symbolism and themes in writing are the secret tunnels that lead to hidden chambers within the reader’s imagination, a clandestine journey through a world of deeper meaning.

They are the riddles waiting to be unraveled, the enigmatic signs that form the literary constellations guiding the narrative’s path. Like alchemical elements, they transmute mere words into profound layers of thought, offering insights into human nature, society, and the human condition.

Whether it’s a recurring motif, a subtle metaphor, or a recurring symbol, they are the whispering guides that lead readers into the labyrinthine corridors of thought and reflection.

In the tapestry of storytelling, symbolism and themes are the mysterious relics, inviting readers to decode the hidden messages, to ponder the universal truths, and to explore the intricate tapestry of meaning woven into the narrative’s very fabric.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about How To Describe A Village In Writing

What’s the best way to begin describing a village in writing.

Start by visiting the village or recalling your memories of it to observe its unique characteristics and atmosphere.

Why is it important to choose a focus when describing a village?

Choosing a focus helps you organize your description and ensures that your writing conveys a clear and engaging message.

How should I structure my description of the village?

You can structure your description chronologically or thematically, using an outline to keep your thoughts organized.

What should I include in the introduction of my description?

The introduction should provide the village’s name and location and offer a brief overview of what readers can expect in your description.

How can I effectively capture the sights of the village?

Describe the village’s buildings, landmarks, and significant structures, paying attention to architectural style and historical context.

Should I mention the people in the village?

Yes, it’s important to introduce the community, describing the residents, their way of life, traditions, and occupations. Sharing personal encounters can make your description more engaging.

What are some ways to convey the atmosphere of the village?

Use sensory details to describe the sounds, smells, and general ambiance. Convey whether the village is bustling or serene.

Are there any unique features I should focus on when describing a village?

Highlight customs, festivals, or events that make the village distinct. Explain their significance in shaping the village’s culture.

Is it okay to include personal experiences in my description?

Yes, sharing your personal experiences and feelings about the village adds a personal touch to your writing and helps readers connect with your perspective.

How can I make my description more vivid and engaging?

Use descriptive language, including metaphors, similes, and expressive adjectives, to paint a vivid picture with your words.

How do I ensure a logical flow in my description?

Organize your description to transition smoothly between different aspects of the village, ensuring that the reader can follow your narrative effortlessly.

What should I include in the conclusion of my village description?

In the conclusion, summarize key points and leave a lasting impression. You can also share your overall feelings or insights about the village.

What’s the importance of proofreading and editing in this process?

Proofreading and editing ensure that your writing is free from grammar and spelling errors, enhancing the clarity and quality of your description.

Is it beneficial to seek feedback on my village description?

Yes, sharing your description with others and asking for their feedback can provide valuable input on how well your writing conveys the essence of the village and help you improve it.

In the art of describing a village in writing , we have embarked on a journey where words are our brush, and the page our canvas.

Through the vivid tapestry of sensory details, the rich characterization of villagers, and the delicate interplay of history and culture, we have unraveled the secrets of crafting a world both picturesque and profound.

A village, once a mere backdrop, emerges as a vibrant character in its own right, inviting readers to step into its heart and experience the world we’ve painted with our words.

This exploration reminds us that in storytelling, the power lies not just in the plot but in the world we create, for it’s a world where readers can escape, explore, and expand their horizons.

The art of describing a village is a testament to the magic of literature, where words have the power to transport, captivate, and resonate, leaving an indelible mark on the reader’s soul, and promising that the world we’ve crafted will remain alive in their imagination long after the story ends.

Related Posts:

• How to Describe a Bookstore in a Story (10 Best Tips)
• How To Describe Good Food In Writing (15 Important…
• How To Describe A Crowded Place In Writing (10…
• How To Describe Winter Season In Writing (12 Best…
• How To Describe Summer Season In Writing (8 Important Steps)
• How To Describe Being Cold In Writing (11 Best Ways)

Similar Posts

How To Describe A Homeless Person In writing (16 Significant Steps)

In the realm of literature and creative expression, the power of words lies not just in their ability to convey facts but also in their capacity to evoke empathy, understanding, and profound connections between readers and the subjects of their stories. One such subject often found at the intersection of challenging narratives is homelessness. Describing…

How To Write A Character Getting Arrested (10 Best Tips)

Embarking on the art of crafting a character getting arrested is a literary journey that delves into the complexities of human experience and the intersection of justice and narrative tension. It’s not just about the clang of handcuffs or the legal intricacies of the arrest process; it’s a profound exploration into the psyche of characters…

How To Write Enemies To Lovers (10 Important Tips)

Embarking on the captivating journey of crafting an Enemies to Lovers narrative is akin to wielding a literary alchemy, where the sparks of discord metamorphose into the flames of passion. This genre, rich with tension, emotional depth, and unexpected transformations, has the power to engage readers on a visceral level, drawing them into a narrative…

How To Describe A Smile In Writing (15 Best Tips & Types)

Embarking on the journey to describe a smile in writing is like capturing a sunbeam in a bottle—a tantalizing endeavor that beckons the writer to dance between the tangible and the ethereal. In the realm of words, a smile becomes more than a mere curvature of lips; it transforms into an intimate gateway to the…

How To Describe Betrayal In Writing (15 Important Steps)

Describing betrayal in writing is an art that goes beyond mere storytelling; it’s a journey into the depths of human emotions and the intricate labyrinth of trust and deceit. Betrayal is a universal theme that resonates with readers because it reflects the complexities of human relationships, motives, and the profound impact of broken trust. In…

How To Improve Writing Dialogue (10 Important Steps)

In the captivating tapestry of storytelling, crafting compelling dialogue serves as the vibrant thread that weaves together the fabric of characters, plot, and emotion. However, mastering the art of dialogue construction is no small feat—it requires finesse, a keen understanding of human communication, and the ability to breathe life into fictional voices. This journey of…

SLAP HAPPY LARRY

Writing activity: describe main street of a small town.

MAIN STREET OF SHANCARRIG IN COPPER BEECH BY MAEVE BINCHY

Irish novelist Maeve Binchy offers a masterclass in how to describe the same locale via two different point of view.

The novel opens with the local Father Gunn preparing for a visit from the very important Bishop. Readers see this small Irish town as the Bishop is guided from the bus to the local school, escorted by the Father:

The Bishop seemed interested in everything he saw. They left the station and walked the narrow road to what might be called the centre of town had Shancarrig been a larger place. They paused at the Church of the Holy Redeemer for His Grace to say a silent prayer at the foot of the alter. Then they walked past the bus stop, the little line of shops, Ryan’s Commercial Hotel and The Terrace where the doctor, the solicitor and other people of importance lived. The Bishop seemed to nod approvingly when places looked well, and to frown slightly as he passed the poorer cottages. But perhaps that was all in Father Gunn’s mind. Maybe His Grace was unaware of his surroundings and was merely saying his prayers. As they walked along Father Gunn was only too conscious of the smell from the River Grane, low and muddy. As they crossed the bridge he saw out of the corner of his eye a few faces at the window of Johnny Finn Noted for Best Drinks. He prayed they wouldn’t find it necessary to open the window. Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy changes the focal character at the beginning of the next chapter, to a nature-loving young woman called Maddy. Now we see the same small town from the point of view a completely different personality:

The Rosses had a small house on the bank of the River Grane, not near the rundown cottages, but further on towards Barna Woods which led up to the Old Rock. Almost anywhere you walked from Maddy Ross’s house was full of interest, whether it was up a side road to the school, or past the cottages to the bridge and into the heart of town, where The Terrace, Ryan’s Commercial Hotel and the row of shops all stood. But her favourite walk was to head out through the woods, which changed so much in each season they were like different woods altogether. She loved them most in autumn when everything was golden, when the ground was a carpet of leaves. You could imagine the trees were people, king big people about to embrace you with their branches, or that there was a world of tiny people living in the roots, people who couldn’t really be seen by humans. Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy

MAIN STREET FROM “COMING SOON” BY STEVEN MILLHAUSER

On weekends and evenings, whenever he was free, Levinson liked nothing better than to explore the streets of his town. Main Street was always alive, but that wasn’t the only part of town with an energy you could feel. On residential streets, houses displayed new roofs, renovated porches, bigger windows, fancier doors; in outlying neighborhoods, empty tracts of land blossomed with medical buildings, supermarkets, family restaurants. During early visits to the town, he’d seen a field of bramble bushes with a sluggish stream change into a flourishing shopping plaza, where stores shaded by awnings faced a parking lot studded with tree islands and flower beds, and shortly after his move he’d watched, day after day, as a stretch of woods at the west end of town was cut down and transformed into a community of stone-and-shingle houses on smooth streets lined with purple-leaved Norway maples. You could always find something new in this town—something you weren’t expecting. His city friends, skeptics and mockers all, could say what they liked about the small-town doldrums, the backwater blues, but that didn’t prevent them from coming up for the weekend, and even they seemed surprised at the vitality of the place, with its summer crowds, its merry-go-round in the park, its thronged farmers’ market, and, wherever you looked, on curbsides and street corners, in vacant lots and fenced-off fields, men and machines at work: front-end loaders lifting dirt into dump trucks, excavators digging their toothed buckets into the earth, truck-mounted cranes unfolding, rising, stretching higher and higher into the sky. “ Coming Soon “, Steven Millhauser

In the description below, author Nicholas Evans describes a small town first from a long shot point of view then, as the driver (Dan) drives into the town we see it as he would from a car window. The description of a ‘blink and you miss it’ town is not original, but the verb ‘fishboned’ is. By listing the shops, Evans gives us a good idea of the population of this town — their needs, their desires, and then injects a touch of irreverent humour by putting churches and bars into the same category.

HOPE, MONTANA FROM THE LOOP

In the far distance now, Dan saw the town looming. It was the kind of town you could drive through and barely know you’d been there. One straight street, a couple of hundred yards long, fishboned with a few side alleys. At one end stood a rundown motel and at the other a school, and in between you could find a gas station, a grocery, a hardware store, a diner, a laundromat and a taxidermist. Many of the town’s five hundred or so population lived scattered along the valley and to service their various spiritual needs there were two churches and two bars. There were also two gift shops, which said more about optimism than sound business sense; for although summer tourists often passed through Hope, few chose to longer. In an attempt to remedy this and to meet demand from the modest but growing band of subdivision newcomers, one of these shops (and by far the better) had last year installed a cappuccino bar. The Loop , Nicholas Evans

THE TOWN OF RIGBY FROM “GALLATIN CANYON” BY THOMAS MCGUANE

But there was Rigby, and, in the parlance of all who have extracted funds from locals, Rigby had been good to me. Main Street was lined with ambitious and beautiful stone buildings, old for this part of the world. Their second and third floors were now affordable housing, and their street levels were occupied by businesses hanging on by their fingernails. You could still detect the hopes of the dead, their dreams, even, though it seemed to be only a matter of time before the wind carried them away, once and for all. “Gallatin Canyon”

A SMALL SEASIDE TOWN IN NEW ZEALAND

Witi Ihimaera’s Sky Dancer is a comic novel. We first see the landscape via the viewpoint of birds. Now the camera is on the ground with two women, one older, one a ‘chick’. This reads like a description of many small New Zealand towns.

