Writing Forward

A Guide to Descriptive Writing

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

descriptive writing

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.

descriptive writing practice

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 .

Ready Set Write a Guide to Creative Writing

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

Melissa Donovan

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

R.G. Ramsey

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!

Bella

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

You’re welcome, Bella.

Stanley Johnson

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.

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3 Simple Descriptive Techniques That Will Help You Write Vividly

Published November 19, 2018 | Last Updated November 12, 2023 By Nicole Bianchi 29 Comments

Persons hands typing on laptop computer

It feels like you’ve been staring at the computer screen for hours as you struggle to rewrite several paragraphs. You’re trying to capture in words the images in your head, but the sentences on the page sound lifeless and dull.

Maybe you’re writing a blog post about a recent trip you took, and you want your readers to hear the cacophony of the city’s traffic and see the neon signs drenching the street with color.

Or maybe you’re writing a sales page, and you want your readers to be able to envision themselves using your product. You want them to feel as if they’re already holding the product in their hands and can see how it will make their lives so much easier.

The ability to describe something vividly is an essential skill for every writer to master, no matter whether you’re a blogger, novelist, or copywriter. Vivid descriptions transform your paragraphs from vague and boring to engrossing and memorable.

Of course, like any skill, it’s one that takes time and practice to master. But there are ways to speed up that process and instantly transform your writing.

One of the best ways to do that is to study the descriptions of expert writers and steal their techniques.

In today’s post, we’re going to do just that.

Hand holding up copy of The Great Gatsby in front of a river

Recently, while unpacking a box of books I’d brought with me when I moved to North Carolina, I found one of my treasures: my copy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

I gave away many of my books , but Gatsby was one I couldn’t part with.

Fitzgerald’s writing has always enchanted me. Whenever I need a bit of inspiration, I love to turn to a page at random and study how Fitzgerald makes the New York of the 1920s come alive.

When Fitzgerald describes one of Gatsby’s parties, you feel like you are weaving in and out of the crowds and can almost hear the jazz music spilling across the gardens.

I’m sure Fitzgerald never tried to tell a story to his friends, and then gave up with a shrug, saying, “I guess you had to be there.”

Let’s look at three simple techniques Fitzgerald uses to bring his writing to life and how we can use them in our writing too.

And an important note! Before Fitzgerald became a novelist, he worked as a copywriter, creating slogans for billboards and signs in streetcars. So don’t think that these techniques are only for fiction writers. Any writer can use them.

1. Add layers to your descriptions with metaphors and similes

Metaphors and similes are the first tool in Fitzgerald’s paintbox for splashing his descriptions with color.

If you already use metaphors and similes in your writing, that’s fantastic. We’ll look at some creative ways to make similes and metaphors even more powerful in this section.

If you don’t use metaphors and similes, here’s a quick explanation of what they are.

A metaphor or simile helps you take your description to another level by comparing two unlike things to each other as if they were alike. The only difference between them is that similes use the words “like” or “as” (the wind sounded like a moan) and metaphors do not (the wind moaned).

Okay, let’s look at how Fitzgerald uses similes and metaphors to enhance the images in his writing.

Here’s one example:

The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon . They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been blown back in after a short flight around the house .

First, these similes help us better visualize the scene. Here’s what it would sound like without them: “The only completely stationary object in the room was an enormous couch on which two young women were seated. They were both in white and their dresses were rippling and fluttering.”

A bit boring, right? Without the similes, there isn’t really anything to make that scene stand out.

Second, they help set a mood for the paragraph. While Fitzgerald isn’t writing a fantasy novel, by using similes about balloons and flying women, he’s able to give this scene an otherworldly feel. In a way, they’re like mini-stories within a story.

Let’s look at the metaphor Fitzgerald uses in the last line of the book to see how these mini-stories can add depth to our own writing:

So we beat on, boats against the current , borne back ceaselessly into the past.

This is one of the most quoted lines from The Great Gatsby , and for good reason. Instead of just writing something like, “We try to move forward, but keep returning to the past”, Fitzgerald elevates this simple idea by using the imagery of boats.

Yes , the reader might say, that’s how I feel too. I’m trying to escape the past but feel like I’m rowing against the current.

Wrapped in a metaphor, the idea is no longer vague, but tangible.

So how can we effectively use metaphors and similes in our own writing?

Here are several tips:

First, you can use a simile to deepen your descriptions (as Fitzgerald does) or to better explain a complex concept or idea.

For example: “In order to perform this exercise, lie on your stomach, place your hands on the floor under your shoulders, and lift your chest off the floor as if you were a cobra.”

(Read my article here for more tips on how to explain complex ideas with similes and stories.)

Second, you can use similes and metaphors to weave your personality into your writing.

For example, say you love to play the piano, and you’re writing an article about blogging. You might write something like,

I love to play piano, and I soon realized that blogging and playing the piano are alike in a lot of ways. Just like you need to practice the piano every day if you want to improve your skills, you need to write consistently on your blog in order become a better blogger.

Third, you can use a simile or metaphor to evoke a specific feeling in your readers.

Blue Apron does that on their homepage by comparing their recipes to creating magic. This imagery makes us think that cooking Blue Apron’s recipes must be easy and the food will taste delicious.

Create magic…Following our step-by-step instructions you’ll experience the magic of cooking recipes that our chefs create with your family’s tastes in mind.

CitiBike also uses a simple but clever metaphor on their website:

Unlock a bike…unlock New York.

It is important to think of metaphors and similes like salt and pepper, however. A little sprinkle, and they’ll season your writing. But too many and you’re writing will be way too salty or way too spicy. A simile or metaphor in every sentence or paragraph will slow down the writing and detract from the specialness of each one. (Did you notice the simile I used in this paragraph?)

Fitzgerald uses metaphors and similes sparingly throughout the book, but when he does use them, they make you sit up and take notice.

2. Make descriptions delight the five senses with sensory words

Sensory words are the next tool that Fitzgerald employs to help readers become immersed in his story.

Sometimes sensory words sparkle, sometimes they clang, other times they’re bristly. Sometimes they’re bitter, other times delicious. Sometimes they have a fragrant aroma.

In short, sensory words are the descriptive words that apply to the five senses:

  • Words related to sight or appearance (these can also include words related to motion) — gleaming, tarnished, shadowy, sparkling, dancing
  • Words related to touch — velvety, icy, sharp, blunt
  • Words related to taste — bitter, zesty, refreshing
  • Words related to scent — musty, fragrant, sweet
  • Words related to sound — roar, sizzle, murmur

See a list of more sensory words here .

Sensory words help you engage your readers’ five senses. They make your readers touch, taste, smell, hear, and see your descriptions.

Here are two sentences from The Great Gatsby that are filled with sensory words (I’ve highlighted several):

The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher…The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath–already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp , joyous moment the center of a group and then excited with triumph glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light.

Of course, in a work of fiction that type of description is captivating. But in a blog post or on another page of your website, you would probably want to be a little less poetic. And, yet, you can still use sensory words effectively.

Look at how Bose uses sensory words in a product description for their headphones:

Tiny earbuds for better sleep. Noise-masking sleep buds. Unwanted noise keeping you awake at night? You’re not alone. That’s why we created a new solution. These tiny, comfortable and truly wireless earbuds are uniquely engineered to deliver soothing sounds that mask annoying noise — like snoring, pets, and loud neighbors — and help you fall asleep and stay asleep. So you can look forward to bedtime and be ready to take on tomorrow.

How many did you spot? Sound: noise-masking, soothing, snoring, loud. Touch: comfortable. Sight & Appearance: tiny, wireless…

One simple way to add sensory words to your paragraphs is to search for synonyms for an adjective or verb you’ve already written.

3. Zoom-in on your descriptions with a list of details

Fitzgerald’s third technique is quite simple. I call it “the detailed list”.

Take this paragraph as an example:

He took out a pile of shirts and began throwing them, one by one before us, shirts of sheer linen and thick silk and fine flannel which lost their folds as they fell and covered the table in many-colored disarray. While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher– shirts with stripes and scrolls and plaids in coral and apple-green and lavender and faint orange with monograms of Indian blue .

Fitzgerald could have ended the sentence at “he took a pile of shirts and began throwing them,” but he wanted us to be able to visualize the scene, to see the types of shirts that Gatsby wore.

So he zooms-in on them. He lists all of the different types of shirts.

Here’s another sentence that burst with a detailed list:

By seven o’clock the orchestra has arrived–no thin five-piece affair but a whole pitful of oboes and trombones and saxophones and viols and cornets and piccolos and low and high drums .

Again, Fitzgerald uses the detailed list in order to create a specific image in our head. This wasn’t just any orchestra — it was lavish.

Detailed lists can be used in any kind of writing. On sales pages, they’re often used to emphasize a product’s many features. Here’s an example from the sales page for the Kindle Paperwhite (affiliate link):

Won’t tire your eyes in the dark (Unlike back-lit tablets that shine in your eyes, Kindle guides light toward the surface of the display with its built-in front light so you can read comfortably for hours without eyestrain.) Learn more about a book before you start reading (With About this Book, see background information about the author, other books in the series, and more) Adjust your text size (choose from eight text sizes to prevent tired eyes and keep you reading longer)

Of course, if you crammed every one of your sentences with a list of details, your reader would become exhausted.

But just as you can sprinkle metaphors and similes like salt and pepper, you can use detailed lists when you’re struggling to make a description more vibrant or when you want to make sure that your readers are picturing the correct image in their heads.

If you are enjoying this post, you might also enjoy my video sharing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s strategies for vivid character description .

The Takeaway

Vintage typewriter on desk surrounded by other vintage objects: photo, clock, watering can

While Fitzgerald was a masterful writer, these three techniques are simple and straightforward. You can start using them right away to add zest to your descriptions.

When you transform bland paragraphs, you’re better able to hold the attention of your readers. And thus you’re more effective at sharing your message with the world.

Do you have a favorite writer whose descriptions you love? Let me know in the comments.

And how will you use these three techniques in your writing? Why not try including one or all three in your next blog post or on a page of your website? If you do, leave a link to it in the comments. I’d love to see what you come up with.

If you found this post helpful, make sure to share it with a friend or on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Tina Argetsinger says

October 17, 2021 at 10:52 am

This article was so helpful! Thank you! I’ve printed and bookmarked it for use in my writing!

Thank you again!

Nicole Bianchi says

October 18, 2021 at 6:27 pm

Fantastic! Glad to hear you found it helpful, Tina.

Beck Michael says

April 13, 2020 at 5:35 am

The article was grabbing and interesting to find all possible nuances to remember. I really do get pleasure from reading the material and the writing mode of this author, etc as used to do if finding https://studyscroll.com/gainesboro-machine-tools-corporation-essay . I suggest you write such types of articles every day to give all of the info that is essential to the audience enjoy me. In my opinion, it is better to be prepared for the unexpected scenarios in advance, therefore yes, it was pretty cool.

Adeola says

March 4, 2019 at 9:33 am

Awesome tips. However your metaphor example seem a personification. Will it just be fine to reword number 1 as “Add Texture With Figurative Expressions”?

March 11, 2019 at 12:59 pm

Hi, Adeola! Yes, personification is a form of metaphor. You can use figurative expressions too. 🙂

Floria lena says

December 12, 2018 at 8:13 am

I love your approach and three examples using Fitzgerald’s star writing. I use your tips. Thanks!!

December 22, 2018 at 8:26 pm

Thank you, Floria! I’m happy they helped you. 🙂

October 9, 2019 at 12:08 pm

Hi Nicole Bianchi!

Really great tips !! I understood them in a jiffy. Very well written and explained ❤️

Robertson says

March 13, 2021 at 10:38 am

yeah you go girllllllllll Awesome tip

David Ford says

November 26, 2018 at 4:19 pm

Loved the commercial/artistic comparisons!

November 26, 2018 at 4:48 pm

Thanks, David! 🙂 I love that the same techniques can be used to improve any kind of writing.

November 26, 2018 at 2:05 pm

Your tips are always so amazing. They have helped me so much with my writing.

November 26, 2018 at 4:51 pm

Thanks so much, Megan. I’m happy to hear they’ve helped you with your writing.

November 25, 2018 at 3:08 pm

Great article! Very useful tips to better organize and write a post more vividly. Thanks!

November 26, 2018 at 4:53 pm

Thank you, Ned. 🙂 Wishing you all the best with your writing.

Colleen says

November 24, 2018 at 8:27 pm

Great tips! Thank you.

November 26, 2018 at 4:54 pm

You’re welcome, Colleen. 🙂 Thank you for your comment.

November 23, 2018 at 6:17 pm

Really great article, and the practical examples of how to use Fitzgerrald’s techniques in copy writing are much appreciated. I often think that my writing is not descriptive enough, and will certainly try to use this article to get better. Thanks.

