Hi writers! Long time, no blog. But seeing as how the holiday season is here and we all have a break from school (finally), I think it’s high time for some winter-themed writing fun.
Firstly, a little craft talk! With all the rambling I did in the spring and summer, I can’t believe I forgot to talk about writing descriptions. So let’s touch on that briefly!
Describing things is, in my opinion, kind of the worst. It’s one of my least favorite parts of writing, and a lot of times if I’m on a roll with a scene, I’ll end up skipping descriptions and moving on to the next scene. Which, by the way, is a totally fine thing to do! But your future self will definitely shake their fist at you.
But sometimes descriptions are necessary before you can move ahead, and even if you skip them you’ll have to do it eventually (ugh), so let’s talk about how to write some bomb descriptions.
First let’s talk scenery. The worst. I hate describing scenery. You try to make it interesting and flowery but all your brain wants to say is “There’s a tree. The grass is green. The sky is blue. It’s cloudy, probably.” Here’s a pro tip, though: assuming you’re not writing for a small child, your reader can assume what the grass, sky, and trees look like. The only time you absolutely need to describe things that are otherwise obvious is if there’s something different or strange about them. If the trees look the same as they always do, a simple adjective (like, if they’re red and gold because it’s autumn) is plenty. But if there’s something weird or unusual about the trees, and that detail is significant to your story, that’s when you show up with your Tolkien-esque word sprawls telling us all the weird things about those trees.
Now what about people? Your characters need descriptions too. We gotta know what they look like, of course! The best way I’ve done this is in the past is to first write down, just for me, the basic details of my characters’ descriptions. Eye color, hair color/texture/length/style, height, build, skin color, any features like freckles, glasses, tattoos, etc. List all of that, and then to sprinkle it into your actual writing, we’re going to apply the same rule: when you can help it, don’t over-describe the obvious stuff. If there’s something about your character’s eyes or hair that’s particularly unusual, focus on that. Point out things like piercings and tattoos, because they’re unique and not everyone has them. Otherwise, again, using simple descriptors like this, “She had brown skin, dark eyes, and wore her black hair in a tight bun,” are totally fine and get the job done.
On a similar note, I often find myself getting hung up on describing what my characters are wearing. I kinda hate describing clothes, too, because it seems like it interrupts everything else going on. But a while back I saw a piece of advice from a fellow writer (can’t remember who it was, tbh) who said something along the lines of “When I’m reading, I assume the characters are wearing pants unless told otherwise.” For some reason, that little piece of advice blew my mind. It never occurred to me that I didn’t have to describe everything the characters are wearing, but it’s just the same as what I mentioned earlier: don’t describe the obvious, only the unusual.
That being said, clothes are one of those things that can be fun to describe if you’re someone who likes describing things. If your characters are going to a party or a ball or some other special occasion, you might want to go into detail describing their outfits! Offering these descriptions and bringing extra attention to things you’d normally gloss over contributes to the overall once-in-a-lifetime vibe of the scene.
That’s really the biggest thing to remember with descriptions: they should almost always (like 95% of the time) contribute something that pushes your story forward. You don’t need to spend pages upon pages laying out what a room looks like if it doesn’t actually matter to the story. Focus your energy and attention on the things that are or will be important, and you and your readers will be happy.
All right! Now that that’s out of the way, it’s time for some fun! And you know what that means:
❄️☃️ WINTER AND HOLIDAY PROMPTS ❄️☃️
Write about your favorite holiday tradition in the form of a diary entry or letter to a friend.
Write about a couple of friends baking cookies. Will it go perfectly smoothly or will it be a complete disaster? Up to you!
Let’s go on a winter walk. Describe the scenery around you, and how you/your character interacts with or reacts to the scene. Is it cold? Windy? Are there Christmas lights on the houses? Is it snowing? Have fun with some descriptions!
Write a review or tell us about a favorite book or movie that you love to read/watch around the holidays.
Write a story that takes place on New Year’s Eve. Even if we can’t have parties this year, your characters can!
Make up a new holiday that takes place in the winter, and write about the traditions that come with that holiday. What is it celebrating? How is it celebrated? Have its traditions changed at all??
Write about some kids going sledding or making a snowman.
Snowball fight!!
Take a favorite Christmas movie or story (Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, A Charlie Brown Christmas, etc) and change something about it! Rewrite the ending or place yourself in the story or do something totally wild with it.
If you’ve ever watched or read A Christmas Carol, convince me why your favorite version of that story is the best one.
Have fun! Write something great!! And enjoy your holidays!
Till next time,
Anna 😎✌🏻