“Honey, please don’t tell me that this is where we’re staying,” Cora said. The main street led down to the small port. On one side was a pub, a fish and chip shop, a takeaway bar, a video rental shop and, interestingly, a massage parlour advertising in Korean and Japanese. On the other side of the street was another pub, a hall which looked like it offered Housie during the week and showed action and sci-fi movies during the weekends, a corner supermarket which also sold Lotto tickets and, next to it, an all-night diner. The diner had a couple of cars and a motorbike parked outside. “Look on the bright side,” Skylark said. “It’s off season, so it’s not costing us too much to stay here, and–” she pointed at the all-night diner — “at least there are some signs of a pulse.” Witi Ihimaera, Sky Dancer

A SMALL TOWN IN AN AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

If anything, the day has grown hotter, the glare beyond the shop awnings more dazzling. Nothing moves, except the shimmering heat haze rising from the street. The temperature must have hit forty, without a breath of wind. He walks into the brightness. Touching the roof of his car is like touching a skillet. Something moves in the stillness, a shifting at the edge of vision, but when he turns he can’t see anything. No—there, in the centre of the street: a lizard. He walks across. It’s a stumpy tail, still as death. Bitumen is seeping through cracks in the road and Martin wonders if the lizard has become stuck. But it scurries away, blood quickened by the heat, rushing under a parked car. Another sound. A spluttering cough. Martin turns, sees the man shuffling along under the awnings on the other side of the road.  Scrublands by Chris Hammer (2018)

BLACK HORSE, ONTARIO

The following is the opening of a short story by Canadian author, Alice Munro, who is describing a tiny ‘town’ somewhere in Ontario. The story was published at the end of the 1960s.

The place called Black Horse is marked on the map but there is nothing there except a store and three houses and an old cemetery and a livery shed which belonged to a church that burned down. It is a hot place in summer, with no shade on the road and no creek nearby. The houses and the store are built of red brick of a faded, gingery colour, with a random decoration of grey or white bricks across the chimneys and around the windows. Behind them the fields are full of milkweed and goldenrod and big purple thistles. People who are passing through, on their way to the Lakes of Muskoka and the northern bush, may notice that around here the bountiful landscape thins and flattens, worn elbows of rock appear in the diminishing fields and the deep, harmonious woodlots of elm and maple give way to a denser, less hospitable scrub-forest of birch and poplar, spruce and pine — where in the heat of the afternoon the pointed trees at the end of the road turn blue, transparent, retreating into the distance like a company of ghosts. “A Trip To The Coast” by Alice Munro

This evocative paragraph comprises:

• The name of the place (reminiscent of early settler times, of the frontier)
• What there is : A list of buildings and landmarks
• Climate in summer
• What there is not : a church, shade on the road, creek nearby
• Building materials
• Area surrounding the township (fields of weeds)
• What is noticed by someone unfamiliar to the area (people passing through)
• Geological and botanical descriptions, as if from a textbook
• A switch to the supernatural (juxtaposed against the textbook description)

Later in the same story, the eleven-year-old character starts to see her home differently after a trip to the coast is mentioned. Alice Munro describes the same tiny township again, but notice the difference:

The clouds were dingy; the world was filled with an old, dusty unfriendly light that seemed to come not from the sky alone but from the flat brick walls, the white roads, the grey bush-leaves rustling and the metal signs flapping in the hot, monotonous wind. “A Trip To The Coast” by Alice Munro

WRITE YOUR OWN

Using imagery from two or more of the images below and write a description of a Main Street.

Small Towns Make Great Horror Settings

The Dark Swamp: Horror Stories 709: Someone Is Doing Something TERRIFYING In This Town | The Dark Swamp

Spoon River America: Edgar Lee Masters and the Myth of the American Small Town  A literary and cultural milestone,  Spoon River Anthology  captured an idea of the rural Midwest that became a bedrock myth of life in small-town America. Jason Stacy places the book within the atmosphere of its time and follows its progress as the poetry took root and thrived. Published by Edgar Lee Masters in 1915,  Spoon River America: Edgar Lee Masters and the Myth of the American Small Town  (U Illinois Press, 2021) won praise from modernists while becoming an ongoing touchstone for American popular culture. Stacy charts the ways readers embraced, debated, and reshaped Masters’s work in literary controversies and culture war skirmishes; in films and other media that over time saw the small town as idyllic then conflicted then surreal; and as the source of three archetypes—populist, elite, and exile—that endure across the landscape of American culture in the twenty-first century. A wide-ranging reconsideration of a literary landmark,  Spoon River America  tells the story of how a Midwesterner’s poetry helped change a nation’s conception of itself. New Books Network

Header illustration: Stevan Dohanos, Main Street

CONTEMPORARY FICTION SET IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND (2023)

On paper, things look fine. Sam Dennon recently inherited significant wealth from his uncle. As a respected architect, Sam spends his days thinking about the family needs and rich lives of his clients. But privately? Even his enduring love of amateur astronomy is on the wane. Sam has built a sustainable-architecture display home for himself but hasn’t yet moved into it, preferring to sleep in his cocoon of a campervan. Although they never announced it publicly, Sam’s wife and business partner ended their marriage years ago due to lack of intimacy, leaving Sam with the sense he is irreparably broken.

Now his beloved uncle has died. An intensifying fear manifests as health anxiety, with night terrors from a half-remembered early childhood event. To assuage the loneliness, Sam embarks on a Personal Happiness Project:

1. Get a pet dog

2. Find a friend. Just one. Not too intense.

KINDLE EBOOK

• Craft and Criticism
• Fiction and Poetry
• News and Culture
• Lit Hub Radio
• Reading Lists

• Literary Criticism
• Craft and Advice
• In Conversation
• On Translation
• Short Story
• From the Novel
• Bookstores and Libraries
• Film and TV
• Art and Photography
• Freeman’s
• The Virtual Book Channel
• Behind the Mic
• Beyond the Page
• The Cosmic Library
• The Critic and Her Publics
• Emergence Magazine
• Fiction/Non/Fiction
• First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing
• The History of Literature
• I’m a Writer But
• Lit Century
• Tor Presents: Voyage Into Genre
• Windham-Campbell Prizes Podcast
• Write-minded
• The Best of the Decade
• Best Reviewed Books
• BookMarks Daily Giveaway
• The Daily Thrill
• CrimeReads Daily Giveaway

Dwyer Murphy on How to Write About a City

“you’re going to want to get out and walk around.”.

The following  first appeared in Lit Hub’s  The Craft of Writing newsletter— sign up here .

You could go mad trying to write about a city. Taking the city as your subject, that is, and building a fiction around and within it. I’ve just tried it myself and I can tell you that it’s a fairly bewildering experience. My subject, supposedly, was New York. I wanted to write a mystery where people occasionally vanished, presumed dead, but really what the detective was looking for was a disappearing city: the little movie houses, twenty-four hour diners, used bookshops, news kiosks, bars, and restaurants that are always, inevitably moving through their own life cycles and waves of success and failure and sometimes you walk down the same street one weekend to the next and it appears every other storefront has turned over. A new sign up, new management. Maybe it’s a bank now, or a bagel shop, or just a metal shutter that’s been drawn.

So, how do you start? If your city is New York, or a comparably chronicled metropolis, you’re in luck, because the printed record is abundant and wildly colorful. So you’re going to want to get your hands on, say, a lot of old Village Voices or Time Out New Yorks, so you can read about the latest breathless coverage of art world openings and the kinds of bands that used to play in clubs and lounges just below Houston. You’re going to want, also, to see a collection of the dailies they used to hand out free on the subway, not to mention the various above-ground editions you paid for. If your preferred genre is crime, I’m begging you, also, go to the New York Historical Society, and then maybe one or two law libraries, because there’s nowhere in the world with better collections of old trial pamphlets, and how better to learn about a city than reading about the crimes people committed there? Lust, greed, confession, retribution—trial pamphlets have it all. Also, please don’t forget about the ‘zines. My God, all the beautiful, wild, eccentric ‘zines.

But that’s all for fun, really. There’s a bigger conceptual matter at play. A question, really: do you want your city to feel vast and intricate or personal and intimate? In New York terms, I think of this as the Price / Kushner divide, since I’ve long had Richard Price’s Lush Life and Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers in mind as two fairly opposed storytelling approaches that both capture downtown New York at its core. For Kushner, the details of the city are about one character’s intimate memories, whereas Price is aiming to take on the city at a more structural level, incorporating as many different experiences as possible and throwing them into collision. (For those who like their craft with a tinge of francophilia, you could also think of this as the Modiano / Balzac division. Both writers conjure up an impossibly vivid and ambitious portrait of Paris, but Modiano’s is largely built of one person’s impressionist questioning of his own memories; whereas Balzac, he wasn’t going to quit until he wrote a book about every block.)

There’s one more crucial step to cover, and it’s going to take you a long time, maybe years to complete. You’re going to want to get out and walk around. I don’t just mean a few blocks. I’d suggest putting in a few thousand miles over the course of several years, if at all possible. Teju Cole’s Open City is, for me, the ultimate novel of wandering around New York: Julius, the doctor, on his uptown odyssey through neighborhoods, disappointments, memories. The flâneur novel is, after all, the essential form of city fiction, with characters who allow for a meandering, open perspective, taking in block after block, allowing the stories and lives to present themselves as they will. For my novel, I had the built-in formal excuse—I was writing a detective novel, which is really another form of flâneur fiction, at least in the American noir tradition, where the gumshoe is all but required to name the streets so that we can determine how mean they are.

Don’t scrimp on detail, either. If you want to claim your character could get from Williamsburg to Delancey Street on foot in under thirty-five minutes, write it down that way, because later, during the fact-checking process, when that timing is questioned, you’re going to have the rather wonderful task of actually leaving your old apartment on Manhattan Avenue, crossing the Williamsburg Bridge, and pouring down into the Lower East Side, so that everyone can agree on the precise, to the minute arrival. What could be more fun? Anyway, it’s better than writing.

Well, there’s a lot more to it, more tricks to pick up along the way, countless more novels to reference, but what do I know? Nothing authoritative. This is just one writer’s experience. And really, why go on, since, as I mentioned at the top, this entire task is destined for failure. You’re never going to capture the city as you might want. It’s too vast. There are too many lives carrying on. Too many mysteries to note and never to solve. Ultimately your city will be found wanting.

Better to just take the subway some miles away, walk home with an open mind, talk to a few people, then live quietly with your thoughts for a few hours, and you may find you have the start of something new, quite possibly a novel that wants to be written, and you’ll only have to wear out a few shoes and what’s left of your sanity working it through to the end.

__________________________________

An Honest Living by Dwyer Murphy is available via Viking.

• Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Dwyer Murphy

Previous article, next article, support lit hub..

Join our community of readers.

to the Lithub Daily

Popular posts.

Follow us on Twitter

Dollars, Cents, and Being Left With the Bill: Jillian Medoff on Breaking Up With Her Literary Agent

• RSS - Posts

Literary Hub

Created by Grove Atlantic and Electric Literature

Sign Up For Our Newsletters

How to Pitch Lit Hub

Advertisers: Contact Us

Privacy Policy

Support Lit Hub - Become A Member

Become a Lit Hub Supporting Member : Because Books Matter

For the past decade, Literary Hub has brought you the best of the book world for free—no paywall. But our future relies on you. In return for a donation, you’ll get an ad-free reading experience , exclusive editors’ picks, book giveaways, and our coveted Joan Didion Lit Hub tote bag . Most importantly, you’ll keep independent book coverage alive and thriving on the internet.