November 26, 2018 at 5:04 pm

Hi, Emmy! Thanks so much. I’m happy to hear you found it helpful. Wishing you much success with your writing. 🙂

November 23, 2018 at 2:44 pm

I love your approach and three examples using Fitzgerald’s stellar writing. I’ll use your tips. Thanks!!

November 23, 2018 at 5:16 pm

Thank you, Manda! 🙂 I’m so glad you found it helpful.

K. Kris Loomis says

November 23, 2018 at 12:02 pm

Love the Bose example alongside the literary ones! Great piece, Nicole.

November 23, 2018 at 12:13 pm

Thank you so much, Kris! 🙂

Justus says

November 22, 2018 at 12:49 am

Very informative Nicole. Reading your article fired a desire in me to read The Great Gatsby. How can get the pdf. Thanks. This will go a long to help me spice my writing.

November 22, 2018 at 1:00 am

Hi, Justus! Love hearing that. You can read the book online for free here: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/contents.html Hope you enjoy it!

John DiCarlo says

November 21, 2018 at 4:55 am

Fitzgerald! How can we not love techniques gleaned from the great man? Which reminds me of a story (whether true or apocryphal I do not know) – when Fitzgerald’s daughter sought her father’s advice on whether she should attend a summer creative writing course he replied, “Read Keats instead and enjoy your holiday.” Perhaps he could have also advised her to pair Keats with The Great Gatsby?

November 21, 2018 at 12:47 pm

What a great story! Thanks for sharing that, John. Reminds me of how Benjamin Franklin taught himself to write — he’d take passages by his favorite authors and spend time copying them out by hand word for word.

November 21, 2018 at 3:45 pm

Glad you liked it. And one more thing – HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

November 21, 2018 at 4:17 pm

Thank you! 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

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  • How to write a descriptive essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Descriptive Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

A descriptive essay gives a vivid, detailed description of something—generally a place or object, but possibly something more abstract like an emotion. This type of essay , like the narrative essay , is more creative than most academic writing .

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Table of contents

Descriptive essay topics, tips for writing descriptively, descriptive essay example, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about descriptive essays.

When you are assigned a descriptive essay, you’ll normally be given a specific prompt or choice of prompts. They will often ask you to describe something from your own experience.

  • Describe a place you love to spend time in.
  • Describe an object that has sentimental value for you.

You might also be asked to describe something outside your own experience, in which case you’ll have to use your imagination.

  • Describe the experience of a soldier in the trenches of World War I.
  • Describe what it might be like to live on another planet.

Sometimes you’ll be asked to describe something more abstract, like an emotion.

If you’re not given a specific prompt, try to think of something you feel confident describing in detail. Think of objects and places you know well, that provoke specific feelings or sensations, and that you can describe in an interesting way.

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The key to writing an effective descriptive essay is to find ways of bringing your subject to life for the reader. You’re not limited to providing a literal description as you would be in more formal essay types.

Make use of figurative language, sensory details, and strong word choices to create a memorable description.

Use figurative language

Figurative language consists of devices like metaphor and simile that use words in non-literal ways to create a memorable effect. This is essential in a descriptive essay; it’s what gives your writing its creative edge and makes your description unique.

Take the following description of a park.

This tells us something about the place, but it’s a bit too literal and not likely to be memorable.

If we want to make the description more likely to stick in the reader’s mind, we can use some figurative language.

Here we have used a simile to compare the park to a face and the trees to facial hair. This is memorable because it’s not what the reader expects; it makes them look at the park from a different angle.

You don’t have to fill every sentence with figurative language, but using these devices in an original way at various points throughout your essay will keep the reader engaged and convey your unique perspective on your subject.

Use your senses

Another key aspect of descriptive writing is the use of sensory details. This means referring not only to what something looks like, but also to smell, sound, touch, and taste.

Obviously not all senses will apply to every subject, but it’s always a good idea to explore what’s interesting about your subject beyond just what it looks like.

Even when your subject is more abstract, you might find a way to incorporate the senses more metaphorically, as in this descriptive essay about fear.

Choose the right words

Writing descriptively involves choosing your words carefully. The use of effective adjectives is important, but so is your choice of adverbs , verbs , and even nouns.

It’s easy to end up using clichéd phrases—“cold as ice,” “free as a bird”—but try to reflect further and make more precise, original word choices. Clichés provide conventional ways of describing things, but they don’t tell the reader anything about your unique perspective on what you’re describing.

Try looking over your sentences to find places where a different word would convey your impression more precisely or vividly. Using a thesaurus can help you find alternative word choices.

  • My cat runs across the garden quickly and jumps onto the fence to watch it from above.
  • My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above.

However, exercise care in your choices; don’t just look for the most impressive-looking synonym you can find for every word. Overuse of a thesaurus can result in ridiculous sentences like this one:

  • My feline perambulates the allotment proficiently and capers atop the palisade to regard it from aloft.

An example of a short descriptive essay, written in response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how a descriptive essay works.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

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The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

If you’re not given a specific prompt for your descriptive essay , think about places and objects you know well, that you can think of interesting ways to describe, or that have strong personal significance for you.

The best kind of object for a descriptive essay is one specific enough that you can describe its particular features in detail—don’t choose something too vague or general.

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How to Take Descriptive Writing to the Next Level

Lindsay Kramer

Sometimes, writing feels like you’re climbing up a hill. A slippery, muddy hill. During a rainstorm. 

Even when the words are there, it can be tough to get the feeling onto the page. You might have listed the events you’re covering and presented all the facts clearly and logically, but when your writing doesn’t feel engaging, something’s missing. That something is descriptive writing. 

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Descriptive writing consists of a variety of techniques and choices you make in an effort to give your reader an accurate, three-dimensional impression of the subject you’re writing about. It’s part word choice , part figurative language, part comparison, and part knowing what to include and what to leave out of your writing to set just the right mood .

Table of contents

When to use descriptive writing, descriptive writing techniques, sensory writing, personification, onomatopoeia, give your writing extra polish.

Use descriptive writing almost anywhere your writing can benefit from immersive scene-setting. Most kinds of writing can benefit from a little bit of descriptive writing. Some, like fiction, poetry, and memoir, can benefit from a lot of it. 

Instead of listing all the types of writing that can benefit from descriptive words, phrases, and sentences, here is the short list of the kinds of writing where this type of content is not appropriate:

  • Technical writing
  • Academic writing
  • Professional emails and other correspondences

Descriptive writing is juicy. It evokes the reader’s senses. It’s the perfect tool for accurately communicating something that isn’t tangible, and that’s precisely why it’s not appropriate for the more formal, objective kinds of writing listed above. 

Use descriptive writing when your goal is for the reader to feel like they’re standing in your shoes. The most effective way to write about the euphoric feeling of affection you felt when you adopted your puppy may be to use descriptive writing techniques to make the reader feel like they’re the one seeing Fluffy wag her tail and feeling her lick your hand, rather than simply listing her physical features. Descriptive writing promotes empathy in your reader and personalizes your work. 

There are lots of different ways you can make your writing more descriptive. Here are a few of the most common descriptive writing techniques:

A metaphor is a descriptive technique that likens one thing to another. Take a look at these examples of common metaphors:

  • My child is the light of my life.
  • He’s the black sheep of our family. 
  • She’s a tornado that destroys everything in her path.

By stating that one object is another, you’re saying they share certain traits. You aren’t saying they’re indistinguishable or that they’re actually the same object; you’re expressing that the reader will encounter these specific traits in a very similar way in both objects. 

A simile is like a metaphor . And yes, that was a simile. 

Just like a metaphor, a simile describes something by comparing it to something else. The difference between the two is that a simile uses the word “like,” “so,” “than,” or “as” to make the comparison. For example:

  • The building was as tall as Mt. Fuji.
  • She drives faster than a NASCAR racer.
  • They ate like a bunch of vultures.

With a simile, the comparison typically isn’t literal—it’s hyperbole that emphasizes the statement being made, much like it does with a metaphor. If you aren’t familiar with the term “hyperbole,” don’t fret—we’re covering it later on in this section.  

Sensory writing depicts a scene through your senses. Take a look at these examples:

  • When the cool water splashed my face, the contrast made me realize just how red-hot my skin had gotten. 
  • Their home always smelled like freshly baked cookies; a constant cloud of chocolatey, sweet warmth wafted through the house. 
  • The sticky substance reached every centimeter of my skin, oozing into my pores and gluing my fingers and toes together.

As you can see, sensory writing typically incorporates other kinds of descriptive writing, like similes, metaphors, and hyperbole. 

Freewriting is a great way to channel your senses and craft some spot-on sensory writing. Just open your word processor or notebook and start writing what you think, feel, or have experienced. There are no rules, no restrictions—just move everything that’s happening in your mind onto the page, walking through sensations like how you feel, what you hear, what you see, and what these sensations are driving you to do.  

When you use an extreme statement to make a point, you’re using hyperbole . Here are a few quick examples:

  • It was a million degrees out yesterday.
  • I haven’t heard that name in a hundred years. 
  • He was the sweetest boyfriend ever.

You know it wasn’t actually a million degrees, you most likely haven’t been alive long enough to not have heard a specific name in the past century, and surely there are many other boyfriends who are kind and thoughtful. But when you say things like this, you aren’t confusing or lying to your listener—you’re intentionally exaggerating to express just how extreme something was: It was very hot outside, you haven’t heard that name in a long time, and your boyfriend was very romantic. 

It was a joyful bouquet. Each flower had a distinct, vibrant face and together, they were a happy choir of enthusiastic friends, ready to break into song at any moment. 

We’re talking about flowers here and, as you know, flowers don’t have faces, voices, or friendships. But see how giving the flowers in this description human qualities like faces, voices, and interpersonal bonds gives you a clear image of the bouquet being described? It’s not just a collection of flowers; it’s a coherent group of fresh, healthy, colorful flowers. 

Onomatopoeia are words for specific sounds. If you’ve ever watched the live Batman TV show from the 1960s, you’ve seen such onomatopoeia as “bam!” and “thwap!” flash across the screen during the fight scenes, creating a comic book-like feel. That’s what onomatopoeia does—it immerses you in the scene by giving it a “soundtrack.” 

What is a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay is an essay focused on describing something. That “something” can be anything, such as an event, a place, an experience, an object, or even a person. Descriptive essays aren’t exactly the same as other kinds of essays , though you might find yourself using descriptive writing in other essay types to strengthen your argument. 

In a descriptive essay, your goal is to make the reader feel like they’re experiencing the subject you’re describing firsthand. For example, let’s say you’ve been assigned to write a descriptive essay about the role pizza plays in your campus culture. 

Your descriptive essay might include lines and passages like: 

Sweet relief came over me when I got that notification text saying my pizza had arrived. My stomach was roaring; it was 2:00 a.m. and I hadn’t eaten since dinner at 6:00. Unlike my roommate, whose study habits and time management allowed her to go to bed at midnight, I was up working on a paper that was due in about eight hours. Thick socks on my feet, I quietly stepped away from my desk and out into the hallway to meet the driver at the door. The pizza was already paid for, so all I needed to do was take my hot pie of cheesy stamina from his nocturnal hands and get back to work. While walking back to my room, the garlicky smell emanating from the box lulled me into a state of relieved relaxation, but this relaxation was gone in a flash when I realized where my key was: not in my pocket, but sitting on my desk. 

Compare this to a cause-and-effect essay on the same topic. Instead of trying to make your reader’s mouth water, you’d instead craft a narrative of the effect the local pizza shop has had on your campus culture. You might start by discussing the food options you had before it opened and how the pizza shop upgraded students’ access to delicious food and changed their approach to ordering out. In a persuasive essay , your goal might be to convince the reader that adding the pizza shop to the list of local vendors who accept meal plan credits is a good idea, and in an analytical essay, you’d state a specific position about the pizza shop (for instance, how it’s an inextricable part of campus life). And you’d defend that position with clear evidence (more than half of the pizza shop’s deliveries are to campus, the shop regularly hires students, and the shop caters a significant number of events on campus, for example). 

Crafting a compelling piece of descriptive writing can be tough, especially if descriptive writing is new to you. The two keys to becoming a pro at descriptive writing are to read a wide variety of writing types and practice, practice, practice. This doesn’t mean you have to write an immersive novel or start cranking out poems by the page—you can train your descriptive writing muscles by working a little bit into each of your future assignments. Maybe you add a metaphor to your next history essay’s intro or work some similes into your upcoming economics presentation. 