Become a member for as low as $5/month

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Fiction Writing

How to Write About a Fictional City

Last Updated: October 5, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Stephanie Wong Ken, MFA . Stephanie Wong Ken is a writer based in Canada. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. She holds an MFA in Fiction and Creative Writing from Portland State University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 95,828 times.

Writing about a fictional city can be a difficult challenge. We all know that real cities are sections of land with a population. But in order to create a fictional city and use it in a story, you will need to access your imagination and focus on the details of the city to get it right.

Looking at Examples of Fictional Cities

• The fictional city of Basin City or Sin City in Frank Miller’s Sin City .
• The fictional city of King’s Landing in George R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones .
• The fictional city of Oz (The Emerald City) in L.Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz .
• The fictional city of The Shire in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit .

• Most fictional cities are described using a map drawn by the author or by an illustrator working with the author. Examine the maps provided of the fictional cities and notice the level of detail that is put into the maps. For example, the map provided in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit includes the names of places in the language of the novel as well as major landmarks and structures in the fictional area.
• Look at the naming of the areas or streets in the fictional city. The names in a fictional city can carry a lot of importance, as the names come to symbolize certain aspects of the world of the book. For example, the naming of “Sin City” in Frank Miller’s Sin City graphic novels indicates that the area is known for its sinful inhabitants. The name tells the reader something about the area and what to expect from the characters that live in the area.
• Note how the author describes the city. Does she use certain descriptions to characterize the city? In The Game of Thrones by George R. Martin, for example, King’s Landing is described as dirty and smelly, but it is also the seat of the throne. These descriptions create an interesting contrast for the reader.

• Creating a fictional city will also allow you to use elements of a real city you know well, such as your hometown, and twist them around so they become fictional. If you are very familiar and comfortable in a certain real-life area, you can then use what you know and change them slightly to create a fictional world.
• Creating a fictional city will also improve your writing overall, as the more believable your city is in your book, the more believable the world of your book will be to readers. Making a convincing fictional city will strengthen your characters as well, as you can shape the city to fit with the actions and perspectives of your characters.

Creating the Basics of the Fictional City

• You may choose a name that feels generic and sort of “every small town” if you want your story to have a more universal feel to it. A name like Milton or Abbsortford, for example, does not tell readers too much about the town other than it is likely small and in North America. Avoid using a name like Springfield, as this immediately makes readers think of The Simpsons, which may not fit with your story.
• Consider a name that fits the region or area where your fictional city is located. If your city is located in Germany, for example, you may select a German name or a German term that could also function as a name. If your city is located in Canada, you may select a Canadian city that exists and change the name slightly to create a fictional name.
• Avoid names that seem obvious, such as Vengeance or Hell, as the reader will be alerted right away to the meaning behind the name. The use of obvious names can be effective if the town acts in contrast to the name. For example, a town named Hell that has the nicest, most pleasant townspeople.

• Who founded the city? This could be a lone explorer who stumbled on the land or Native peoples who built up the city piece by piece using basic tools. Think about the individual or individuals responsible for founding the city.
• When was the city founded? This can help you get a better sense of the development of the city, as a city founded 100 years ago will have a denser history than a city founded 15 years ago.
• Why was the city founded? Answering this question can help you better describe the city’s past. Maybe the city was founded through colonization, where a foreign explorer claimed the land and colonized it. Or maybe the city was founded by people who discovered empty land and built it up on their own. The reasons for the city’s existence will help you get a better sense of your characters, as they may have personal ties and connections to the city due to how the city was founded and why it was founded.
• How old is the city? The age of the city is another important element. An older city may have city planning details that have been preserved, while a newer city may have very few old buildings and an experimental approach to city planning.

• You should also think about the climate of the city. Is it hot and humid or cold and dry? The climate may also depend on the time of year when your story is taking place. If your story takes place in the middle of winter in a fictional town located in Northern California, for example, it may be warm during the day and cooler at night.

• Consider the racial and ethnic groups in your city. Are there more African American individuals than Latinos or Caucasians? Do certain ethnic groups live in certain areas of the city? Are there areas where certain ethnic groups are not allowed or feel uncomfortable being in?
• Think about the class dynamics in your city. This could mean a character who is middle-class lives in a certain area of the city and a character of an upper class lives in a more lavish or expensive area of the city. Your fictional city may be divided by class, with certain areas off-limits to all classes except for one class.

• You may also notate landscape details, like a mountain range that borders the city or sand dunes that protect the city from the outside. Try to add as many details as possible, as this will help you build a more convincing fictional world.
• If you have a friend who is talented at illustration, you may ask them to help you draw a map of the city in more detail. You can also use online resources to help you build the map. Use a program like Photoshop, for example, to cut and paste images from the internet to create a map or a physical representation of the city.

Adding the Specifics of the Fictional City

• You should also think about what the town is known for, according to the outside world. Maybe the city is known as the center of commerce or has one of the most renowned sports teams.
• Consider what locals love or enjoy about the city, as this will make it feel more unique. What are the hotspots and cool hang out areas in the city? What are the locals proud of in terms of their city and what are they ashamed of or afraid of in their city?

• For example, maybe your character spends a lot of time at the private school located in the city center. Take the time to think about small details of the school, from how the building appears within the surrounding area to the school colors and the school mascot. Focus on the area around the school and the layout of the school, including classrooms and areas your character spends a lot of time in.

• For example, maybe your city has a polluted river that runs through the area. Think of how it smells as you walk by the river. Have your characters comment on the stench of the river and the way the river looks or sounds.
• Your story will likely involve several locations or settings that recur. Focus on using the five senses to describe these recurring settings well, as this will help the world of the story feel more convincing.

• For example, your characters may spend time in a dense urban area in the city. The area may be populated with strange creatures and monsters but it may also have elements you may find in a real-life urban area, like buildings, streets, and alleyways. Having real-life details and imagined details together can make it easier to build a believable world.

• For example, if you have a character who needs to access a magical portal in the middle of the city to time travel, you should make sure the magical portal is described well in the fictional city. The magical portal should contain enough detail to be believable and your character should interact with it in an interesting way. This will ensure your fictional city is supporting your character’s needs and goals.

• Place your character in a situation where she has to walk around or interact with a certain section of the city. Or, have your character use a facility in the city that then allows her to describe how it feels to use the facility. This will give you the opportunity to have descriptions of the fictional city through the perspective of the character, which will feel more believable and convincing to the reader than simply telling the reader about the facility.
• You should also have your characters treat the more fantastical or strange elements of the fictional city casually and in a straightforward manner. If your fictional city is located under water, for example, a character who has lived in the city for a long period of time may not be surprised that he has to get in his submarine to visit with his neighbor. You can describe the character getting into the submarine and programming it for its destination in a casual, everyday kind of way. This will signal to the reader that submarines are common in this fictional city and used as a form of transportation without having to directly tell the reader that this is the case.

Community Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/10/the-50-coolest-fictional-cities/
• ↑ http://thewritelife.com/worldbuilding/
• ↑ https://scottwrites.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/how-to-create-your-own-fake-town/
• ↑ http://www.springhole.net/writing/town-and-city-questions.htm
• ↑ http://io9.gizmodo.com/7-deadly-sins-of-worldbuilding-998817537
• ↑ http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/09/17/25-things-you-should-know-about-worldbuilding/

About This Article

To write about a fictional city, first think of a name that reflects your story world. For example, if your city is in Germany, you might use a German word for your name, or if it's in Canada, you could take an existing Canadian city and change it slightly. Next, write a historical record including details of why and when your city was founded. Then, write a description of your city to create a sense of its atmosphere, climate, and terrain. Finally, draw a map of your city, including major landmarks and where your main characters live and work. For more tips from our Creative Writing co-author, including how to add specific details, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Chandler B.

May 27, 2017

Did this article help you?

William Royster

Feb 19, 2019

Pavan Kumara

Sep 20, 2016

Giwa Omowumi

Feb 24, 2022

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help Pro:

Level up your tech skills and stay ahead of the curve

How To Describe A Crowded Place In Writing (21 Best Tips & Examples)

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve need to write about crowds and crowded places in my stories.

Here is how to describe a crowded place in writing:

Describe a crowded place in writing by focusing on sensory details, emotions, and diverse interactions. Use vivid adjectives, metaphors, and sensory descriptions to convey the atmosphere, energy, and individuality in the crowd.

In this guide, you’ll learn all 21 of the most unique and creative ways to describe a crowded place in your stories.

Capturing the Atmosphere: Conveying the Energy and Mood of a Crowded Place

Table of Contents

To vividly portray the atmosphere in a crowded place, it is essential to focus on sensory details.

Describe how bustling bodies create an orchestra of sounds, like murmurs mingling with laughter and footsteps echoing through the space.

The aroma in such places can be overpowering – from mouthwatering food scents wafting by to sweat mixing with perfumes.

Paint a picture of the constant movement within a crowded place.

Detail how people weave through each other like dancers on a stage or cars maneuvering through heavy traffic. Capture their varied expressions – excited smiles, furrowed brows, or determined looks as they push forward towards their destination.

Highlight the contrasting emotions that exists side-by-side in these settings; joyous celebrations coexist with quiet moments of solitude as people carve out pockets for themselves amidst chaos.

his contrast adds depth to your descriptions and allows readers to fully understand both the energy and mood present in crowded places.

• Use descriptive language that appeals to multiple senses.
• Compare movements within a crowd to familiar images (e. g., ballet dancers or busy traffic).
• Show different emotions coexisting simultaneously for added dimension.
• Vary sentence structure and length for flow and readability.
• Use metaphors sparingly but effectively when describing crowds (e. g., “like bees buzzing around a hive”).

Painting with Words: Using Descriptive Language to Portray a Crowded Place

To effectively describe a crowded place in writing, it’s crucial to use descriptive language that evokes vivid imagery.

Start by painting the scene with colorful adjectives and adverbs. For example, instead of saying “the park was crowded,” you could say “the bustling park overflowed with people of all ages, their laughter echoing through the air.”

This not only conveys the idea of a crowded place but also gives readers a sense of the atmosphere and liveliness.

Next, focus on using sensory details to bring your description to life. Describe how the crowd sounds, smells, and feels.

You might mention “the cacophony of chattering voices” or “the aroma of sizzling street food wafting through the air.”

Additionally, consider incorporating tactile descriptions such as “shoulder-to-shoulder contact” or “a constant jostle among strangers.”

By carefully selecting descriptive words and appealing to readers’ senses, you can transport them into the chaotic yet exciting world of a crowded place without overwhelming them with too much information at once.

Keep paragraphs concise and straightforward so as not to lose their attention amidst the buzz!

Sensory Overload: Describing the Sights, Sounds, and Smells of a Crowded Place

Immersing oneself in a crowded place can be an assault on the senses.

The sights alone are overwhelming – a sea of people moving hurriedly, their colorful clothes blending together in a blur. Neon signs flicker and flash overhead while towering buildings cast long shadows that create a sense of claustrophobia.

The soundscape is equally chaotic.

Conversations merge into one indistinguishable hum, punctuated by bursts of laughter or raised voices trying to be heard above the cacophony. Music blares from storefronts, intermixed with sirens wailing in the distance and car horns blaring impatiently.

As your nose takes in the smells surrounding you, it becomes apparent why crowded places have such distinct odors.

Stale sweat mingles with perfume and cologne as bodies press tightly together.

Vendors’ stalls emit enticing aromas – sizzling hot dogs coated in mustard, sugary pastries wafting through the air like sweet promises.

In this world where every step brings new stimuli, describing the sensory overload experienced within a crowded place requires attention to detail and evocative language that transports readers directly into its midst.

The Dance of Movement: Depicting the Flow and Bustle of a Crowded Place

In a crowded place, every step becomes part of a delicate dance, choreographed by the ebb and flow of human movement.

People sway this way and that, their bodies navigating through tight spaces with graceful precision.

A symphony of footsteps fills the air as strangers brush past each other in an elaborate ballet.

The space pulses with energy, an electrifying atmosphere that crackles with anticipation.

Conversations blend together into a cacophony of voices, rising above them all is the steady hum of activity. It is impossible to ignore the vibrant rhythm that reverberates through every corner.

Glimpses caught are mere snapshots frozen in time – faces flicker by before disappearing into the melee once more.

Each individual seems consumed by their own mission or purpose; urgency etched upon their expressions as they dart from one point to another in this sea of humanity. Yet amidst this chaos lies an intriguing harmony – an orchestrated chaos where unity emerges from diversity.

Emotional Impact: Reflecting the Feelings and Reactions within Crowded Places

Crowded places can evoke a range of emotions in individuals.

The sheer volume of people bustling about creates an atmosphere charged with energy and excitement. In such spaces, one might experience a sense of exhilaration as they soak in the collective buzz and vibrant activity surrounding them.

At the same time, crowded places can also trigger feelings of anxiety or claustrophobia for those who prefer solitude or spaciousness.

Being engulfed by a sea of strangers may induce discomfort or unease, heightening their awareness of personal boundaries being invaded.

Ultimately, describing the emotional impact within crowded places requires writers to tap into the unique blend of sensations that arise from both exhilaration and uneasiness.

Social Interactions: Illustrating the Interplay and Relationships in Crowded Places

When describing a crowded place, it’s important to capture the social interactions that occur within it.

This can help paint a vivid picture for your readers and bring the scene to life.

Observe how people interact with one another – are they engaged in animated conversations, laughing together, or perhaps lost in their own thoughts? Describe the body language of individuals, emphasizing gestures like handshakes, hugs, or gentle touches on shoulders. These details provide insight into the relationships between people and add depth to your writing.

Furthermore, pay attention to group dynamics within a crowded space.

Are there clusters of friends huddled closely together while others stand alone?

Is there an undeniable bond among certain individuals that sets them apart from the rest of the crowd?

Reflecting on these details allows you to convey a sense of unity or isolation within the bustling atmosphere.

To enhance your description even further:

• Note any shared experiences or common interests that may bring people together.
• Show how different groups interact with each other through friendly exchanges or competitive energy.
• Highlight any cultural nuances and traditions playing out in these social interactions.

Faces in the Crowd: Portraying the Diversity and Individuality of People in a Crowded Place

In a crowded place, faces come alive with unique stories and experiences.

Each person stands out in their own way, adding to the tapestry of diversity that fills the scene. From young children clutching their parents’ hands to elderly individuals navigating through the throng with wisdom etched on their faces, every expression tells a different tale.

Observe closely and you’ll find eyes filled with hope, laughter lines etched deeply into smiles, and brows furrowed with concern.

There are those lost in conversation or immersed in deep thought.

In this kaleidoscope of humanity, no two faces resemble each other entirely; distinct features distinguish one person from another.

As you scan across this bustling space, notice the vibrant range of skin colors: light ivory tones alongside rich caramel hues; jet-black hair contrasting sharply against fiery red locks. Some wear traditional attire passed down through generations while others flaunt modern fashion statements. The unique fusion of cultures finds its reflection here amidst these lively individual characters.

The crowd is not just an anonymous mass pulsating as one entity.

It brims with myriad personalities waiting to be discovered by keen observers who take time to appreciate each face’s distinctive markings – signs that speak volumes about people’s lives without them uttering any words at all.

Tension and Excitement: Conveying the Intensity and Dynamism of a Crowded Place

There is an electrifying atmosphere in a crowded place, brimming with energy that buzzes through every inch.

Bodies move swiftly, colliding occasionally as they navigate the limited space.

The air crackles with anticipation and tension, creating an immersive experience for anyone present.

• Vibrant and Pulsating : A crowded place pulsates with life; every corner bustling with motion, vibrant colors clashing against countless bodies in ceaseless movement.
• Chaos and Disorder : The chaotic nature of a crowded setting adds to its allure—frustrated voices shouting over one another, hurried footsteps echo against floor tiles adorning the complex labyrinth.
• Eyes Wide Open : Observers strain their eyes in order to take it all in—the sea of faces merging into blurred murals of humanity; each face telling its own story.

The sensations are multiplied tenfold as throngs merge together like a single organism — undulating waves flowing spontaneously within predetermined boundaries yet eventually erupting beyond them under forces unseen but palpable to those immersed within it.

Claustrophobic Chaos: Describing the Feeling of Being Overwhelmed in a Crowded Place

In a crowded place, the overwhelming sensation can be like suffocating under a heavy blanket.

The air becomes thick with human presence, causing one’s heart to race and palms to sweat. Every step feels like an obstacle course as bodies press against you from all sides.

It’s claustrophobic chaos, where every movement is limited by the sheer mass of people around you.

The noise adds another layer to this overwhelming experience.

Conversations blend together into an unintelligible buzz, punctuated by occasional bursts of laughter or shouts for attention. The cacophony reverberates in your ears, making it difficult to focus on any single sound or conversation.

As you try finding your way through the crowd, visual input bombardment further intensifies the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Bright lights flicker overhead while colorful signs compete for attention at every turn.

Faces blur into anonymous masses as they merge into each other, leaving one feeling lost and insignificant amidst the sea of humanity.

Hidden Corners: Revealing the Intriguing Details and Hidden Gems of a Crowded Place

Amongst the sea of people, where chaos seems to reign supreme, lies a tranquility unbeknownst to many.

In the hidden corners of this bustling place, one can find solace amidst the commotion.

Flower vendors creating vibrant bouquets with delicate precision; musicians coaxing beautiful melodies from their instruments in street-side cafes; graffiti artists adorning crumbling walls with breathtaking murals – these are just a few examples of the captivating details that go unnoticed by most.

While tourists flock to popular attractions, it is in these lesser-known spots that true beauty resides.

Alleyways adorned with colorful string lights guide you through tiny markets teeming with unique trinkets and handmade crafts.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafts through narrow streets lined with cozy bookshops waiting for eager readers to discover their treasures. These hidden gems offer respite from the crowd, revealing an intimate glimpse into the authentic heart and soul of this crowded place.

Intriguing tales await those willing to wander off-the-beaten-path.

Stories whispered by old buildings steeped in history or small family-run eateries passed down through generations.

Exploring these hidden corners unravels secrets only known by locals – an experience that transcends mere observation and allows for meaningful connection amid the overwhelming nature of crowded places.

• Curated flower arrangements at every corner.
• Musicians serenading passersby in sidewalk cafes.
• Vibrant graffiti art decorating forgotten alleyways.
• Narrow streets leading towards cozy bookshops fragrant with freshly ground coffee beans.
• Tiny markets overflowing with trinkets waiting for curious hands.

Escaping the Crowd: Offering Strategies to Find Solitude and Calm in a Crowded Place

Let’s talk about exit strategies for your crowded setting.

1. Seek Out Hidden Corners or Quieter Areas

• Look for secluded nooks or corners away from the main crowd.
• Explore less popular sections of the place, where fewer people tend to gather.
• Find spots with comfortable seating or beautiful views, such as gardens or rooftop terraces.

2. Visit During Off-Peak Hours

• Choose times when the place is likely to be less crowded, such as early mornings or late afternoons.
• Avoid weekends and holidays when visitor numbers are usually higher.
• Research online or inquire at local tourist information centers to find specific time recommendations for each location.

3. Utilize Noise-Canceling Headphones or Earplugs

• Invest in a pair of high-quality noise-canceling headphones that can block out ambient sounds and distractions.
• Alternatively, wear earplugs to reduce external noise and create your own sanctuary of quietness amidst the chaos.

By following these strategies, you can carve out moments of solitude and tranquility even in the most bustling places.

How to Describe Crowded Places in Different Writing Styles

I thought it would be nice to include full examples of crowded place descriptions in various styles.

Description in a Narrative Style

The bustling marketplace was alive with activity as people hurriedly shuffled through the narrow lanes.

The aroma of various spices filled the air, enticing passersby to stop and savor the flavors. Vendors called out their prices, their voices mingling with the sounds of animated conversations echoing off the walls. Women draped in vibrant sarees haggled for better deals while children weaved through the throngs, giggling and pointing at colorful trinkets displayed on makeshift stalls.

Description in a Descriptive Style

In this crowded place, bodies pressed against one another like puzzle pieces fitting together tightly.

The cacophony of chatter reverberated through every corner as individuals scurried past each other urgently. A symphony of scent wafted around; food stands offered an array of tantalizing aromas from freshly baked bread to sizzling stir-fries infused with aromatic spices. Eyes darted about as visitors navigated narrow pathways lined by countless shops that spilled over with merchandise–from handcrafted jewelry to exotic fabrics dyed into an explosion of rainbow colors.

Best Words to Describe Crowded Places

Check out this list of words to describe crowded places in your stories:

• Bustling: The crowded place was filled with people moving quickly, creating a lively and energetic atmosphere.
• Teeming: The streets were teeming with pedestrians, making it difficult to navigate through the crowd.
• Thriving: The popular market was thriving with shoppers browsing various stalls and vendors selling their wares.
• Congested: The narrow street became congested as more people arrived, causing delays and difficulties in getting through.
• Swarming: Tourists swarmed the famous landmark, capturing every angle on their cameras.
• Packed: The concert arena was packed with excited fans eagerly awaiting the start of the performance.
• Jam-packed: The train station during rush hour was jam-packed with commuters trying to catch their trains amidst chaos and noise.
• Crowded-to-the-brim: People spilled into every available space at the music festival, turning it into a crowded-to-the-brim event
• Overcrowded: Due to limited seating, the small café felt overcrowded as customers jostled for tables or stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the counter.
• Abuzz: As dusk fell over Times Square, neon lights illuminated a bustling cityscape—the area abuzz with excitement.
• Densely populated – Large numbers of people are concentrated closely together in this area.
• Humming – A buzz of activity characterizes this busy environment.
• Clamoring – Noisy voices overlap and compete for attention within this raucous setting
• Vibrant – This lively scene is full of color and energy
• Electric – Excitement crackles throughout this energized atmosphere
• Blanketed – Multitudes cover every inch of available space like overlapping blankets
• Cacophonous – An overwhelming mix of sounds creates a chaotic feeling
• Suffocating – The sheer volume of people makes it difficult to breathe or move freely
• Pulsating – A rhythmic beat seems to emanate from the crowded masses, creating an intoxicating pulse.
• Drumming: Footsteps and chatter echo through the air like a steady drumbeat.
• Overflowing: The city streets overflowed with pedestrians during rush hour, their movements almost synchronized in perfect chaos.
• Mobbed: Tourists mobbed the popular attraction, snapping photos and vying for a closer look
• Foreigners every-flaming-where – In this overcrowded bazaar, foreigners can be seen everywhere you turn
• Ant-like: People scurried around purposefully like tiny ants hustling about their work
• Humongous queues – Long lines snaked around as waiting visitors anticipated entrance into the crowded venue
• Invaded :Suddenly invaded by students pouring out of classrooms—a school hallway became congested within seconds.