Wherever you’re working on descriptive writing, Grammarly is here to help. Before you hit “send” or “submit,” have Grammarly give your writing a once-over to catch any spelling mistakes , punctuation errors , and even instances where your tone is less than perfect for your writing’s goals. No matter what you’re aiming to achieve with your writing, Grammarly can help you achieve your goals. 

creative ways to write description

The Write Practice

Writing Descriptions: 3 Tips to Strengthen and Enliven Your Story’s Stilted Paragraphs

by J. D. Edwin | 0 comments

Do you find that the beautiful story in your head doesn’t always come out the way you want? Are your unique characters dragged down by a list of stilted writing descriptions?

creative ways to write description

Maybe they sound something like this:

He saw her across the room. Her hair was honey brown and her lips were red. She wore a tight black dress and her shoes were expensive. She smoked a cigarette and blew smoke rings while leaning on the bar and drinking a gin and tonic. He usually wasn’t into women who smoked, but she was hard to resist.

After you write a description like this, you might think it sounds fine. It works. You can imagine what the protagonist sees, and yet something feels stiff. And because of this, you're looking for ways to enliven your writing descriptions. Here are a few simple tricks.

Vary Sentence Structure to Avoid a Monotonous Tone

A common mistake beginner writers make is writing description that follows the same sentence structure. This creates a never-ending sequence of noun-verb-description, noun-verb-description that can hinder your voice and style.

Just take a look at the sentence used in the example above. Notice how almost all of the sentences in the paragraph begin with “He” or “She” followed by a verb. Not only does this stifle the writing description's imagery, it’s boring.

It needs some structure-switch-up! 

By varying the length and structure of your sentences, alternating between long and short sentences, simple and complex, you can create a more engaging rhythm in your writing descriptions.

The trick here is that by varying your sentence structure, you can make the passage sound like music. Instead of stringing together lines that create a monotonous tone, varying structure creates a far more melodic (and pleasant) paragraph. 

Take this, for instance:

He saw her across the room. Her hair was honey brown and her lips were red. She wore a tight black dress and her shoes were expensive.

With varied sentence structure, it becomes this:

From across the room, she caught his eye. He blinked once, and then felt his feet glide towards hers like a moth sucked up by a flame. A rush of honey brown hair tumbled down her shoulders, draping over the black Fendi dress that clung to her like a second skin.

Use Vivid Writing Descriptions That Focus on Verbs

Memorable moments in stories need more than descriptions flavored with shapes and colors. Passages need comparisons, emotions, actions, and reactions that differentiate how bystanders react when they comment about Harry Potter's green eyes (that look like his mother's)—and how that response affects Harry.

A simple rule of thumb that strengthens writing descriptions is that verbs are far more powerful and memorable than adjectives or adverbs. Period.

When a writer's concentration is placed on verbs, they naturally trigger a reader's senses. For instance, you might change:

She smoked a cigarette and blew smoke rings while leaning on the bar and drinking a gin and tonic.

Instead of telling the reader about the cigarette being smoked, verbs can tickle one or more of the senses while describing the same action.

Focusing on verbs could make the above something more memorable, like this:

He watched her slide a cigarette out of her mouth and a thick smoke ring steamed from her lips. The bartender slid her a gin and tonic—same as his father used to drink. Warm and acidic, with hints of pine that always intrigued him until he tasted it.

Remember that rule of show, don't tell ?

Writing descriptions that focus on verbs instead of adjectives do exactly that—show the reader something more than flat, visual descriptions. Just make sure to change  up your writing descriptions, since this will also aid your sentence structure variance. 

For more on how to use effective verb descriptions, see How to Use Vivid Verbs to Bring Your Scenes to Life .

Add Perspective to Personalize the Scene 

Every person looks at something differently.

A Golden Delicious apple can tantalize one person and disgust another. Heather Mills next door might look at it and think about how it’s going to taste in an apple-cranberry pie whereas Hunter Smith considers how it would do as a replacement bowling ball in a game of kitchen bowling.

Perspective tells a lot about the person viewing the subject being described, which adds another layer of complexity to the description itself. 

Let's look back at the opening example.

In this paragraph, the narrator usually isn't  “ into women who smoked, but she was hard to resist. ” To emphasize this further, we could examine why he wasn't usually into women or how he couldn't resist her (more on how to revise using this tip below). 

To learn more about how to write with perspective, see Two Steps to Fix Flat Characters Using Voice and Personality .

Put It All Together

When you find your story becomes stiff, it’s possible your words aren't communicating your intent with the best writing descriptions. Knowing this is important.

A light and funny scene will read much differently than something dark and moody.  Not knowing this will probably create a paragraph bogged down by ambiguous, unmemorable, or redundant descriptions.

I've noticed this in my own writing when revisiting drafts for revisions. Using the tips mentioned in this post have helped me clean up my writing descriptions that don't work for ones that enliven my story with unique details. 

Revisiting my example at the beginning of this post is proof. Here's how I've revised it in a few different ways. (Review the example in the opening paragraph for a closer look at the exact differences.) 

Example One: Uses Complex Sentences and Vivid Descriptions 

From across the room, she caught his eye. He blinked once, and then felt his feet glide towards hers like a moth sucked up by a flame. A tumble of honey brown hair draped down her shoulders, similar to how the black Fendi dress clung to her chest and back like a second skin. He watched her slide a lit cigarette out of her mouth and a delicate smoke ring rose from her lips. The bartender slid her a gin and tonic—same as his father used to drink. Warm and acidic, with hints of pine that always intrigued him until he tasted it. He had no doubt she would kiss like a sailor and taste like an ashtray. And yet, he thought, maybe she would be worth it. 

Example Two: Uses Short, Simple Sentences and Basic Visual Descriptions

Tight dress. Red lips. He downed another drink. On most days he preferred blondes, but there was something special about this brunette. He watched her. Long painted fingers traced the rim of a gin and tonic. A half-smoked, lipstick-stained cigarette dangled out of her mouth. She would be hard. She would be dirty. She looked like tomorrow morning’s mistake. But tonight, she was perfect.

Bring Your Writing to Life

By varying sentence structure and making use of verbs and perspective, the passages above not only become more interesting than the original version, but more fluid and pleasing to the reader's ear—and other senses. 

Both ways improve the original with two different goals. The first is more complex and descriptive-heavy; the second is driven by shorter and more direct writing descriptions to present a somewhat sloppy exterior.

Keep in mind that neither is better than the other, because how you write your passage depends on what you want to communicate to the reader. Regardless of which you prefer, they’re both better than the paragraph without revisions. 

Overall, fluid writing is simply a matter of writing with a goal in mind (how do you want this scene to come off to the reader?) and adjusting the writing description so that it contains different sentence structures, a variety of verbs, and a clear perspective.

With practice, you’ll find that your stilted writing can come to life in no time at all.

What’s the biggest issue you face with writing descriptions? Share in the comments section .

Write a scene based on one of the following prompts (or come up with one of your own):

  • A student walks into a new classroom on their first day of school 
  • A person meets a blind date for the first time
  • A grandparent meets their new grandchild for the first time

Take fifteen minutes to write and focus on writing vivid descriptions through sentence structure, verb usage, and perspective. Don't forget to share your passages in the comments below for feedback! 

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J. D. Edwin

J. D. Edwin is a daydreamer and writer of fiction both long and short, usually in soft sci-fi or urban fantasy. Sign up for her newsletter for free articles on the writer life and updates on her novel, find her on Facebook and Twitter ( @JDEdwinAuthor ), or read one of her many short stories on Short Fiction Break literary magazine .

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Home / Book Writing / How to Write Amazing Character Descriptions (with Examples)

How to Write Amazing Character Descriptions (with Examples)

A good character description is walking a fine line between too much and too little information. Not only that, it's how you deliver the information to the reader that can make or break a good description. So whether you already have a vivid picture of your characters in mind or you don't know where to start, you've come to the right place. Read on to explore character description.

  • What is a Good Character Description?
  • Descriptions for Character Profiles
  • Descriptions in Prose
  • Character Description Examples
  • Tips for Writing Character Descriptions for Profiles

Table of contents

  • Description in Prose
  • 1. Start With a List
  • 2. Edit it Down
  • 3. Get Creative With Surroundings and Movement
  • 4. What Is and What Isn't
  • 5. Adjectives Can Help or Hinder
  • 6. Practice Makes Perfect
  • 7. Description Can Help Reveal the Narrator

A good character description isn't just about describing how a given character looks. It's also about describing the character through the world around them and through their actions. When these factors come together, you can create a vivid description that not only tells the reader a lot about your character's personality but also sparks the reader's imagination. That, after all, is what reading is all about.

And while we'll mostly be discussing character description in prose, we'll also be discussing how character description is important when writing your character profiles. Since character profiles are best utilized before you write your novel, we'll start there.

Creating a character profile can help you when it comes time to write. It can ensure that you know your major characters intimately before you start writing. These profiles are about more than just character description, but for the purposes of this article, we'll focus on the physical attributes, as they're the building blocks for writing descriptive prose.

Think of a profile as a character sketch. You're not trying to get every single detail down, as it's always good to leave room for spontaneity when you're writing your novel . But when it comes to the basics of how the character looks, it can help to nail down the details.

This includes things like eye color, facial expression, height, weight, build, hair color, skin color, any disfigurements or scars, and things like tattoos or birthmarks. This should also include clothing and any other accessories, such as hats, watches, necklaces, and piercings.

You don't have to get fancy with the profile. Just get the information down so you can refer to it later. If you want to go the extra mile, you can write down some varying descriptions of your character as if you're writing the novel. It's often easiest to focus on one physical attribute at a time until you're comfortable. These practice descriptions can lend inspiration when you start writing in earnest.

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Description in your book is a bit different than in your profile. A good description can give the reader a glimpse at the character's personality traits as well as their appearance. There are many different ways to write a great character description, but they all have one thing in common: they're creative and anything but boilerplate.

Many new writers opt for the list-style of description, thinking that less is more. They often look like this:

“He had piercing green eyes, sandy blond hair, and stood a stocky and solid six-foot-two. He had a slight limp and the musculature of a man who works hard for his living.”

While this may be fine for a minor character, it falls a little flat for a major character that you want the audience to know intimately. So for ideas on how to write character descriptions, let's look at some examples from some masters of the craft.

“His present dog was a huge white brute, a mountain dog from the South. He had named it Halina, after his second wife, with whom it shared some personality traits. . . It weighed almost as much as he did and its coat was matted and filthy; it lifted its massive head and watched him with lunatic eyes.”

This description, from Dave Hutchinson's Europe in Autumn , is a great example of how to describe physical appearance. Neither the man nor his dog is a major character in the story, but the description tells you a little about the K9 and its owner in a few concise sentences.

“He did not look like anything special at all.”

This one-sentence description in Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated is an excellent example of “less is more.”

“When he did appear his eyes were as brown as I remembered, pupils flecked with gold like beach pebbles.”

This description is from Sub Rosa by Amber Dawn. It's a compelling use of simile to create a picture of a character's appearance in the reader's mind. Note that she doesn't use tired and worn-out similes such as “eyes as blue as the summer sky” or “hair as red as autumn leaves. Getting creative with figurative language can work out very well.

“He smiled understandingly — much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor.”

This description, from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, focuses on the character's actions to tell the reader about him. Or, rather, on a single action: a smile. At the same time, the writer is telling the reader something about the POV character, giving insights into how the narrator sees the character while describing him.

Tips for Writing Character Descriptions in Prose

Most writing teachers and authors will tell you that if you want to write, you need to read. And the descriptions above should be shining examples of why that is sage advice. Reading how the authors you love write character description is key. But I've included some tips you can use when it comes time to write your own masterpiece!

This is where the character profile comes in handy. Not only does it keep you on track (there's nothing worse than realizing you switched a character's eye color halfway through a book) but it also allows you to keep a picture of your character fresh in your mind's eye.

So keep a list handy. Even if it's just the basics, like “black hair” or “brown eyes” and the like, it helps.

One of the most oft-quoted pieces of advice from Strunk & White's The Elements of Style is “Omit needless words.” For writers old and new, this advice is sound indeed for writing character descriptions. We've all read a book where the description of a character goes on for pages and pages and we find ourselves asking, “When will we get back to the story?”

This is something to avoid at all costs. So edit your descriptions down as much as possible. Don't use flowery language for its own sake. Instead, try to get your point across to the reader in as concise a manner as possible. You don't have to get into a character's backstory with the description if it will interrupt the flow of the story.

Remember that you want to create a vivid character in the reader's mind, but that doesn't mean that you want to take all of their imagination out of it. Leave something for the reader to interpret, if at all possible.

Description isn't all about a character's physicality. It's also about how the character interacts with the world around them. The way a man sits on a couch or a woman drives a car or a child eats an ice cream cone can all add to the character's description. A sentence about what a couple does while waiting in line at the movies can tell the reader more than a paragraph of straight description.

The way a character walks, the way they gesture when they talk, the way they squint when they're thinking. These are all great ways to add to a character's vividness and depth through description.