Best Phrases to Describe Crowded Places

Here are some of the best phrases to describe crowded places:

• A throng of people filled the streets, creating a bustling atmosphere.
• The crowded market was a hive of activity, with vendors shouting and customers jostling each other.
• Bodies pressed together in the concert venue as fans eagerly awaited the performance.
• The train station during rush hour became a sea of commuters, all rushing to catch their trains.
• The park was teeming with families enjoying picnics and children playing games.
• People swarmed the shopping mall on Black Friday, seeking out deals and discounts.
• A queue stretched around the block outside the popular restaurant as eager diners waited for a table.
• Tourists flocked to see famous landmarks, making it difficult to navigate through narrow streets or courtyards.
• The stadium overflowed with enthusiastic spectators cheering for their favorite team.
• As I entered Times Square, my senses were overwhelmed by a cacophony of sounds and an onslaught of colorful lights
• Inside the nightclub, bodies gyrated on the dance floor like sardines packed into a tin can.
• A crowd surged forward at an outdoor festival when fireworks burst forth above them.
• During rush hour subway rides are akin to being trapped inside cans crammed full with strangers
• At music festivals thousands gather together jumping up and down while belting out lyrics in unison.
• Cramped bazaars emanate pungent aromas that mingle from food stalls offering spicy delicacies.
• January sales attract hordes clamoring over each other like seagulls fighting over bread crusts.
• Traffic congestion turned city roads into parking lots
• Escape rooms fill faster than last minute tax submissions—flocks spill into hallways awaiting their turns
• Family fun-fair’s carousel line is more tightly wrapped than a mummy
• Commute spaces during rush hour are overfilled with bodies like cans of jam
• Swimmers in beaches and pools float together showcasing various colorful bathing attires.

Here is a video about how to describe a crowded place:

Final Thoughts: How to Describe a Crowded Place in Writing

Capturing the dynamic essence of crowded places in writing can vividly transport readers into the heart of bustling environments – for more enriching insights, explore other articles on our website.

Read This Next:

• How To Describe A Basketball Game In A Story (17 Tips + Examples)
• How to Describe a Beach in Writing (21 Best Tips & Examples)
• How to Describe a Train in Writing (30+ Words & Examples)
• How to Describe a City in Writing (100+ Best Examples)

Fronteirsin.org (Research on Crowds)

Log in or Sign up

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser .

Which extract is better?

The first extract, the second extract.

Reach229 New Member

Describing towns and cities. opinions wanted.

Discussion in ' Setting Development ' started by Reach229 , Mar 12, 2009 .

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Hi all, im new to this forum so im not entirely sure what im doing, but if someone could help me that'd be really great. I just wanted to know, out of the following two paragraphs, which do people think is the best description of a town? They're extracts from two of my books, and are about different towns that are just passed through in the story, so are by no means important. I have my suspicions, but would really like some confirmation, so please, if you have a few minutes on your hands please give them a read and let me know which you think is best! First Extract: Soon enough, the group had met like usual outside the hotel where the contrast with the town of Terra became apparent. The town itself, was a beautiful and charming Mediterranean village of stone and whitewashed walls. And it was indeed surrounded by the system of trenches and bridges which prevented the town expanding so each building was packed tightly together making the streets narrow and overshadowed. Because of this there were street lamps scattered in the streets making vehicle travel impossible. However in the middle of this beautiful town the giant casino hotel lay. The building was metal and glass and the architecture was all wrong. It stood out like a sore thumb and the group had a sneaking suspicion the locals felt the same way. But it wasn’t their problem, they didn’t plan to be here too long. Second Extract: By that evening, the group could see from the top of a hill the town known as Fhlinas, it was a grey, country town with many small houses and structures scattered around a valley floor, through the centre ran a river that headed west to the ocean and over this, only two bridges joined the two halves of the town. The town lay peaceful and serene with very few people roaming the streets in brightly coloured, middle class type clothing. As the six entered they aimed to locate an inn or hotel and did so with relative ease. The pub Inn, called the ‘Haymaker’ was the biggest building in the town, save for the church-type building at the northern edge of the town, thanks to its steeple. The pub was of a thick grey stone and the streets around were lined with cobbles. thanks for your time!  

CharlieVer Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); It was a hard decision. Both painted an image for me, the first perhaps slightly better than the second, but both could use work. In the first extract. Analogies are good, but "stood out like a sore thumb" is a cliche. I'd go for an original analogy. Not a big deal, but you used "beautiful" twice. I like to vary my adjectives. I'm also not crazy about "the architecture was all wrong." I'd replace it, perhaps with "seemed out of place." Whose point of view is this from? It should be from a character's point of view, I think, and not "the group," although that would depend on surrounding context. In the second extract. A grey country town? The town was the color grey? I'd like to see some more details. In both extracts: Rather than vague adjectives like "beautiful," "peaceful and serene," I'd like more visual details. What was beautiful, peaceful and serene about it? There seemed more visual details in the first extract (the whitewashed walls) which is why I picked it. More significantly, I'd also like to see utilization of other senses than sight. Make the reader smell the town, feel the dry heat (or the cold dampness?), hear the sounds (the few people in the street... do their footsteps echo in the silence? is there a cawing of a bird in the distance, the sounds of far-away trucks, or is it silent?), even taste the air. Although you don't necessarily need to fully describe all five senses, mixing the sounds and the smells and other senses helps the reader feel like they're there, walking along with your characters! I hope I haven't been too harsh, and I hope I've helped! Best of luck! Charlie  

mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); this is in the wrong section... this section is for suggestions related to the site itself... you should ask a mod to move it...  

Rei Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Besides, you're supposed to give reviews before you ask for any comments on your own writing.  

Aeroflot New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); The way you portrayed the town in the first extract is much more appealing to me, but the second extract was written much cleaner. If you rewrote the first one using the same style, then it would work. I think the problem with the first passage is the punctuation. Ask somebody to give you some advice on that because punctuation isn't my strong point.  

TwinPanther13 New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); The Second is better written and the first has a lot of imagery but is poorly written. Both could Use better writing but the second is noticibly cleaner. I think My spelling is horrible here stupid one hand typing  

Vayda New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); I like the second better. The first contains a lot of information that I don't, frankly, care at all about. And it's really unnecessary in a town that the group is just passing through. It makes it hard to read and easy to glaze over. The second is much cleaner and easy to read. The first tries to diagram the city, the second paints a picture.  

Dalouise New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); In my opinion you have far more problems with the quality of writing than the town descriuptions as such. Do some reviewing of other work on here until you "qualify" for a review on your own work and you will get some constructive criticism.  

Benska New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); I agree with most who say that the first has better imagery, whereas the second is much better/cleaner written. I'm not going to nitpick, but one thing is that you described it from the group's point of view in both examples; each individual character would see the town a different way, notice different things. For example, a more apathetic, or pesamistic character might only see the blandness of the whitewashed walls, the narrow streets which are preventing a relatively comfortable drive through the city, or the lacklustre shine of the streetlights. Howerver possibly a more cultured character may appreciate the historic value of the buildings etc. Anyway, you see my point... hopefully. But, as CharlieVer mentioned, it depends on the surrounding context. Hopefully I helped.  

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Wow thanks for all the comments, I'm taking them all into account and am glad to see that most people feel the same way about the work as I do. But I think I should probably explain a few things, as I think i've 'peed' a few people off here. As I said, Im totally new to this forum so didn't really know about the whole 'review and be reviewed' thing, but it seems completely fair so I'll definately go along with that. And I'm sorry for posting this in the wrong forum, I just saw the word 'feedback' and jumped ahead of myself! The stories each extract came from are both narrated in third person, and 'the group' (who I didn't see need to mention in more detail) each have varying personalities, so for instance, Benska, you can see how it would be difficult for me to consider the town from one persons view. Aeroflot and twin panther, your ideas were just what I had been thinking myself, when I found these parts I thought that the first one (incidentally, a much older piece of work) painted a better picture, but was written far worse than the second (a less old piece). Indeed, if I were to rewrite the first one, I would change a lot in terms of punctuation, grammar and layout. And Charlie, I wouldn't call your words harsh... In fact it's just that kind of 'kick up the rear' talk I need to hear sometimes. I totally agree with all your comments, especially the cliche 'sore thumb' nonsense (hey... We were all young once =D). Once again, I really am sorry if I've annoyed anyone, And thanks again for all the comments, Reach,  

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); As I said, Im totally new to this forum so didn't really know about the whole 'review and be reviewed' thing, but it seems completely fair so I'll definately go along with that. And I'm sorry for posting this in the wrong forum, I just saw the word 'feedback' and jumped ahead of myself! Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Reach229 said: ↑ Aeroflot and twin panther, your ideas were just what I had been thinking myself, when I found these parts I thought that the first one (incidentally, a much older piece of work) painted a better picture, but was written far worse than the second (a less old piece). Indeed, if I were to rewrite the first one, I would change a lot in terms of punctuation, grammar and layout. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Reach229 said: ↑ The stories each extract came from are both narrated in third person, and 'the group' (who I didn't see need to mention in more detail) each have varying personalities, so for instance, Benska, you can see how it would be difficult for me to consider the town from one persons view. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); benska said: Well then, consider my post irrelavant. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Perhaps you'll take this as a lesson to learn the rules when you go somewhere new, on line or else where. You would have known this if you had read the rules of introduced yourself. Click to expand...

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); mammamaia said: ↑ to return the 'favor' you did me in the german title thread, 'elsewhere' is 1 word, not 2... and there's something seriously amiss with, 'if you had read the rules of introduced'... ;-) friendly-bantering hugs, m Click to expand...

love2listen New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Your sentences sound a bit tangled is the best way I can phrase it. You might want to straighten them out a bit. Like maybe rearrange the wording so it flows better. As an example, I would rephrase the first sentence as: "Soon enough, the group met, as they usually did, outside the hotel; here the contrast with the town of Terra was apparent." Do you see what I'm saying?  

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); still badly tangled... and a mix of tense/time... best course would be to divide up what is too much crammed into one over-wordy sentence and make it make better sense... such as: Before long, the group met outside the hotel, as they usually did. There, the contrast with Terra became apparent. Click to expand...

laciemn New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); Aeroflot said: ↑ The way you portrayed the town in the first extract is much more appealing to me, but the second extract was written much cleaner. If you rewrote the first one using the same style, then it would work. I think the problem with the first passage is the punctuation. Ask somebody to give you some advice on that because punctuation isn't my strong point. Click to expand...

Neha Beyond Infinity. Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_c70cb607a6f47dfaa9c56fb571042383'); }); I liked the picture painted by the first extract better, so I voted for it. But I feel that you'd get a better result if you combine the two, so I sort of did one as an example(hope you don't mind): By that evening, when the group met, as usual, outside the hotel, the contrast from the town of Terra became obvious. This town, known as Fhlinhas, was a Mediterranean village of stone and whitewashed walls based around a river that headed west to the ocean. Two bridges criss-crossed over the river and linked the separate parts of the town together. It was a quaint little town, sorrounded by a system of trenches and bridges that prevented it from expanding, so the buildings were built close to each other and the streets were narrow and overshadowed. Travelling by vehicles was impossible in these streets due the presence of scattered street lamps and the streets had very few people, all dressed in a bright colorful and a typically middle class fashion. However, what flawed the beauty of the place was the giant casino hotel that lay right at the heart of the town. The building was a screaming architecture of metal and glass and scarred infrastructure. It stood out like a sore thumb, and the group had a sneaking suspicion that the locals felt the same way. But it wasn't their problem. They did not plan to be here too long. Forgive me for any grammer mistakes, my grammer's not all that great.  