Describing a person, fictional or otherwise, can be done by looking at what is there and what isn't there. In fact, sharing what isn't there — what's missing — can be a great way of describing a person. As a writer, this can also help you develop your craft and keep your prose fresh. Whether this is a missing limb, a shirt pocket that has been torn off, or the lack of seeming intelligence on a vacant face, the absence of things can say a lot about a character.

As a rule in fiction, it's best to limit your use of adverbs. And the use of adjectives in character descriptions is no exception. Like adverbs, adjectives can become a crutch that holds back more concise and creative writing. This is not to say that you shouldn't use them on occasion. Sometimes an adjective is just the right kind of word for character description. Just keep in mind that overusing them can lead to reader fatigue and overly flowery language.

This should go without saying, but practicing your description will go a long way to becoming a better writer. When you consciously sit down to write a compelling character description, you can really think about what you want to say and how best to say it.

To do this, choose a character archetype and flesh that archetype out into a full-fledged person through descriptive language. Try writing several descriptions of the same character type, focusing on a few different tributes each time. You can try writing one where you focus on appearance. One on movement. One on how she/he interacts with the world around them. One on clothing. And one on what's missing (if anything). These practices can help you get your head around how best to describe a character in any given situation.

Description can also tell the reader about the POV character or narrator. And if your narrator is also your protagonist, this can be very important. This is because, short of having your character stand in front of a mirror and describe herself, there aren't many easy ways to describe your POV character without taking the reader out of the story. So, a great way to enlighten the reader is to use the way your narrator sees other characters. This can often be in the form of physical comparisons that the narrator makes or insights that they glean from watching/interacting with another character.

Not only does this add to the main character's believability, but it also provides an opportunity for character development as the story progresses. Perhaps your POV character has a bad habit of comparing himself to others he learns to break. Or perhaps he focuses too much on physical attributes to the detriment of seeing who other characters really are.

Whether you're writing a short story , novella, or a 1,000-page tome, you'll want to get familiar with character descriptions. The best way to start this is with a character profile. This will help you with your character analysis, which is great for fleshing out your main character, villain, and even secondary characters that need brief but compelling descriptions.

Once you have the basics of your character down, you can start experimenting with description. By focusing on one major character trait at first, you can develop your own style of description. Then you can incorporate more attributes, sharing only a couple at a time as your novel progresses.

Be concise, creative, and don't forget to look for what is and what isn't there. Use movement, interactions, and gestures to make vivid and crisp character descriptions. 

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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creative ways to write description

Writing 101: Creating Effective Description

Writing description can be overwhelming at first. What do you choose to describe? How do you describe it clearly? How can you make your reader experience your setting? Find the answers with these techniques!

So what tools do writers possess for bringing a setting to life through description? Let’s break down the different techniques.

Sensory Details

First, the senses. You’re probably familiar with them: sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound . Sight is the easiest to write and the one we think of first when setting up a scene, but you want to get into the habit of putting yourself into a scene and feeling it with all your senses.

What might your character be hearing ? Like the whistle of a kettle or a dripping faucet? What about physical sensations, like the warmth of the sun on his skin or the feel of damp sand between his toes?

Readers want to experience what your hero is experiencing. Going beyond sight grounds readers in the story and makes the setting feel rich with detail in their minds—and this in turn makes your fictional world feel more realistic.

Manipulating Mood through Word Choice

Now that we know how to make readers experience a story with their senses, how can we make them experience it emotionally using description? This writer’s magic trick is accomplished through the subtle power of word choice .

That’s right, friend, by being intentional about the words you choose you can make the reader feel whatever you want them too—without them even realizing it! Pretty neat, huh?

But you don’t want to choose any mood for your scene. Whenever you introduce a setting, your hero should have an emotional reaction to it, and this should influence the words you use to describe it. After all, readers want to experience what the hero is experiencing, right? This means his feelings about his surroundings too.

Does the hero find this place scary? Beautiful? Peaceful? Choose words that communicate what the hero is feeling—or even better, ask yourself, “What words would my hero use to describe this?”

Let’s take a look at the power of word choice with this quick example:

The castle loomed atop the cliff, its sharp spires slicing through the clouds. The iron bars of the gate had been wrenched open and now resembled the mangled ribs of a skeleton.

Notice how I didn’t say the castle was scary or creepy, though that’s likely the impression/feeling you got. Instead, I used words like loomed, sharp, slicing, wrenched, mangled, and the comparison to a skeleton’s ribs all help create a creepy, foreboding mood.

This is also an example of showing vs.telling . Instead of telling you the castle was creepy, I showed you through my word choice. Whenever you can, opt for showing over telling when appropriate .

“Wait, why are we talking about film?” you ask. “What does this have to do with writing?”

Allow me to explain.

A story plays out like a film in the mind, yes? Because of this, we can steal a few film tricks and apply them to our descriptions.

When you watch a movie and a new setting is introduced, it will usually be done with an extreme long shot that includes a large amount of the landscape such as a city or farm so the viewer can see where the action will take place. This is also called an establishing shot.

Then, the camera will narrow its focus to a normal long shot, which might show something like a house, kitchen, train station, etc. where the scene will take place.

Narrow the focus again to a full shot, and this allows the viewer to see more details of the character’s costumes and their surroundings.

Narrow the focus yet again to a mid-shot and we see the characters from the waist-up, allowing us to focus on their facial expressions and emotional reactions.

Narrow the focus one more time and we have a close-up of characters facial expressions or important objects.

So how does this translate into writing? We can use this technique to organize our descriptions and help them flow clearly in the reader’s mind. You do this by starting your description with a wide “establishing” shot, and then narrowing your focus.

For example:

The barn was tucked away in a meadow between two oaks, its tin roof rusted and black paint peeling. Sam shoved open the door and glanced over the rows of empty stalls and then upward at the vaulted loft filled with moldy hay. He kicked aside a rotting bucket and a mouse darted into the shadows. Wrinkling his nose, he crouched to examine the droplets of blood soaked into the earth among the spilled grain and mouse droppings.

Notice how I started with an establishing shot and kept narrowing the focus until we had a close-up description of the blood splatters. This not only helps the reader get their bearings in the scene, but it follows the natural way we experience a place—we notice the overall picture before we begin to zero-in on tiny details.

Specific Nouns

Getting as specific as possible with nouns in your description will make your world feel more realistic and create a much sharper image in the reader’s head.

Instead of “red flowers” say “poppies,” and instead of “fancy car” say “Lamborghini.”

Also, this requires you do your research. You should be able to specifically name things in your story no matter the culture or time period, such as the character’s clothing, the food they eat, the weapons used, etc.

If you’re writing a sci-fi story and your hero walks into a room full of “scientific equipment” not only is this a lousy mental image for the reader, but its lazy writing. What sort of equipment are they using? What is it called? What does it look like? It’s your job to find out.

Finally, one of the important parts of good description is balance, or knowing what to describe and when.

For example, the middle of an intense action scene is not a good time to unload a bunch of description. The reader simply won’t care and it will just get in the way. Save the description for the slower parts of your story where you are setting up a scene or introducing a new setting, character, important object, or what-have-you.

Also, you need to be discerning about what you choose to describe because you can’t (and shouldn’t!) describe everything. You’ll end up overwhelming the reader and weakening the description because they won’t be able to remember it all. So what should you focus on?

Here are 3 things to consider:

1) Choose the most important details, or the details that make the place interesting or different.

2) Choose specific details in order to set a certain mood.

3) Choose the details your character would notice. (For example, a hunter might admire a collection of rifles while a bookworm might admire a bookshelf in the same room. Different people notice different things).

But how much description is too much? This will vary based on your writing style and the type of story you’re telling.

For example, literary fiction can have longer passages of description because readers of that genre will expect and even enjoy it. But in a Young Adult action novel you’re going to want to go light on the description because your audience will have less patience.

Basically, a good rule of thumb is to tell the audience just enough to give them a clear picture and avoid any confusion. How much detail that entails, however, is up to you.

What’s your biggest challenge when writing description? What sorts of details bring a story to life for you? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Behind on the Writing 101 series? Click to catch up! Part 1 (The Fundamentals of Story), Part 2 (Writing Term Glossary), Part 3 (Creating a Successful Hero & Villain), Part 4 (Unraveling Tension, Conflict, and Your Plot), Part 5 (Let’s Talk Dialogue), and Part 6 (Setting and Worldbuilding).

Ready for Part 8? Click here to learn about Tips and Resources for the Grammatically Challenged Novelist!

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3 thoughts on “ Writing 101: Creating Effective Description ”

Great post, Kaitlin! I agree that it’s important to keep sensory details and mood in mind when describing something. The narrator / POV character will describe the same setting differently when she’s happy than when she’s angry or sad. And finding a balance between what to describe and what to leave out helps strengthen your writing, too.

It’s funny, because I’m actually drafting a post for my blog on description, from an editing standpoint. (Specifically, how to cut down on overdescription.) I think I’ll include a link to this post at the end of mine so readers can check it out if they want more information. 🙂

Yes, getting into the head of your POV character can definitely influence your descriptions in interesting ways! That sounds like a great post topic, I look forward to reading it! And I would be honored if you linked to my post ^.^ Thanks for stopping by, Sara!

This post has some amazing tips in it! I love using action words (like in your castle example) to really create mood in my writing. They can really bring how the character is feeling into it without saying ‘she didn’t like this place,’ etc. Sometimes I struggle though to bring in textural details, such as the feeling of an armchair, and scents as I tend to naturally focus on sight and sound. Thanks for the great post! 😀

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creative ways to write description

How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

Learning how to describe a person so that the reader forms a vivid impression of your characters is essential for writing compelling stories. Read 8 tips for describing characters so they come to life:

  • Post author By Jordan
  • 12 Comments on How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

creative ways to write description

Knowing how to describe a person so that your reader forms a vivid impression is vital for immersive writing. How can you describe a person precisely and avoid pace-crushing info dumps or eyes, eyes, eyes? Read 8 ways to write better, varied character description:

8 ways to describe people in a story

  • Start with character profiles and pin boards
  • Focus on details that reveal personality, use detailed descriptive language
  • Practice describing people in brief
  • Prioritize unique character features
  • Describe character actions and gestures
  • Find descriptive precise adjectives and fitting comparisons, use descriptive verbs too
  • Describe personality via dialogue and voice
  • Read writers renowned for good characterization

Let’s dive into each of these ideas for bringing your characters to life:

1. Start with character profiles and pin boards

Before you begin describing people who’ll populate your story, it’s useful to sketch character ideas . It helps if you can answer questions such as:

  • What clothing does my character wear?
  • What is idiosyncratic or recognizable about how my character moves? What does their body language reveal?
  • What would a stranger notice first about this character if they entered a room?
  • What is their physical description? What is their eye and hair color, do they have freckles, scars or tattoos?

To build richer descriptions , you could create a pin board on Pinterest before you draft of clothing your character would wear, places they might love to visit. Any visual reference point that captures the essence of their persona.

Another option is to answer character prompts to build a character profile , which you can do in the Now Novel dashboard as you build a downloadable story outline packed with useful story background.

Describing people and outlining in Now Novel Dashboard

In our monthly writing craft webinars, writing coach Romy Sommer also suggests ‘reverse-casting’ your characters for inspiration:

2. Focus on details that reveal personality

A character’s hair or eye color doesn’t tell the reader much (there are other ways to use eye descriptions to build personality).

When you introduce a character, focus on details that reveal character personality or psychology .

Here’s Dostoevsky describing his character Katerina Ivanova (who has tuberculosis) in  Crime and Punishment (1866):

Describe habitual actions to reveal personality

Katerina Ivanovna had just begun, as she always did at every free moment, walking to and fro in her little room from window to stove and back again, with her arms folded across her chest, talking to herself and coughing. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866), Chapter 7.

Dostoevsky conveys Katerina’s fragile mental health and state clearly. The coughing is a reminder of her life-threatening condition. The fact she continues to pace despite her discomfort suggests her determined, fighting spirit, which we see in further scenes.

You could also use descriptions of a character’s physical appearance to show their personalities, for example: ‘Jenna’s curly hair was bouncy, like her character. bouncy and bubbly.’

Use objects such as possessions left behind to suggest persona

The acclaimed short story author Alice Munro is a master of understated character development.

In her story ‘Free Radicals’, Munro describes a recently-widowed woman named Nita coming to terms with her husband’s death:

She thought carefully, every morning when she first took her seat, of the places where Rich was not. He was not in the smaller bathroom, where his shaving things still were, along with the prescription pills for various troublesome but not serious ailments which he’d refused to throw out. Alice Munro, ‘Free Radicals’, available via The New Yorker

Munro creates the emotional affect of a deceased spouse’s absence by describing objects in detail that remain once they’ve gone.

A precise detail – the prescription pills Rich refused to throw out – describes something about his hoarding character.

Detail the type of behavior characters might exhibit

Another way to describe a character’s personality is to give an example of something they might do.