Share This Page

• Log in with Facebook
• Log in with Twitter
• Log in with Google
• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

• Search titles only

Separate names with a comma.

• Search this thread only
• Display results as threads

Useful Searches

• Recent Posts
• This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn More... Dismiss Notice

A Guide to Descriptive Writing

by Melissa Donovan | Jan 7, 2021 | Creative Writing | 8 comments

What is descriptive writing?

Writing description is a necessary skill for most writers. Whether we’re writing an essay, a story, or a poem, we usually reach a point where we need to describe something. In fiction, we describe settings and characters. In poetry, we describe scenes, experiences, and emotions. In creative nonfiction, we describe reality. Descriptive writing is especially important for speculative fiction writers and poets. If you’ve created a fantasy world, then you’ll need to deftly describe it to readers; Lewis Carroll not only described Wonderland  (aff link); he also described the fantastical creatures that inhabited it.

But many writers are challenged by description writing, and many readers find it boring to read — when it’s not crafted skillfully.

However, I think it’s safe to say that technology has spoiled us. Thanks to photos and videos, we’ve become increasingly visual, which means it’s getting harder to use words to describe something, especially if it only exists in our imaginations.

What is Descriptive Writing?

One might say that descriptive writing is the art of painting a picture with words. But descriptive writing goes beyond visuals. Descriptive writing hits all the senses; we describe how things look, sound, smell, taste, and feel (their tactile quality).

The term descriptive writing can mean a few different things:

• The act of writing description ( I’m doing some descriptive writing ).
• A descriptive essay is short-form prose that is meant to describe something in detail; it can describe a person, place, event, object, or anything else.
• Description as part of a larger work: This is the most common kind of descriptive writing. It is usually a sentence or paragraph (sometimes multiple paragraphs) that provide description, usually to help the reader visualize what’s happening, where it’s happening, or how it’s happening. It’s most commonly used to describe a setting or a character. An example would be a section of text within a novel that establishes the setting by describing a room or a passage that introduces a character with a physical description.
• Writing that is descriptive (or vivid) — an author’s style: Some authors weave description throughout their prose and verse, interspersing it through the dialogue and action. It’s a style of writing that imparts description without using large blocks of text that are explicitly focused on description.
• Description is integral in poetry writing. Poetry emphasizes imagery, and imagery is rendered in writing via description, so descriptive writing is a crucial skill for most poets.

Depending on what you write, you’ve probably experimented with one of more of these types of descriptive writing, maybe all of them.

Can you think of any other types of descriptive writing that aren’t listed here?

How Much Description is Too Much?

Classic literature was dense with description whereas modern literature usually keeps description to a minimum.

Compare the elaborate descriptions in J.R.R. Tolkien’s  Lord of the Rings  trilogy  with the descriptions in J.K. Rowling’s  Harry Potter series  (aff links). Both series relied on description to help readers visualize an imagined, fantastical world, but Rowling did not use her precious writing space to describe standard settings whereas Tolkien frequently paused all action and spent pages describing a single landscape.

This isn’t unique to Tolkien and Rowling; if you compare most literature from the beginning of of the 20th century and earlier to today’s written works, you’ll see that we just don’t dedicate much time and space to description anymore.

I think this radical change in how we approach description is directly tied to the wide availability of film, television, and photography. Let’s say you were living in the 19th century, writing a story about a tropical island for an audience of northern, urban readers. You would be fairly certain that most of your readers had never seen such an island and had no idea what it looked like. To give your audience a full sense of your story’s setting, you’d need pages of detail describing the lush jungle, sandy beaches, and warm waters.

Nowadays, we all know what a tropical island looks like, thanks to the wide availability of media. Even if you’ve never been to such an island, surely you’ve seen one on TV. This might explain why few books on the craft of writing address descriptive writing. The focus is usually on other elements, like language, character, plot, theme, and structure.

For contemporary writers, the trick is to make the description as precise and detailed as possible while keeping it to a minimum. Most readers want characters and action with just enough description so that they can imagine the story as it’s unfolding.

If you’ve ever encountered a story that paused to provide head-to-toe descriptions along with detailed backstories of every character upon their introduction into the narrative, you know just how grating description can be when executed poorly.

However, it’s worth noting that a skilled writer can roll out descriptions that are riveting to read. Sometimes they’re riveting because they’re integrated seamlessly with the action and dialogue; other times, the description is deftly crafted and engaging on its own. In fact, an expert descriptive writer can keep readers glued through multiple pages of description.

Descriptive Writing Tips

I’ve encountered descriptive writing so smooth and seamless that I easily visualized what was happening without even noticing that I was reading description. Some authors craft descriptions that are so lovely, I do notice — but in a good way. Some of them are so compelling that I pause to read them again.

On the other hand, poorly crafted descriptions can really impede a reader’s experience. Description doesn’t work if it’s unclear, verbose, or bland. Most readers prefer action and dialogue to lengthy descriptions, so while a paragraph here and there can certainly help readers better visualize what’s happening, pages and pages of description can increase the risk that they’ll set your work aside and never pick it up again. There are exceptions to every rule, so the real trick is to know when lengthy descriptions are warranted and when they’re just boring.

Here are some general tips for descriptive writing:

• Use distinct descriptions that stand out and are memorable. For example, don’t write that a character is five foot two with brown hair and blue eyes. Give the reader something to remember. Say the character is short with mousy hair and sky-blue eyes.
• Make description active: Consider the following description of a room: There was a bookshelf in the corner. A desk sat under the window. The walls were beige, and the floor was tiled. That’s boring. Try something like this: A massive oak desk sat below a large picture window and beside a shelf overflowing with books. Hardcovers, paperbacks, and binders were piled on the dingy tiled floor in messy stacks.  In the second example, words like  overflowing  and  piled are active.
• Weave description through the narrative: Sometimes a character enters a room and looks around, so the narrative needs to pause to describe what the character sees. Other times, description can be threaded through the narrative. For example, instead of pausing to describe a character, engage that character in dialogue with another character. Use the characters’ thoughts and the dialogue tags to reveal description: He stared at her flowing, auburn curls, which reminded him of his mother’s hair. “Where were you?” he asked, shifting his green eyes across the restaurant to where a customer was hassling one of the servers.

Simple descriptions are surprisingly easy to execute. All you have to do is look at something (or imagine it) and write what you see. But well-crafted descriptions require writers to pay diligence to word choice, to describe only those elements that are most important, and to use engaging language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Instead of spending several sentences describing a character’s height, weight, age, hair color, eye color, and clothing, a few, choice details will often render a more vivid image for the reader: Red hair framed her round, freckled face like a spray of flames. This only reveals three descriptive details: red hair, a round face, and freckles. Yet it paints more vivid picture than a statistical head-to-toe rundown:  She was five foot three and no more than a hundred and ten pounds with red hair, blue eyes, and a round, freckled face.

10 descriptive writing practices.

How to Practice Writing Description

Here are some descriptive writing activities that will inspire you while providing opportunities to practice writing description. If you don’t have much experience with descriptive writing, you may find that your first few attempts are flat and boring. If you can’t keep readers engaged, they’ll wander off. Work at crafting descriptions that are compelling and mesmerizing.

• Go to one of your favorite spots and write a description of the setting: it could be your bedroom, a favorite coffee shop, or a local park. Leave people, dialogue, and action out of it. Just focus on explaining what the space looks like.
• Who is your favorite character from the movies? Describe the character from head to toe. Show the reader not only what the character looks like, but also how the character acts. Do this without including action or dialogue. Remember: description only!
• Forty years ago we didn’t have cell phones or the internet. Now we have cell phones that can access the internet. Think of a device or gadget that we’ll have forty years from now and describe it.
• Since modern fiction is light on description, many young and new writers often fail to include details, even when the reader needs them. Go through one of your writing projects and make sure elements that readers may not be familiar with are adequately described.
• Sometimes in a narrative, a little description provides respite from all the action and dialogue. Make a list of things from a story you’re working on (gadgets, characters, settings, etc.), and for each one, write a short description of no more than a hundred words.
• As mentioned, Tolkien often spent pages describing a single landscape. Choose one of your favorite pieces of classic literature, find a long passage of description, and rewrite it. Try to cut the descriptive word count in half.
• When you read a book, use a highlighter to mark sentences and paragraphs that contain description. Don’t highlight every adjective and adverb. Look for longer passages that are dedicated to description.
• Write a description for a child. Choose something reasonably difficult, like the solar system. How do you describe it in such a way that a child understands how he or she fits into it?
• Most writers dream of someday writing a book. Describe your book cover.
• Write a one-page description of yourself.

If you have any descriptive writing practices to add to this list, feel free to share them in the comments.

Descriptive Writing

Does descriptive writing come easily to you, or do you struggle with it? Do you put much thought into how you write description? What types of descriptive writing have you tackled — descriptive essays, blocks of description within larger texts, or descriptions woven throughout a narrative? Share your tips for descriptive writing by leaving a comment, and keep writing!

Further Reading: Abolish the Adverbs , Making the Right Word Choices for Better Writing , and Writing Description in Fiction .

I find descriptions easier when first beginning a scene. Other ones I struggle with. Yes, intertwining them with dialogue does help a lot.

I have the opposite experience. I tend to dive right into action and dialogue when I first start a scene.

I came across this article at just the right time. I am just starting to write a short story. This will change the way I describe characters in my story.

Thank you for this. R.G. Ramsey

You’re welcome!

Great tips and how to practise and improve our descriptive writing skills. Thank you for sharing.

You’re welcome, Bella.

Hello Melissa

I have read many of your articles about different aspects of writing and have enjoyed all of them. What you said here, I agree with, with the exception of #7. That is one point that I dispute and don’t understand the reason why anyone would do this, though I’ve seen books that had things like that done to them.

To me, a book is something to be treasured, loved and taken care of. It deserves my respect because I’m sure the author poured their heart and soul into its creation. Marking it up that way is nothing short of defacing it. A book or story is a form of art, so should a person mark over a picture by Rembrandt or any other famous painter? You’re a very talented author, so why would you want someone to mark through the words you had spent considerable time and effort agonizing over, while searching for the best words to convey your thoughts?

If I want to remember some section or point the author is making, then I’ll take a pen and paper and record the page number and perhaps the first few words of that particular section. I’ve found that writing a note this way helps me remember it better. This is then placed inside the cover for future reference. If someone did what you’ve suggested to a book of mine, I’d be madder than a ‘wet hen’, and that person would certainly be told what I thought of them.

In any of the previous articles you’ve written, you’ve brought up some excellent points which I’ve tried to incorporate in my writing. Keep up the good work as I know your efforts have helped me, and I’m sure other authors as well.

Hi Stanley. Thanks so much for sharing your point of view. I appreciate and value it.

Marking up a book is a common practice, especially in academia. Putting notes in margins, underlining, highlighting, and tagging pages with bookmarks is standard. Personally, I mark up nonfiction paperbacks, but I never mark up fiction paperbacks or any hardcovers (not since college).

I completely respect your right to keep your books in pristine condition. And years ago, when I started college, I felt exactly the same way. I was horrified that people (instructors and professors!) would fill their books with ugly yellow highlighting and other markips. But I quickly realized that this was shortsighted.

Consider an old paperback that is worn and dog-eared. With one look, you know this book has been read many times and it’s probably loved. It’s like the Velveteen Rabbit of books. I see markups as the same — that someone was engaging with the book and trying to understand it on a deeper level, which is not disrespectful. It’s something to be celebrated.