Further on in the story, Munro describe pranking behavior that was typical of Rich to suggest a playful nature:

He was of course not out on the half-scraped deck, ready to peer jokingly in the window – through which she might, in earlier days, have pretended to be alarmed at the sight of a peeping tom. Munro, ‘Free Radicals’

The details Munro shares combine character behavior (Rich’s joking at the window) and setting detail (pills left behind that he refused to discard) to simultaneously create a sense of character and place . Her details describe the way people inhabit their spaces. This creates Rich as a vivid, lingering, ghostly presence in Nita’s memory.

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3. Practice describing people in brief

One thing to avoid in choosing how to describe a character in a story is an info dump.

Info-dumping character description makes your reader go, ‘Oh, the author wants to squeeze in everything they possibly can about their character.’ It alerts your reader to the author’s hand, the wizard behind the curtain conjuring Oz. Such spurious description may lose your reader. 

Instead, pick a specific detail to focus on for an introduction, and bring in other visual or descriptive character details as they become relevant to the story/action.

Examples of how to describe people succinctly

Here are a few examples of character descriptions that are precise and impactful:

Her hair had been long and wavy brown then, natural in curl and colour, as he liked it, and her face bashful and soft – a reflection less of the way she was than of the way he wanted to see her. Alice Munro, ‘Dimensions’, Too Much Happiness (2009), p. 2. Available online .

Note how Munro succinctly creates a sense not only of a character’s appearance but how it is affected by her being in a controlling relationship (which we find out more about as the story continues).

A sense of time and change is bundled with character description as we read a factor that shaped the protagonist Doree’s past appearance, now changed at the story’s start.

Below, Kent Haruf uses simile drawn from two elderly brothers’ farmland world to describe their appearance:

Their faces were red and weather-blasted below their white foreheads, the coarse hair on their round heads grown iron-gray and as stiff as the roached mane of a horse. Kent Haruf, Eventide (2004), p. 3.

Practice describing characters in three lines or less. What can you compare their appearance to? What does it say about them?

creative ways to write description

4. Prioritize unique character features

A large part of learning how to describe a person believably is showing what makes them unique or distinctive.

The Victorian author Charles Dickens, a master of characterization, described people with vivid, characteristic humor.

Here Dickens describes the schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, ‘a man of facts and calculations’ in his novel  Hard Times (1854):

The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s voice, which was inflexible, dry, and dictatorial. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s hair, which bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface, all covered with knobs, like the crust of a plum pie, as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside. Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854), full text on Project Gutenberg .

Although Dickens describes his character’s hair, he uses a striking visual metaphor (‘a plantation of firs’).

This leads quickly back to description showing the schoolmaster’s fact-obsessed nature (‘…as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside’).

Dickens takes the description of Gradgrind as obstinate and fact-obsessed further:

The speaker’s obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders, – nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was, – all helped the emphasis. Dickens, Hard Times

Thus Dickens mines a single, defining detail – Gradgrind’s tyrannical obsession with fact over imagination – for cohesive, comical description.

If Dickens had simply said ‘he was balding and inflexible and would lecture the students about facts’, this would create some sense of character. Dickens instead writes stronger description to show us what the character is like.

Yet the unique details Dickens chooses make Thomas Gradgrind especially vivid.

creative ways to write description

5. Describe character actions and gestures

Showing characters’ gestures and actions is an important part of bringing characters to life.

The way your characters move , their body language and gestures, is a key part of describing personality, status, or mental state.

In the example from Dostoevsky above, Katerina Ivanovna’s anxious pacing conveys her mounting fear over her husband (who drinks away the little money they have).

In Hard Times , Dickens uses movement and body language to reinforce the impression of Gradgrind as domineering and forceful:

“Girl number twenty,” said Mr. Gradgrind, squarely pointing with his square forefinger, “I don’t know that girl. Who is that girl?” “Sissy Jupe, sir,” explained number twenty, blushing, standing up, and curtseying. Dickens, Hard TImes

Dickens extends Gradgrind’s ‘squareness’ through his pointing. Sissy Jupe’s own body language conveys both her own bashfulness and the fact that Gradgrind wields stern authority over his pupils.

Dickens could simply use dialogue for the schoolmaster’s inquiry. Because of Gradgrind’s gestures, though, we get a clear sense of his dominant, demanding persona.

6. Find descriptive adjectives and fitting comparisons

There are two useful tools for accurate description of characters in stories: Precise, exact adjectives , and comparative language.

Finding adjectives to describe people with positive and negative connotations

Positive adjectives to describe a person include:

  • Kindness: Kind, fair, caring, thoughtful, non-judgmental, respectful, loving
  • Conscientiousness: Principled, upstanding, disciplined, rigorous, thorough, careful, decisive
  • Selflessness: Selfless, giving, generous, dedicated
  • Intelligence: Smart, insightful, perceptive, brainy, whip-smart, aware, informed, knowledgeable
  • Attractive: Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, hot, sexy, alluring, glamorous, studly, magnetic, hypnotic, fit [UK slang]

These are just some adjectives to describe a person in positive terms. If you need a good word for description:

  • Look up a similar, broader word in a thesaurus.
  • Find a word you like and look up its full definition and even etymology to ensure it has the right connotations (latent or associated meanings).

Negative adjectives to describe a person might include:

  • Cruelty: Cruel, unkind, nasty, vicious, wicked, evil, despicable, malevolent, vindictive
  • Ugliness: Hideous, vile, gross, creepy, fugly, monstrous, disgusting
  • Boring: Dull, dreary, insufferable, tedious, insipid, bland
  • Non-intelligence: Stupid, thick, ignorant, cretinous, basic

Keep in mind that some words to describe people negatively may have socially-offensive connotations (for example ‘dumb’ in the informal sense to mean stupid comes from ‘mute’).

If in doubt, find the most exact adjective whose connotations cannot be read another way.

Find fitting comparisons and use figurative language describing character

Comparisons are a great tool for writing character descriptions that are vivid. Look at how Dickens describes Gradgrind’s bald head in the example above, for example. Dickens uses metaphor (there is no ‘like’ or ‘as though’ which would make it a simile): ‘[Gradgrind’s hair] bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface.’

Now this isn’t the most fitting description (Gradgrind’s head has nothing to do with trees or a plantation of firs). Yet it conjures a precise, memorable image.

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon , a father’s anger is shown using the metaphor of a volcano likely to erupt at an time.

Morrison extends this metaphor beautifully to show how Macon’s (the father) anger affects his daughters:

Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear. His hatred of his wife glittered and sparked in every word he spoke to her. The disappointment he felt in his daughters sifted down on them like ash, dulling their buttery complexions and choking the lilt out of what should have been girlish voices. Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon (1978), p. 10.

7. Describe personality via dialogue and voice

In deciding how to describe characters in your story, dialogue and voice in narration are two powerful tools to create a persona.

People’s speech describes so much about who they are:

  • Tone : Is a person often angry, huffy, disappointed (like Macon in the example by Toni Morrison above)
  • Vocabulary: Does the person have an extensive vocabulary suggesting they are educated or well-read or the opposite?
  • Diction: Does the character have a marked accent, drawl, lisp or other distinguishing feature of the way they speak?
  • Voice: What are the actual timbral qualities of your character’s voice? Is it high, low, or in-between? Loud or soft? Grating or pleasant to the hearer?
What your characters talk about (and what they leave unsaid) describes their persona in addition to visual descriptive details. Tweet This

8. Read writers renowned for their characterization

To learn how to describe a person brilliantly, collect memorable character descriptions . Read authors who are particularly noted for their vivid characters.

Many short story authors ( such as Anton Chekhov ) are good at compressing character detail into shorter passages.

Here, for example, is Chekhov describing his character Mihail Petrovitch Zotov, an old man, through dialogue and action tags in his story ‘The Dependents’:

“What an existence!” he grumbled, rolling crumbs of black bread round in his mouth. “It’s a dog’s life. No tea! And it isn’t as though I were a simple peasant: I’m an artisan and a house-owner. The disgrace!” Anton Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’, available online.

Chekhov combines this portrait of the character’s psychological state with description of his appearance:

Grumbling and talking to himself, Zotov put on his overcoat, which was like a crinoline, and, thrusting his feet into huge clumsy golosh-boots (made in the year 1867 by a bootmaker called Prohoritch), went out into the yard. Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’.

Start keeping a journal where you collect character descriptions that strike you as effective. This can become a useful source of inspiration to page through when you are sketching out your own characters.

Before concluding, let’s briefly take a look at how to detail character if you are writing in the first person. So far, we have looked at how to describe when you are writing in the third person point of view. First person description examples will need to be slightly different as you don’t have access to the omniscient narrator device. 

There are various ways to do so, however, and effectively. For example another character could comment on the appearance of the first-person character. Here are some ways:

‘John looked at me with a shocked expression and asked why I had black dots under my eyes.’

‘I glanced into the mirror, and noticed my mascara had smudged, leaving a trail of black dots under each eye.’

Ready to flesh out your characters and get feedback on character descriptions? Start outlining characters , and get constructive feedback from the Now Novel community when you’re ready to revise.

Now Novel is a great platform for all writers to check out – especially for plotting, brainstorming, characterisation and even world building. Their customer service is top notch and I highly recommend NN!— MJ

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Related Posts:

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  • How to describe setting: 6 ways to bring setting to life
  • How to start a novel in third person: 7 tips
  • Tags character description , description writing , how to describe a person

creative ways to write description

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

12 replies on “How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways”

Great post 🙂 Thanks for the tips!

Thanks, Amy! It’s a pleasure. Thanks for reading.

My name is Muhammad saqlain mushtaq I am from pakistan

Hi Muhammad, welcome to our blog. Let me know if you have any questions about character description (or anything else writing related) and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for very descriptive and inspiring inputs. Impressive and very helpful. This is helpful not only for me but also for everyone. My salute .

Hi Alex, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for reading our blog.

Hi😊 It’s your newest fan here. Thanks Jordan😊

Hi Glajol, I’m glad you’re a fan of our blog. Thank you for reading and saying hi.

I feel like everything you wrote was meant for me because I’m having alot of trouble describing my characters,so thanks alot

Hi Kaitlyn, I’m so glad to hear that. Hope your story goes well further.

Jordan- Wow! This information on building vivid characters is exactly what I was looking for. I am in the early stage of my writing career and struggling with describing my scene or setting and characters. Thank you for providing this resource. This information is great!

Dear Melika, Thanks so much for your comments! So pleased to hear them. All the very best with your writing.

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Penlighten

Descriptive Writing: Definition, Tips, Examples, and Exercises

Descriptive writing is about using the power of words to arouse the imagination, capture the attention, and create a lasting impact in the mind of the reader. In this article, you'll learn how to employ descriptive elements in your writing, tips to enhance your descriptive writing skills, and some exercises to better yourself at it.

Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing is about using the power of words to arouse the imagination, capture the attention, and create a lasting impact in the mind of the reader. In this article, you’ll learn how to employ descriptive elements in your writing, tips to enhance your descriptive writing skills, and some exercises to better yourself at it.

Read the two sentences given below:

  • I felt tired at work today.
  • As the day wore on at work, I felt a cramp beginning to form at the nape of my neck, my eyes began to feel droopy, and the computer screen in front of me began blurring.

Which one of the two do you find more interesting to read? Most definitely the second one. This is because, while the first sentence merely tells you directly that ‘you felt tired at work today’, the second one explains the same experience in a much more vivid and relatable manner.

From this you can see that even something as simple as the above sentence can be transformed using literary devices that aid visualization, into something that someone can relate to. This is what descriptive writing is all about: heightening the sense of perception and alluring your reader to read ahead, because you have so much more to say.

Good Examples of Descriptive Writing

Given below are a couple of good pieces of descriptive writing from authors who know their business.

‘But the door slid slowly open before Lupin could reach it. Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in Lupin’s hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood. Harry’s eyes darted downwards, and what he saw made his stomach contract. There was a hand protruding from the cloak and it was glistening, greyish, slimy-looking and scabbed, like something dead that had decayed in water…’ – Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

‘I don’t know what I’d expected but it was something different than I saw. She looked unexpectedly young. Or, I suppose said better, she looked unexpectedly “not old”. Her hair, which was completely white, had a yellowish cast that could almost have been mistaken for a pale blond, and it was loose around her shoulders. And long. Longer than mine. No doubt she normally wore it pulled up in a bun, and such a style would have given her a more predictable little-old-lady look, but the way it was here now, parted on the side – long, loose, and straight – she seemed ageless as an ancient sculpture. This sense was enhanced by her skin. Though it had the fragile crepeyness of age, she had few wrinkles, especially across her forehead, which was smooth to a point of being almost waxy looking. She was of obvious northern Germanic heritage, with pale eyes and prominent features. Although she was not overweight, her bones were big and blunt, giving the impression of a tall, sturdy woman.’ – Twilight Children by Torey Hayden

Why be Descriptive While Writing?

  • The purpose of descriptive writing is to inspire imagination. When you put your mind into making a piece of writing more descriptive, you automatically begin to pay attention to detail and refine your perception about things. You begin to imagine them as much more than, say a  party hat or a hard-bound book . You begin to look at them as a tall, pink, pointed paper hat with tassels , and a book that had a gleaming golden spine, and weighed a few good pounds .
  • The next, and probably the most important benefit of descriptive writing is that in the process of trying to make the reader visualize what you want to say, you tend to use more interesting words. You want to convey a mental picture to your reader. So you’re bound to use words that might be unconventional or less-used. You will want to find words that exactly describe what you want to say, and will look for different words that mean the same. This will help you suitably build your vocabulary.
  • The success of descriptive writing lies in the details. The more detailed your depiction of a plot or a character or a place is, the more you engross your reader. You become a keen observer and minder of details. You pay attention to the tiniest bits of information and appearance, which in turn helps you transfer the details into your writing.
  • Since you have picked something to describe and have observed all its details, you are sure to understand the subject better. You may even come across bits and pieces that you may have missed the first time you looked at the object/subject in question. Thoroughly understanding what you’re going to write about is exceedingly important to the process of writing about it.

Tips you Can Use Identify what you’re about to describe

As you start with descriptive writing, identify exactly what you are setting out to describe. Usually, a descriptive piece will include the depiction of a person, a place, an experience, a situation, and the like. Anything that you experience or perceive about your subject can be the focal point of your descriptive writing. You build a backdrop by identifying an aspect of a subject that you want to describe.

Decide why you’re describing that particular aspect

While it can be a wonderful creative exercise to simply describe anything you observe, in descriptive writing, there is often a specific reason to describe whatever you have set out to describe. Tapping this reason can help you keep the description focused and infuse your language with the particular emotion or perspective that you want to convey to your readers.

Maintain a proper chronology/sequence Sometimes, you may get so caught up in making your work colorful and creative that you may end up having a mash-up of descriptions that follow no particular order. This will render the effort of writing useless as the various descriptions will simply confuse the reader. For instance, if you want to describe characters in a particular situation, begin by describing the setting, then proceed to the most important character of that particular situation, and then to the least important one (if necessary).

Use Imagery Imagery is the best tool you can employ in descriptive writing. Since you cannot show your reader what you are imagining, you need to paint a picture with words. You need to make the depiction of your imagination so potent that your reader will instantly be able to visualize what you are describing. However, don’t go overboard. Make sure that the focus does not dwindle stray. Keep your descriptions specific to the subject in question. The writing must be able to draw in the reader; hence, the writer should say things that the reader can relate to or empathize with. An introductory backdrop can often provide an effective setting for the remaining part of the piece. Great descriptive writing has the ability to lure the reader, enticing him or her to continue reading right to the end. While giving the details is important, it is how they are presented that makes the difference.

Hone the senses One of the most effective ways to make the experience you are describing vivid for your reader is to use the five senses: smell, sight, sound, taste, and touch. When the descriptions are focused on the senses, you provide specific and vivid details in such a way that it shows your reader what you are describing. So, when you describe a subject, depict it in such a manner that it involves the reader’s possible sensory interpretations. It must make the reader imagine what he would see, hear, smell, taste, or feel when he reads what you have written.

She gently squeezed the juice out of the plump, red tomato. She blended this juice into the simmering mix of golden-brown onions and garlic in the pan, and watched as they melded into each other. She then added the spice mixture that she had prepared, and the air was permeated with a mouth-watering aroma.

Use strong nouns and verbs effectively, adjectives intelligently It is true that the purpose of adjectives is to describe a subject, but overuse of adjectives in descriptive writing can render the piece shallow and hollow. Hence, make it a point to use other parts of speech to express the same sentiment. You’ll be surprised how effectively nouns, verbs and adverbs can be used to describe something, sometimes even better than adjectives alone. For instance, look at the two sentences below.

  • The flowers were as fresh as the morning dew.
  • The flowers had a freshness that could only equal that of the glistening morning dew.

The first sentence has used an adjective (fresh)  to describe the flowers. It is a good description too, because the comparison to morning dew is something that will immediately put the reader in the sense of mind that you want. The second sentence too has compared the freshness to morning dew, but has used a noun (freshness) and a verb (equal)  to do so, and in the process has probably enticed the reader to continue reading, more than the first sentence.

Pick related words Before you actually begin writing, it is always a good idea to build a word bank of related words and ideas. For instance, if you are going to be describing a flower arrangement, you could jot down a few ideas before you start describing it, like: vase, color, types of flowers, leaves, stem, style, shape, fresh, etc. Once you have these basic words, you could start descriptive sentences for each one. Then, carry on from there.

Display passion Impact is what you’re looking to create in the minds of your readers. You want your readers to relate and empathize with what you’re writing. This will be close to impossible if your work does not reflect the passion that you feel for it. Make them feel what you feel with the words you write. Language that relates to powerful emotions such as love, hatred, admiration, disgust, etc., can convey the range and intensity of the sentiment that you are trying to express. Use them to your favor and get the desired effect.

Exercises to Enhance Descriptive Writing

Given below are some simple, yet effective exercises that you can use to better yourself at descriptive writing.

Exercise 1 Decide on an everyday action, say ‘making a pot of coffee’ and write about it in a descriptive manner. Give yourself 3 words that you’re not allowed to use while writing about it. You’ll see yourself reaching for the thesaurus, which will help improve your vocabulary.

Exercise 2 Pick random objects like a hat, a burger, a chair, etc., and place them before you. Enlist the different names that these objects can be called. Describe each of the objects in sentences that have more than 15 words each. Be as imaginative as you can.

Get your ‘assignments’ read by an objective person to see if they can relate to and understand properly what you have tried to convey.

Make descriptive writing a rewarding experience, both for your reader and yourself. If you like what you write, chances are that your reader will too. As is evident, having a comprehensive vocabulary is the key to good descriptive writing. But mere vocabulary will fall short if your piece lacks passion, logic and interest. The trouble is that it can easily become an incoherent rambling of senses and emotions. To avoid that, present what you are writing about in a logical and organized sequence of thoughts, so that the reader comes away from it with a cogent sense of what you have attempted to describe.

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6 Key Tips to Write Great Product Descriptions (With Examples)

Bill Widmer

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A great product description tells a story—the story of who your product is for and how your product can help them get what they want.

Because when it comes to sales, it’s not about what your product does . It’s about how your product helps your customers achieve the life they imagine in their heads.

But what does that mean? And how do you get more people to click “Buy now” after reading your product descriptions? Let’s set the scene with a few great examples.

Fantastic product description examples you can learn from

One of my favorite examples of a stellar product description is Thursday Boot Co.’s President Lace-Up Boot . Let’s take a look:

Thursday Boots mission statement

There are a few key things here that make this description so good:

  • It knows its audience: Men who want a boot that looks good, stands up to hard use, and doesn’t require constant cleaning and caring.
  • It makes you a part of its story and mission: making the highest-quality boots that are priced fairly and ethically.
  • It highlights the quality of the materials—Kevlar laces and USA-grown tier 1 cattle hides.

Here’s another product description example from Solo Stove’s smokeless fire pit :

Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0 product description

Just like Thursday Boot Co., Solo Stove does a great job of knowing its audience. Anyone who’s sat around a fire knows what teary eyes and smelly clothes feel like.

Notice how its actual “product description” is only two short sentences. It cuts straight to what the product is with zero fluff above the fold, then goes into explaining the features in more detail beneath the product images and specs.

Solo Stove also does a great job of using video to enhance its product descriptions.

Lastly, let’s look at one of my favorite products of all time: chocolate.

Endangered Species Chocolate is my favorite chocolate brand. The chocolate is decadent, delicious, and, best of all, the brand gives 10% of its profit to help save endangered species.

Why am I telling you this? Aside from wanting to convince you to enlighten your palate, I’m hoping you’ll see these are all points that help the brand write delicious product descriptions that convert.

Endangered Chocolate 88% cacao chocolate bar

It uses its descriptions to describe the experience you will have when you buy one of the bars. This helps you to imagine the taste in your mouth. And if you can imagine it, you’re one step closer to making that experience a reality and clicking the “buy” button.

This is the power of using words to help your customers visualize themselves owning, using, or consuming your product. If they can see it in their minds, they are much more likely to buy.

By studying other brands’ copywriting, you can improve your own.

6 tips to write product descriptions that convert

Ready to start writing? Here are six tips for crafting the best product descriptions possible:

1. Above all else, know your audience

Convincing someone to buy something without understanding their needs, wants, and desires is difficult, to say the least. If you want your descriptions to be as effective as possible, you need to know your audience well.

Specifically, you need to know the answers to the following questions:

  • What are the characteristics of the target segment or of an ideal customer? (Age, gender, interests, personality, life situation, etc.).
  • What pain point does my product help them solve? What lifestyle does it help them live?

If we look at the three examples I gave above, we can answer these questions. 

President Lace-Up Boot: 

  • Male, likely aged 25–45, cares about his appearance but also needs a boot that can function, hold up, and look good.
  • It helps the wearer have practical footwear that looks good, feels good, and doesn’t break the bank.

Solo Stove:

  • Multiple age ranges and genders, but likely a family-oriented person aged 30–45 or possibly someone who enjoys hosting parties. I would create more than one buyer persona in this case.
  • It helps them host wonderful gatherings around a smokeless, beautiful fire.

Endangered Species Chocolate:

  • Likely someone a bit older (30+) with more money to spend on indulgences and who cares about the planet as well as great chocolate.
  • It helps them enjoy a delicious treat and take a moment for themselves.

Notice that I didn’t say, “Gives them a good shoe to wear” or “Gives them a pit to make a fire.” There’s more to it than that—it’s about the ultimate desired outcome: Having the perfect fire to make the perfect party or the perfect boot to look good and feel good without breaking the bank.

If you can figure out exactly what your audience wants and needs, then you can paint a picture with your words that can sell your product for you.

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it’s time to do some market research . Read forums, ask questions, and always try to get authentic customer feedback. Even consider sending an email asking for people’s feedback and try to get them to let you hop on a phone or video call. This insight is invaluable and can be worth giving free products or discounts to get.

2. Tell a story

Good copywriting gets the reader invested. You want them to feel like they’re a part of your story or mission.

In the words of world-renowned copywriter David Ogilvy, “The worst fault a salesman can commit is to be a bore.” People want to be entertained and fascinated, and your descriptions are no exception.

Obviously, this is easier done with some products than others. It’s pretty difficult to tell an interesting story about something as simple as a standard phone charging cable or a roll of paper towels. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.

One of my favorite ways a brand has done this is Squatty Potty and its slogan “Unkink Your Colon”:

Squatty Potty funny product description

It combines humor with storytelling to make an extremely compelling product description. And it keeps it going all the way through its product page.

Squatty Potty brand mission

The “story” is, as a species, we have evolved to poop while squatting, not sitting. The squatty potty helps you to do what humans were designed to do in the unnatural environment we call a bathroom.

Not all products lend themselves so well to this type of humorous storytelling. But if you can find an interesting angle for your products, it can help you create a selling point.

3. Write with SEO in mind

If you care about getting free, recurring customers, you should care about search engine optimization (SEO) . That means optimizing your product pages so they can rank for keywords people search on Google and other search engines.

Optimizing your product descriptions starts with knowing what keyword you want your page to rank for—which means you need to do some keyword research .

The easiest way to do that is to search for your product on Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer , look at the Related terms report, and leave it at the default view. It shows you keywords that pages ranking at the top 10 positions for the keyword on the input also rank for.

For example, let’s say I want to sell a purple bikini. It brings back 38 related keywords:

Related terms report, via Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer

The keyword “purple bikini” is searched for ~3,000 times per month. But there are other keywords like “purple bathing suits,” “purple bikini set,” etc., that are also searched for.

In this case, the keyword I typed in happened to be the best target keyword for the page. But that won’t always be the case. Had we typed “lavender bikini,” we would have found that “purple bikini” would be a better keyword to target due to its higher traffic potential.

These related terms can help you further optimize your product page for the main target keyword.

For example, we can talk about “purple swimsuit” and “purple bikini set” in our product description to increase our page’s relevancy for the keyword “purple bikini” and help our chances of ranking on Google.

You can use these keywords in your page headers, the description itself, image alt text, and more. Just add them wherever it feels natural and makes sense without trying to force them in too many times. Think of it as a way of varying your word choices (which is one of my tips to become a better writer , by the way).

This is part of the deeper process of on-page SEO —something every e-commerce business owner should learn. 

4. Use ads to test copy

Enough about SEO. Let’s talk about pay-per-click (PPC) ads and how to use them to improve your product copy.