Sometimes we place too much value on the book as a physical object rather than what’s inside. I appreciate a beautiful book as much as anyone but what really matters to me is the information or experience that it contains. I often read on a Kindle. Sometimes I listen to audio books. There is no physical book. The experience is not lessened.

I understand where you’re coming from. I used to feel the same way, but my mind was changed. I’m not trying to change yours, but I hope you’ll understand.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• 7 Sites You’ve Got to Check Out About Journaling! | The NoteBook Blogairy - […] Writing Forward: This eight-year-old website has TONS of great writerly information to share including a really wonderful piece about…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Subscribe and get The Writer’s Creed graphic e-booklet, plus a weekly digest with the latest articles on writing, as well as special offers and exclusive content.

Recent Posts

• Grammar Rules: Lay or Lie
• Writing While Inspired
• Thoughts on Becoming a Writer
• How to Write a Book
• Writing Resources: No Plot? No Problem!

Write on, shine on!

Pin It on Pinterest

• Privacy Policy
• Create a Website
• $1,000 Blog Tour
• Happiness Tour
• 5/11 Blog Tour
• Guest Posts
• Writing Prompts
• Writing Exercises
• Writing Tips
• Holiday Writing
• Writing Contest
• Comedy Channel
• Prompts eBook
• Kids Writing Book
• 9 to 5 Writer Book
• Writing Tips eBook
• Happiness Book
• TpT Reviews
• Read These Books
• Motivation Help
• Time Management
• Healthy Living
• Workbooks(6)
• Holiday Workbook(5)
• 1,000 Character Writing Prompts
• 1,000 Creative Holiday Prompts

Creative Writing Exercises #1: The Home Town

For this start to our creative writing exercises, this one can only be done if you are home for the holidays, a vacation, or if you still live near the place where you grew up. You need some paper, a pencil or pen, and a good way to get around your town. Depending on the size of your town, you may just be able to use your own two feet.

You can start this exercise in the house you grew up in, if it’s still in your family’s possession (I don’t want to be responsible for any break ins :) ). You are going on a story hunt. You will be looking through your house for memories that might make good stories.

For example, when I am in “my room" at my parents’ house, I always think about the most terrifying night of my life. I was around four years old. Two weeks earlier I had gotten my tonsils taken out. This one night, my scars opened up internally and I began throwing up blood. I was taken to the emergency room and I got all patched up.

By actually being in that room, I can pick out more details about the story. I can remember what the walls looked like and what the room smelled like. When I remember these details, I start remembering little pieces of dialogue…

Me: I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe! My Dad: You can breathe if you can talk.

I was sooo reassured :).

Now, not all of these stories need to be traumatic. A lot of them, however, will be rife with emotion because they were so formative in nature.

Once you have exhausted the stories from your house, start moving onto other parts of  your town.  Some general places that are must see: elementary, middle, and high school, Church, Synagogue, or any other religious building you may have frequented, houses of friends (if they still live there) and any restaurants or entertainment places that you and your friends attended.

Personally, a big location for me would be the basement of my friend Swam’s house. My group of high school friends hung out there at least twice a week to play ping pong,  Super Mario Kart on Super Nintendo,  and to drink ice cold Coca Cola. Already, the details of the story are building and I’m not even there :).  Once you’ve checked off the general places you can go to specific areas where more significant events took place. For me, I would be going to sports fields and date locations. I did not date between 7th and the beginning of 12th grade, so the things I did with my senior year girlfriend really stick out for me. I could go to the movie theatre where we had out first date or the athletic club where we spent our Senior Prom post party. Either one would inspire me with some great emotions or ideas.

You know your home town experience better than I do. You should go to as many places as you can fit in while doing this creative writing exercise. This process will only help you to the fullest extent if you let yourself be open to the emotions of the past. As a result, you will need to relax out these emotions, so be prepared.

Once you’ve completed this intense evaluation of your adolescence to generate story ideas, feel free to apply the exercise to your college town and/or anywhere else you’ve lived. Whenever you decide to stop you will end up with a list of so many story starters to develop, substitute, or adapt into a whole new thing. Now get to writing! 

Related Articles to Creative Writing Exercises #1: The Home Town The Lessons of Earl Nightingale #1: Thinking Free Creative Writing Prompts from the Heart, Part 1 Creative Writing Exercises #2: Relaxation

Go back to "Creative Writing Exercises"

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

• Click on the HTML link code below.
• Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
• Latest Posts
• Grades 9-10
• Grades 11-12
• First Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Fourth Grade
• Fifth Grade

Write a Story Based on These Prompts or This Article!

Use the above prompts or article as inspiration to write a story or other short piece.

Enter Your Title

Add a Picture/Graphic Caption (optional)  

Click here to upload more images (optional)

Author Information (optional)

To receive credit as the author, enter your information below.

Submit Your Contribution

• Check box to agree to these   submission guidelines .
• I am at least 16 years of age.
• I understand and accept the privacy policy .
• I understand that you will display my submission on your website.

(You can preview and edit on the next page)

• What's New?

Popular Pages

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

• Essay Database >
• Essays Samples >
• Essay Types >
• Creative Writing Example

Town Creative Writings Samples For Students

45 samples of this type

No matter how high you rate your writing skills, it's always a worthy idea to check out a competently written Creative Writing example, especially when you're dealing with a sophisticated Town topic. This is exactly the case when WowEssays.com directory of sample Creative Writings on Town will come in handy. Whether you need to come up with a fresh and meaningful Town Creative Writing topic or look into the paper's structure or formatting peculiarities, our samples will provide you with the required material.

Another activity area of our write my paper agency is providing practical writing support to students working on Town Creative Writings. Research help, editing, proofreading, formatting, plagiarism check, or even crafting completely original model Town papers upon your request – we can do that all! Place an order and buy a research paper now.

Example Of Creative Writing On Segregation

Question one.

Segregation was a common vice that to place in most of the social amenities. The fact that the available public facilitates were used separately by the white and black due to the concern of superiority and inferiority that existed between the two races. Although the separate facilitate did attribute to the segregation it also had benefits on the fight against the segregation practice (Brinkley, 2007 p.34).

Talladega Creative Writing Sample

Talladega is a city in Talladega County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 registration the populace was 15,676.the city is the area seat of Talladega County. Talladega is roughly 50 miles (80 km) east of Birmingham, Alabama.the city is home to the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind and the Talladega Municipal Airport, an open general avionics air terminal. The Talladega Superspeedway, Talladega College and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame are placed adjacent. The First National Bank of Talladega is the most established bank in the State of Alabama, being established in 1848.

Sample Creative Writing On Chicago: City of the Century

The second episode of “Chicago: City of the Century” is dedicated to the events happening in Chicago after the big fire until the mass protests and conflicts of anarchists and socialists with capitalists in the beginning of the 20th century. The author focuses spectators’ attention to the strikes and social conflicts in Chicago on the eve of the new century and shows the fullness of this problem.

Don't waste your time searching for a sample.

Get your creative writing done by professional writers!

Just from $10/page

Creative Writing On Whats My Day Like

Example of creative writing on urban farming, culture wars creative writing sample, the meeting of stewart town council creative writing examples, the city in history creative writing examples, the city in history; the other story, creative writing on fair and tender ladies, dear readers,, example of nameclasstutordate of submission creative writing, example of journaling creative writing, example of the people that used to be people creative writing, creative writing on new plastic tubs launch, ghosttown creative writing examples.

125 Old Road

WTI 3331 22 98 Baker street

Example Of Letter Regarding The Constitution Creative Writing

Environmental benefits of urban substantial creative writing example.

Good morning distinguished guests, tutors, my fellow classmates, ladies and gentlemen. I take this opportunity to present a speech on environmental benefits of urban substantial. My speech will analyze three key issues. First, I will identify the local challenges found in urban planning, which are related to the environment. Second, I will discuss the benefits of having a substantial urban living with a perfect environment. Lastly, I will give strategic recommendations towards maintaining a clean environment in urban centers. The local authority has the mandate over urban planning, and this discussion mostly targets the local level.

Cultural Event That Changed Me Creative Writing Examples

I have to admit that I like to think of myself as a nerd. I hardly go out. I like reading my books and having fun my own way. I am the late bloomer, I get trends last , and I am not that cool and I like my room, and occasionally my passionate moments with nature. This is how I lead my life. However, this was to change just by one event.

Parody And Pathos Two Methods Of Eliciting Humor Creative Writing Example

Example of what type of religious freedom were they seeking, and to what extent were they successful creative writing, proper creative writing example about education – argument on a profession, chinese in america 1860s creative writing sample, the gender binary in boys dont cry creative writing examples, creative writing on the story of a european merchant, example of creative writing on “would you believe it” the newcomer said. “i was hiding in the freezer when it all went down”, example of creative writing on the transition from proto-industrial revolution to industrial production, comparison between mumfords city and morgans organization creative writing examples, example of creative writing on my trip to australia.

This essay presents a diary of what I did during my stay in Sydney, Australia, where I spent all my time with my cousin Nina, who took me to see many interesting sights in Sydney, such as the New Town, the Opera House, the Bondi Beach. It was a really wonderful experience, one I will never forget.

Keywords: Australia, Sydney, Opera House, New Town, Bondi Beach

Creative Writing On The Rector Of Veilbye

Reflections essay creative writing sample, free creative writing about rosalie, dear natalie,, good example of the city of new york creative writing, introduction, sample creative writing on critical infrastructure protection and resource allocation, the western edge creative writing sample, good example of creative writing on internet hoaxes.

The internet has become a limitless advance of space where individuals can write anything or be anyone. Information is not always valid, nor are the faces we look at. Virtually everything we see on the internet has the capacity to be doctored in some way. Essentially we could be hoaxed as many times a day as we dare to click our mouse’s button. Unfortunately, I have several stories involving internet hoaxes and the damage that they can cause in the lives of people who are unaware of them. One involves disinformation; the other involves dishonesty.

Example Of Creative Writing On How Did People, Particularlythe Working Class, Participate In The Political And

Free thirty seconds creative writing sample, creative writing on speak, memory: art and the theme of memory, free violence against women creative writing sample, creative writing on bitter is the pill, a life changing experience: the golden stranger creative writing examples, facilitator:, valencia: a trip to spain creative writing examples, criminology: task 8, 9, & 10 creative writing examples, the metaphoric meaning of bop creative writing example, the veldt by ray bradbury creative writing examples.

The Veldt by Ray Bradbury The Character: George Hadley

Creative Writing On Creative Writings On Their Eyes Were Watching God - Janie’s Character Analysis

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline

Search for creative inspiration

19,890 quotes, descriptions and writing prompts, 4,964 themes

ghost town - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

• abandoned house
• an abandoned city
• an abandoned street
• gadget town
• Ghost look and feel
• navigators of the fog
• zombie town

The realm of the ghosts had needed a healer, one to to repair their fractured souls and let them flow once more in the divine channels. That's when Angel came to town.

The ghosts in this town were the ones we called "scared kittens" for they haunted themselves over the most silly of things.

The ghost town was not a place, nor a thing of this reality, yet a pocket of time and space that was a hospital for lost souls.

The ghost town was a hug of spectral homes upon a spectral hill, yet to those whom arrived there it was a warm and sunny place for healing and eventual redemption.