If you’re already running search ads, then use excerpts from the winning ad copies in your product descriptions. You’ve already got the data that they work.

If you’re not running ads, you can still spy on competitors’ ads to see what kind of copy is working for them. Just Google your product…

Google search results for "affordable men's suits"

… and take note of any common trends among the ads. In this example, the word “Designer” sticks out to me. If I try other keywords, I can see that’s a common trend:

Google search results for "stylish men's suits"

This tells me using words like “Designer” and advertising combo pricing may be a good thing to include in your product descriptions.

To make this even better and faster, you can spy on your competitors’ ads with the Ads report inside Ahrefs’ Site Explorer .

Ads report, via Ahrefs' Site Explorer

This will let you see their ad copies across all of their ads, and you can check multiple competitors to see the trends and overlaps of what makes them successful. This is because ads that drive the most traffic and cost the most are likely to be optimized and tested, so you can steal what’s already been found to convert.

5. Make it look good

Your product page doesn’t need to just sound good—it needs to look good too.

This encompasses a lot of things:

  • Using better words to describe your products
  • Formatting your description in a way that’s easy to scan
  • Breaking up large paragraphs and cutting fluff
  • Using high-quality photos and videos
  • Breaking up the page visually

The brand examples I gave at the beginning of this article do this really well. They don’t just have some product photos with a description and a “buy” button—their whole product page is a landing page created to convert the visitor.

They break up the page into sections using a mix of beautiful product photos with brief descriptions, video overviews, and close-ups that explain the minute details. If you don’t know how to structure your website like this yourself and can’t find a template you like, it may be worth hiring a web designer to build it for you.

Beyond the structure of the page, you should also focus on improving the words you use to describe your products. Instead of just saying it’s “durable” or “high quality,” take a more poetic and enticing approach.

Jacob McMillen shares a great tip in his guide to copywriting that is beneficial here—use bulleted lists that describe a feature of the product, then follow that up with the added benefit while utilizing power words. 

For example:

  • Enzyme washed for added softness
  • Dye process creates variations of color, making each tee truly unique
  • Tees pre-shrunk, so they will fit the same forever

Words such as “unique” or “forever” are power words. Check out this list of power words for more ideas to vary your wording and keep it interesting.

6. Cut the fluff

Hopefully at this point, you’ve meticulously brooded over every word of your descriptions. You’ve formatted them with thoughtful use of bulleted lists, sections, and media.

But there’s one more thing you need to do to polish your description: Ruthlessly cut the fluff.

When you’re done writing, sleep on it first, then read your product descriptions out loud the next day. By reading them out loud, it will be painfully obvious where you’ve added unnecessary, extra wording or which sentences sound strange.

Some big culprits include the overuse of the word “that,” writing in passive voice instead of active voice, and using weak verbs instead of stronger, more expressive ones.

Let’s take an example. Here’s a product description:

Our lovely, fluffy down pillow is made by hand in a factory in Indiana by people who put a lot of care into every stitch. This pillow is sure to get rid of your insomnia and help you sleep like a baby.

Good, but let’s cut the fluff and see what we can improve:

Our luxurious down pillows are hand-crafted with love in every stitch. Sewn right here in Indiana, these pillows will make your insomnia a thing of the past. Sleep like a baby again.

See how the second is more direct and uses stronger verbs with fewer words? That’s what you’re aiming for. Strong, expressive, and concise.

Final thoughts

As digital entrepreneurs, our website is our 24/7 sales machine. Every second we put into improving it is a second invested in an automated money machine.

Learning how to perfect your product descriptions—and your product pages—is one of the ways you can get a bigger ROI from your business.

Ready to learn more? Check out these other guides:

  • 21 Writing Tips to Become a Better Writer Fast
  • E-commerce SEO: The Beginner’s Guide
  • The Three Most Important Ecommerce Success Factors

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Master List for Describing Weather

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain

A lot of writers struggle with describing settings. I’ve written before about how to describe settings and why it matters , but a few people have told me they’d like me to do some of my master lists for writers to help them out!

I have a weird love for creating lists like this, so I’m happy to do it. “How to describe weather” seemed like a good place to start. This way, you won’t get stuck trying to figure out how to describe nice weather, or thinking up ways to describe rain. Hopefully, this will make your writing go faster.

I always include simple as well as more creative ways to describe or write about weather. Sometimes, the simple word is the one you want! I included dryness and humidity in a few of the categories because it felt weird for them to get their own.

As always, this is not a comprehensive list, and I might add to it. My list will probably make you think of other possibilities, too. Bookmark or pin it for future writing reference!

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain

HOT WEATHER 

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

blazing sunshine

glaring sun

baking in the sun

sun-drenched

scorching heat

extravagant heat

relentless sun

like a suana

dense tropical heat

radiating heat

blistering heat

oppressive heat

insufferable heat

suffocating heat

heat pressing down

searing sun

shimmering heat

like an oven

like a furnace

WARM / PLEASANT WEATHER

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

(“Pleasant” is a matter of opinion, of course.)

a beautiful day

a clear day

a temperate day

a golden day

a glorious day

heavenly weather

bright and sunny

a gorgeous spring day

a dazzling summer day

a brilliant autumn day

a vivid blue sky

a cloudless sky

fluffy white clouds

gentle sunshine

lazy sunshine

kind sunshine

filtered sunlight

dappled sunlight

welcome warmth

one of those rare, perfect days

the kind of day that made people forget to worry

the kind of day that lifted people’s moods

COOL WEATHER

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

refreshing air

stimulating cool air

invigorating cool air

bracing cool air

a nip in the air

a brisk day

a chilly day

weak sunshine

GRAY / OVERCAST WEATHER

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

(Most people don’t like gray days, so most of these descriptions are negative. I love them, so I had to add a few positive descriptions.)

colorless sky

a soft gray sky

a dove-gray sky

a gray day made for books and tea

steel-gray sky

granite sky

cement-gray sky

threatening clouds

foreboding clouds

COLD WEATHER

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

glacial air

bitter cold

brutal cold

bone-chilling cold

penetrating cold

devastating cold

numbing cold

punishing cold

dangerous cold

unforgiving cold

too cold to talk

so cold it burned one’s lungs

so cold it took one’s breath away

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

like a blast from a hair dryer

a gust of wind

insistent winds

heavy winds

strong winds

cutting wind

whipping winds

biting wind

wintry squall

violent gale

howling wind

shifting winds

restless wind

fresh breeze

soft breeze

balmy breeze

perfumed breeze

slight breeze

hint of a breeze

stirring breeze

wind rustling through the trees

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

fine drizzle

gray drizzle

pebbles of falling rain

spitting rain

stinging rain

steady rain

rain falling in torrents

cascades of rain

rain beating down

shower of rain

sheets of rain

hard-driving rain

pelting rain

lashing rain

slashing rain

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

rumbling in the distance

a roll of distant thunder

crash of thunder

crackle of thunder

crack of thunder

clap of thunder

bang of thunder

booming thunder

rattled with thunder

earth-shaking thunder

tempestuous

a furious storm

flash of lightning

streaks of lightning

SNOW AND ICE

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

flurries of snow

dancing flakes

snowflakes floating down

snowflakes wafting down

swirling snow

falling thick and fast

big flakes falling like petals

blinding snowstorm

raging blizzard

sparkling expanses

blankets of white

caked with snow

boulders of snow

branches coated in ice

glittering ice

crystallized by frost

silvered with frost

MASTER LIST FOR DESCRIBING WEATHER for writers #how to describe weather conditions #how to describe weather in writing #how to describe nice weather #ways to describe rain #words to describe snow

clouds of mist

swirling mist

billowing fog

cloaked in mist

cocooned in fog

shrouded in fog

enveloped by fog

smothered by fog

made mysterious by fog

the fog rolled in

the fog was burning off

the fog was lifting

the fog was clearing

the fog was dissipating

I have many lists like this in my book  Master Lists for Writers: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More . Check it out!

Master Lists for Writers by Bryn Donovan

Do you describe weather conditions in your writing? Do you have a favorite example of a weather description? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

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Related Posts

How To Describe Settings – and Why It Matters #how to write more descriptively #how to describe scenery in writing #how to make a novel longer

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21 thoughts on “ master list for describing weather ”.

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In my current WIP, weather is a crucial element. Not only is the woman in the romance a professional photographer — of weather — but it is a weather phenomenon, namely a tornado, that brings them together. So the description of the sky and the weather is quite detailed in places (specially as the supercell storm roars down on them).

On another angle, the phrase “gloriously sunny” is one that despite having that horrible “ly” adverb (shudder) is so evocative of the type of weather and the POV character’s attitude (and possibly even the type of weather that has gone before), that it’s powerful. It says a huge amount with only two words.

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Hi Chris! Oh, wow…that’s a lot more detailed than most of us ever get in writing about the weather. It sounds like a great premise!

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I will need this list as I begin edits next month on my WIP. I currently live in Hawaii, but am writing a story at Christmas time in Vermont. 🙂 Thank you!

Aw, nice! That’s some very different weather from what you’re used to. 🙂

It really is! And traveling to the climate I need isn’t ideal right now. So, off to the freezer I go! 🙂

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Wow! This is fantastic. Thanks. You ARE a master at this.

  • Pingback: Master List for Describing Weather – Written By Bryn Donovan – Writer's Treasure Chest

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This is comprehensive! It’s bookmarked for future use. Thanks!

Thanks, Steve, I’m glad you liked it!

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Amazing list that goes beyond the words that I struggle with – especially describing the rain-painted setting of Snowdonia.

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Love your lists. You don’t have one for beaches by any chance? Would this, including the weather be another book by any chance??

Hi, Nicole! It’s funny you should ask. 🙂 I am going to release a second, more expanded version of MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS . It’s going to have several setting descriptions in there (including a whole list for beaches!), and the weather list will be in there, too! I’m hoping to get it done before November of this year, but we’ll see. Thanks for asking!

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That’s awesome and look forward to it’s release.

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I am in Chinan. I happened to enter this web-link and want to learn more about writing, I wonder if there are any descriptive passages. I can only find some words and expressions…

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That was really useful. Thank you!

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This list is fabulous. Thank you for sharing it. I will be consulting it when incorporating weather elements into writing my next picture book.

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creative ways to write description

  • September 20, 2022
  • ecommerce , Ecommerce Marketing , ecommerce sales , marketing your ecommerce product , Small business marketing

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9 Effortless Ways to Write Creative Product Descriptions That Sell

creative ways to write description

The first contact any potential customer has with a product is the description. It’s hard to oversell how significant good product descriptions are for an eCommerce business.

Without a physical product to pick up and look at, the product will not fully exist in the mind of the potential shopper. All they have to engage with and be won over by are some words and images on a screen.

Creative product descriptions must work hard to paint an enticing picture and accurately describe the product features. When it comes to achieving conversions – getting a browser to become a buyer and clicking that vital ‘add to cart’ button – great product descriptions are like having a power dialer to communicate directly with your consumer base. 

Knowing how crucial creative product descriptions are is one thing, but how does an online business ensure their product descriptions are the best they can be?

Here are nine key areas to cover to take the effort out of writing creative product descriptions.

1. Know Your Customers

Knowing your target customers is the first step in creating great product descriptions. It might sound counterintuitive to begin with customers rather than the product itself. But before you can set the tone and style, you need to get a handle on the buyer persona.

It is as important as having content to fit your audience when dealing with your website and marketing tactics. To make sure you know what your customers want, you should know who they are first.

Tracking how customers arrive at your website, what background and age group they might belong to, and what their interests and needs are likely to be; will allow you to tailor how you present the product to those potential buyers.

creative ways to write description

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2. Sell the Benefits

Customers are looking for products that fulfill a need or fix a problem. If you bear this in mind, then you’ll see immediately which features will interest them. But describing every aspect of the specifications can be off-putting. Keep to the qualities your product has that will benefit your customer.

It is basically an extension of thinking about how the product fits the market . So, go back to your marketing plan and team. What are the main selling points of the item? How do these categorically match what you understand of your consumer base’s needs?

For example, if you are selling a mini refrigerator – of course, its power, materials, and design are important – but it is probably of more interest to a customer that it fits under a desk and that it holds 12 cans of cola.

Make a list of the key features that customers are most likely to care about. Describe your product in these terms.

3. Cut the Jargon

While manufacturers’ descriptions have all the specs on your product, it is not a great look to overly rely on their jargon and word choice. As with business text messaging , you want clarity and economy of communication; wordy descriptions can hide the product benefits and features.

Another reason for not including too much of the manufacturer’s information is that you may not be the only online firm selling a particular product. You want to make your company stand out. Surprisingly, although customers might see the same product on various sites, clear, well-written product descriptions can help sway customer opinion and encourage them to choose your company to supply what they need.