The ghost town was more than an empire, it was its own reality, a place between all others where souls could recover and choose to try again, to be reborn and make a legend, a good one, so that they could pass next time around.

Sign in or sign up for Descriptionar i

Sign up for descriptionar i, recover your descriptionar i password.

Keep track of your favorite writers on Descriptionari

We won't spam your account. Set your permissions during sign up or at any time afterward.

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

How to Describe a Ghost Town in a Story

By Isobel Coughlan

Do you need some tips on how to describe a ghost town in a story? Use the 10 words featured in this post as guide to help you.

Somewhere with a scary atmosphere that could be haunted.

“He didn’t want to visit the spooky ghost town, but he was worried what the group would call him if he said no.”

“The spooky ghost town was real and scary, unlike those kitsch fairground rides that can’t even scare children.”

How it Adds Description

The word “spooky” is a perfect pairing for a ghost town as it implies an area is scary or even haunted. If your ghost town is literally home to spirits or ghosts, this word can signify their presence. However, it can also point to a general unpleasant atmosphere and portray that your characters are creeped out .

2. Intimidating

Someone or somewhere that’s frightening to the point you lose confidence .

“She took one step towards the intimidating ghost town and changed her mind. She wasn’t going to face her fears today.”

“They looked at the intimidating ghost town and it looked back, taunting them with its presence.”

If your ghost town scares your characters, the word “intimidating” can show the effect it’s having on them. “Intimidating” shows someone is feeling nervous or frightened, and this is a perfect way to show the intensity of your ghost-like setting. It can also foreshadow future plot points in the town, ideal if you want to hint at the future.

Somewhere that’s home to ghosts or spirits.

“But the haunted ghost town is just an old tale… Isn’t it?”

“She flat-out refused to talk about the haunted ghost town, and everyone had to respect her decision.”

The adjective “haunted” clearly implies that the location is home to ghosts or spirits. This is a powerful word to use if you’re writing a horror novel, as it helps to build a scary setting. It can also hint at the ghost town’s past, and you can use this word to build up curiosity surrounding your fictional world’s history.

Somewhere very quiet and almost silent.

“The hushed ghost town didn’t bother her. It was the people back home that got on her nerves.”

“He was shocked by the hushed ghost town. He expected hustle and bustle in all the streets.”

The word “hushed” conveys a place is very quiet or silent. If your ghost town is uninhabited or home to a scare population, “hushed” can portray the atmosphere there. “Hushed” can also build suspense, and you can pair this adjective with creepy action to scare your reader and characters.

Something or somewhere not being used by anyone.

“Don’t turn left off the freeway, there’s an old vacant ghost town over there. People haven’t lived there in years.”

“He crept through the vacant ghost town as if someone was watching him, but no one had lived here since the accident.”

The word “vacant” describes a place that’s completely empty, which is perfect when describing a ghost town. This word lets your reader know there’s no inhabitants. It can also be used to build an image of a neglected place, for example a run-down town that has bad infrastructure.

6. Disgraced

Somewhere that has lost the respect of the authorities of people.

“The locals had left the disgraced ghost town after the accident, and they had no intentions of coming back.”

“The disgraced ghost town never regained respect, and it has been left to rot.”

If your ghost town has been abandoned because of an incident or stigma, the word “disgraced” can help explain the situation to your reader. “Disgraced” describes somewhere that’s fallen out of favor with local opinion, and this can hint that something bad happened in the town. It also implies the town is a bad place, and the inhabitants questionable.

7. Chilling

Somewhere very scary.

“Even the thought of the chilling ghost town made her hair stand up on end.”

“The chilling ghost town made him question his courage; he did not feel safe there at all.”

If your ghost town is unpleasant and scary, “chilling” is a helpful word to use. This adjective shows that the location has a physical effect on the characters, as “chilling” refers to a type of fear that resonates in the body.

Somewhere far away from urban areas or cities.

“She didn’t want to leave the comfort of the city for a remote ghost town, but she had to honor her manager’s instructions.”

“Don’t talk to me about community, you live in a remote ghost town!”

Ghost towns with few inhabitants are common as you move further away from urban areas. Therefore, “remote” is a good adjective to use if you want to illustrate more about the ghost town’s location. In a horror story, “remote” can create a sense of helplessness, as there are no nearby authorities to help the characters.

9. Disturbing

Somewhere that evokes feelings of sadness or worry.

“It was a disturbing ghost town. All the houses looked as if they were frozen in time.”

“She awoke in the disturbing ghost town, and her stomach instantly sank.”

If you simply want to illustrate how horrible your ghost town is, the word “disturbing” can help. This adjective points to a location that’s scary or physically unpleasant, which is great for building a clear mental image of the settlement.

Somewhere that makes you feel nervous or is slightly strange .

“She couldn’t take the eerie ghost town anymore; it was too quiet and uncanny.”

“Together, they explored the eerie ghost town, but they were shocked at the reason it was so quiet.”

“Eerie” is linked to places that are odd or scary, and this is a great way to insight fear in your reader. The word “eerie” can also help to portray your character’s anxiety, especially when you pair it with more negative descriptive language.

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Setting Description Entry: Desert

August 30, 2008 by BECCA PUGLISI

A landscape of sand, flat, harsh sunlight, cacti, tumbleweeds, dust devils, cracked land, crumbing rock, sandstone, canyons, wind-worn rock formations, tracks, dead grasses, vibrant desert blooms (after rainfall), flash flooding, dry creek…

Wind (whistling, howling, piping, tearing, weaving, winding, gusting), birds cawing, flapping, squawking, the fluttering shift of feasting birds, screeching eagles, the sound of one’s own steps, heavy silence, baying wild dogs…

Arid air, dust, one’s own sweat and body odor, dry baked earth, carrion

Grit, dust, dry mouth & tongue, warm flat canteen water, copper taste in mouth, bitter taste of insects for eating, stringy wild game (hares, rats) the tough saltiness of hardtack, biscuits or jerky, an insatible thirst or hunger

Torrid heat, sweat, cutting wind, cracked lips, freezing cold (night) hard packed ground, rocks, gritty sand, shivering, swiping away dirt and sweat, pain from split lips and dehydration, numbness in legs, heat/pain from sun stroke, clothes…

Helpful hints: –The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.

Example 1: When I started my journey across the winding dunes of sand, the sky was clear blue glass. Now, as I stagger toward mountains growing no bigger despite three days of walking, that blue glass is marred by flecks of swirling ash…vultures waiting for their next meal…

–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.

Example 1: The dust devil swirled across the canyon like a rattlesnake on the hunt. (Simile)…

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers

Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers . Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict , people commonly found in these locales , and setting-specific notes and tips , and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing a free sample of this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.

On the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too, because both books are now available for purchase in digital and print copies . In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers —a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)

Reader Interactions

March 10, 2020 at 4:15 am

Wow this helped me so much on my essay thanks I have altleast 20 things down for it from this website 😊❤️✨

October 7, 2019 at 5:11 pm

this is a very helpful extract where I could pick out some descriptions of the desert and how the climate is Thank you very much for doing this because it gives me the feel and the imagination that I am there now in the desert

February 23, 2019 at 9:35 am

helpful school work !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

October 7, 2018 at 1:43 pm

this has helped me so much for my gcse exams.that i am glad that somebody helped me

September 7, 2017 at 1:56 am

Such vivid descriptions creates a desert picture in my mind. Feel like am already there. Was doing last chapters of my novel wanted to write something about cold deserts. I come from the tropics and have no idea about cold deserts, any information will see me through.

May 6, 2017 at 3:13 pm

This was very helpul for my essay, love it.

May 7, 2017 at 3:41 pm

I’m so glad it was timely!

September 4, 2008 at 8:08 am

I do have one story that’s set in a desert land. But the greatest influence on me – in terms of living in so many different places – is that I always have people of different cultures and species having to live together, cooperate or deal with the various tensions that arise from their varying natures and customs. It’s a lot of fun. And because these stories are fantasies, they can be bizarre while still being realistic.

September 1, 2008 at 6:20 pm

Wow Marian–what a great culture to draw on. Does your work ever reflect where you lived?

And yes please–if you have descriptiors to add, go for it. Often I think of stuff after the fact, and each setting is so vast, there are infinite ways to describe!

Thanks everyone as always for visiting and commenting!

September 1, 2008 at 1:26 pm

I liked the low crime rate (because of the draconian penalties). It was so low that once, when my mom arrived at work to find the office open and burgled, 21 police officers showed up in response to her call (probably the most excitement they had had all week). The forensics people had to shove their way through the crowd.

There’s also the lack of taxes. So provided you’re an indoor person, which I am, you might find it tolerable. Oh, and women always got to go to the front of any line (e.g. at the post office), and had the front seats of buses reserved for them.

One thing I didn’t like was the censorship, which at times bordered on the ridiculous. For instance, the single government-owned ISP wouldn’t let you access the site http://www.ralan.com , which contains lots of useful information about markets in publishing. Why? Because there’s some prominent Israeli whose last name is Ralan. It’s not the same person, but no one bothered to check before blocking the site.

Television programs censor kisses or references to making love, and when I bought a scientific book on human anatomy, the naughty bits were blacked out with a Magic Marker. I once smuggled a Boris Vallejo book into the country and felt very daring. 🙂

So it wasn’t a completely unpleasant experience, but I escaped to Canada as quickly as I could, and I prefer it here.

September 1, 2008 at 6:17 am

Am starting to catch up on these wonderful posts! Is it OK to mention things I would include in your list of sights? Reptiles: snakes, lizards etc. Insects: spiders, biting ants, beetles etc. And sounds? The slither of sand sliding under the belly of a snake or lizard.

Great stuff. Bish

August 31, 2008 at 8:52 pm

Gosh, Marian, that sounds intense. Did you like it there?

August 31, 2008 at 4:56 pm

I actually lived in a desert (well, in the Middle East) for twelve years. Unbearable heat during the summer, up to 45 degrees Celsius, and equally unbearable humidity, since we were on the Gulf Coast.

Since I didn’t have a car, I used to go grocery shopping after sunset, thinking it would be cooler. But the pavement had been baked in the sunlight, so the heat rose off it like a solid wave. And during the day, objects in the distance shimmered, it was so hot. Sometimes I would walk past stores just so their automatic doors would open and I’d feel cool air for a moment.

The least little wind would raise puffs of dust, and a full-out sandstorm was a nightmare. Of course, one good thing about the heat and dryness was that the place was remarkably sterile. You don’t get too much insect or rodent life in an oven. The few plants that grew wild tended to be small, shrubby and tenacious.

Now, of course, I am living in a country that is the exact opposite and I shiver my way through the endless winter months. 🙂

August 31, 2008 at 10:05 am

Thanks for all of your detailed posts!

August 31, 2008 at 12:04 am

I love how I feel like I’m getting mini lessons here! Do ya’ll give out diploma’s? ;0)

thanks for all your work!

August 30, 2008 at 8:42 pm

Angela thanks you, Pema! Or, I’m sure she will when she gets back ;).

And PJ, thanks for the reminder. When Angela’s gone, this place just goes to pot…

August 30, 2008 at 10:18 am

Perfect! I have deserts, too! And how I remember to spell it right – with dessert you always want more, so there are two s letters. With desert, you want less, so there is only one. Hey – Please add this to your sidebar! I know you will, but I use your blog like every day and never want to forget something. It ROCKS!

August 30, 2008 at 8:33 am

Your words are so descriptive, it almost sounds like you’re posting this entry from the Arabian desert! 😉