It’s wise to check how your competitors have described the same or similar products. Imagine you are a customer; ask yourself which technical words or phrases are jarring or hard to understand? Can you think of a better way of outlining the product’s key features and benefits?

creative ways to write description

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4. Powerful but Natural Language

Getting an emotional response is a sure way to pique interest and make a product attractive. Make sure you choose powerful language; this does not mean exaggerated or overblown. Describing every product as the best or biggest, or most luxurious can be grating and tends to create disbelief in your audience. People know when they are being given a hard sell.

Be clear but subtle in your language choice. Maybe there is a better way of saying that something is value for money or user-friendly. Be wary of overused words and try to choose something more natural but no less impactful.

In short, word choice matters with product descriptions as much as product names and domains; just look at domain names Australia .

5. All the Senses

Think about the senses a customer might use in reality to choose a product. Your online customers can’t pick up your products, so it is very important to replicate these sensory experiences in your product description. 

Consider the product’s texture, taste, smell, sound, and visual qualities. Choose adjectives that paint a sensory picture, and allow your customers to ‘virtually’ hold the product in their hands.

Of course, you don’t want to get carried away with flowery descriptions, which would force customers to search out the facts. But a few well-chosen adjectives can engage a customer’s senses and make them far more likely to make a purchase.

creative ways to write description

6. Tell a Story

Creative product descriptions are about telling stories, very short stories, but stories nonetheless. By ‘story’ we do not mean paragraphs of narrative, it’s just a way of adding an attractive element to the information. The story might be woven between the facts to bring them to life or be a separate, mini element. It might consist of information about where the product came from, who invented it, or was inspired to create it.

Stories can also be images or descriptions that show the customer what it might be like to own the product; how it might look in their office, home, or garden.

As with your choice of language, stories are important for grabbing the emotions and attention of your customer.

7. Scannable

In writing your beautifully crafted product description, it’s worth bearing in mind how short the human attention span is, especially when reading text. For this reason, it is even more imperative to grab your customers’ attention from the get-go.

Keep key parts of your description short and sweet, and make them stand out. If you want to direct customers to a digital catalog where more products can be viewed, make that link clear and easy to click on.

Most of us scan text to find the information we want. For this reason, it is very important to make your product description clear and easy to digest in its layout and choice of font. Bullet points and words in bold help a reader take in the text quickly. Large chunks of text, however well-written, can make them switch off.

creative ways to write description

8. Write For Humans, but Include SEO

As we’ve seen, keeping your customer in mind as you compose creative product descriptions is the key to staying on track and including the right language to steer consumers to conversions and sales. But of course, optimizing your content for search engines using keywords is also important.

The key tip here is to appeal to those search engines without turning off your human target customer.

It’s a good idea to check the keywords used by your competitors, as well—using online tools to identify those favored in searches. It’s best to have the main keyword in your product title as this boosts your product visibility.

But never be tempted to cram in the keywords at the expense of a good product description. Remember; keywords help your consumer find your product, but they do not necessarily make the product description easier to digest.

creative ways to write description

9. Quality Images

We have talked a lot about text, but alongside any successful creative product description is a quality image or images. Being able to see the product is key for most consumers. The trick, however, is to make your images as strong as your text; otherwise, you risk that they detract from rather than enhance your description. 

The chances of ecommerce business success are greatly increased if your product descriptions look and sound good. Make sure your images show any key features clearly and help tell the story of your product.

Be Creative, Convincing, and Clear

Getting your prospective customer to click the purchase button is like getting a client to sign on the dotted line, physically or via docusign alternatives .

It can be a hard-won result, however great your products are. Your website and products are competing with an ocean of similar online businesses, all shouting for the attention of consumers. Getting traffic to your site is the first hurdle, you don’t want to fall at the next by having product descriptions that don’t do your products justice.

Remember, you are talking to a human being, but don’t neglect SEO. Tell a story and appeal to the senses; sell the benefits, but don’t hard sell. But most of all, to make your product descriptions shine: be creative, be clear, and you will convince your customers to choose your products.

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Describing Sadness in Creative Writing: 33 Ways to Capture the Blues

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on August 25, 2023

Categories Creative Writing , Writing

Describing sadness in creative writing can be a challenging task for any writer.

Sadness is an emotion that can be felt in different ways, and it’s important to be able to convey it in a way that is authentic and relatable to readers. Whether you’re writing a novel, short story, or even a poem, the ability to describe sadness can make or break a story.

Understanding sadness in writing is essential to creating a believable character or scene. Sadness is a complex emotion that can be caused by a variety of factors, such as loss, disappointment, or loneliness. It’s important to consider the context in which the sadness is occurring, as this can influence the way it is expressed.

By exploring the emotional spectrum of characters and the physical manifestations of sadness, writers can create a more authentic portrayal of the emotion.

In this article, we will explore the different ways to describe sadness in creative writing. We will discuss the emotional spectrum of characters, the physical manifestations of sadness, and the language and dialogue used to express it. We’ll also look at expert views on emotion and provide unique examples of describing sadness.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a better understanding of how to authentically convey sadness in your writing.

Key Takeaways

  • Understanding the emotional spectrum of characters is essential to creating a believable portrayal of sadness.
  • Physical manifestations of sadness can be used to convey the emotion in a more authentic way.
  • Authenticity in describing sadness can be achieved through language and dialogue, as well as expert views on emotion.

33 Ways to Express Sadness in Creative Writing

Let’s start with some concrete examples of sadness metaphors and similes:

Here are 33 ways to express sadness in creative writing:

  • A heavy sigh escaped her lips as a tear rolled down her cheek.
  • His eyes glistened with unleashed tears that he quickly blinked away.
  • Her heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold, metal fist.
  • A profound emptiness opened up inside him, threatening to swallow him whole.
  • An avalanche of sorrow crashed over her without warning.
  • His spirit sank like a stone in water.
  • A dark cloud of grief descended on her.
  • Waves of sadness washed over him, pulling him under.
  • She felt like she was drowning in an ocean of melancholy.
  • His eyes darkened with sadness like a gathering storm.
  • Grief enveloped her like a wet blanket, heavy and smothering.
  • The light in his eyes dimmed to a flicker behind tears.
  • Sadness seeped through her veins like icy slush.
  • The corners of his mouth drooped like a wilting flower.
  • Her breath came in short, ragged gasps between sobs.
  • A profound melancholy oozed from his pores.
  • The weight of despair crushed her like a vice.
  • A haunted, hollow look glazed over his eyes.
  • An invisible hand squeezed her heart, wringing out all joy.
  • His soul curdled like spoiled milk.
  • A silent scream lodged in her throat.
  • He was consumed by a fathomless gloom.
  • Sorrow pulsed through her veins with every beat of her heart.
  • Grief blanketed him like new-fallen snow, numbing and icy.
  • Tears stung her eyes like shards of glass.
  • A cold, dark abyss of sadness swallowed him.
  • Melancholy seeped from her like rain from a leaky roof.
  • His spirit shriveled and sank like a deflating balloon.
  • A sick, hollow ache blossomed inside her.
  • Rivulets of anguish trickled down his cheeks.
  • Sadness smothered her like a poisonous fog.
  • Gloom settled on his shoulders like a black shroud.
  • Her sorrow poured out in a river of tears.

Understanding Sadness in Writing

Describing sadness in writing can be a challenging task.

Sadness is a complex emotion that can manifest in different ways. It can be expressed through tears, sighs, silence, or even a simple change in posture. As a writer, you need to be able to convey sadness effectively to your readers, while also avoiding cliches and melodrama.

One way to approach describing sadness is to focus on the physical sensations and reactions that accompany it. For example, you might describe the feeling of a lump in your throat, or the tightness in your chest. You could also describe the way your eyes become watery, or the way your hands tremble.

These physical descriptions can help your readers to empathize with your characters and feel the same emotions.

Another important aspect of describing sadness is the tone of your writing. You want to strike a balance between conveying the depth of the emotion and avoiding excessive sentimentality.

One way to achieve this is to use simple, direct language that conveys the emotion without resorting to flowery language or overwrought metaphors.

When describing sadness, it’s also important to consider the context in which it occurs. Sadness can be a response to many different situations, such as loss, disappointment, or rejection. It can also be accompanied by other emotions, such as anger, confusion, or melancholy.

By considering the context and accompanying emotions, you can create a more nuanced and realistic portrayal of sadness in your writing.

Finally, it can be helpful to draw on examples of how other writers have successfully described sadness. By studying the techniques and descriptions used by other writers, you can gain a better understanding of how to effectively convey sadness in your own writing.

In conclusion, describing sadness in writing requires a careful balance of physical descriptions, tone, context, and examples. By focusing on these elements, you can create a more nuanced and effective portrayal of this complex emotion.

Emotional Spectrum in Characters

In creative writing, it’s important to create characters that are multi-dimensional and have a wide range of emotions. When it comes to describing sadness, it’s essential to understand the emotional spectrum of characters and how they respond to different situations.

Characters can experience a variety of emotions, including love, happiness, surprise, anger, fear, nervousness, and more.

Each character has a unique personality that influences their emotional responses. For example, a protagonist might respond to sadness with a broken heart, dismay, or feeling desolate.

On the other hand, a character might respond with anger, contempt, or apathy.

When describing sadness, it’s important to consider the emotional response of the character. For example, a haunted character might respond to sadness with exhaustion or a sense of being drained. A crestfallen character might respond with a sense of defeat or disappointment.

It’s also important to consider how sadness affects the character’s personality. Some characters might become withdrawn or depressed, while others might become more emotional or volatile. When describing sadness, it’s important to show how it affects the character’s behavior and interactions with others.

Overall, the emotional spectrum of characters is an important aspect of creative writing. By understanding how characters respond to different emotions, you can create more realistic and relatable characters. When describing sadness, it’s important to consider the character’s emotional response, personality, and behavior.

Physical Manifestations of Sadness

When you’re feeling sad, it’s not just an emotion that you experience mentally. It can also manifest physically. Here are some physical manifestations of sadness that you can use in your creative writing to make your characters more believable.

Tears are one of the most common physical manifestations of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, your eyes may start to water, and tears may fall down your cheeks. Tears can be used to show that a character is feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

Crying is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may cry. Crying can be used to show that a character is feeling deeply hurt or upset.

Numbness is a physical sensation that can accompany sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may feel emotionally numb. This can be used to show that a character is feeling disconnected from their emotions.

Facial Expressions

Facial expressions can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, your face may droop, and your eyes may look downcast. This can be used to show that a character is feeling down or depressed.

Gestures can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may slump your shoulders or hang your head. This can be used to show that a character is feeling defeated or hopeless.

Body Language

Body language can also be used to show sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may cross your arms or hunch over. This can be used to show that a character is feeling closed off or defensive.

Cold and Heat

Sadness can also affect your body temperature. When you’re feeling sad, you may feel cold or hot. This can be used to show that a character is feeling uncomfortable or out of place.

Sobbing is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may sob uncontrollably. This can be used to show that a character is feeling overwhelmed with emotion.

Sweating is another physical manifestation of sadness. When you’re feeling sad, you may sweat profusely. This can be used to show that a character is feeling anxious or nervous.

By using these physical manifestations of sadness in your writing, you can make your characters more realistic and relatable. Remember to use them sparingly and only when they are relevant to the story.

Authenticity in Describing Sadness

When it comes to describing sadness in creative writing, authenticity is key. Readers can tell when an author is not being genuine, and it can make the story feel less impactful. In order to authentically describe sadness, it’s important to tap into your own emotions and experiences.

Think about a time when you felt truly sad. What did it feel like? What physical sensations did you experience? How did your thoughts and emotions change? By tapping into your own experiences, you can better convey the emotions of your characters.

It’s also important to remember that sadness can manifest in different ways for different people. Some people may cry, while others may become withdrawn or angry. By understanding the unique ways that sadness can present itself, you can create more authentic and realistic characters.

If you’re struggling to authentically describe sadness, consider talking to a loved one or best friend about their experiences. Hearing firsthand accounts can help you better understand the nuances of the emotion.

Ultimately, the key to authentically describing sadness is to approach it with empathy and understanding. By putting yourself in the shoes of your characters and readers, you can create a powerful and impactful story that resonates with your audience.

Language and Dialogue in Expressing Sadness

When writing about sadness, the language you use can make a big difference in how your readers will perceive the emotions of your characters.

Consider using metaphors and similes to create vivid images that will help your readers connect with the emotions of your characters.

For example, you might describe the sadness as a heavy weight on the character’s chest or a dark cloud hanging over their head.

In addition to using metaphors, you can also use adjectives to describe the character’s emotions. Be careful not to overuse adjectives, as this can detract from the impact of your writing. Instead, choose a few powerful adjectives that will help your readers understand the depth of the character’s sadness.

For example, you might describe the sadness as overwhelming, suffocating, or unbearable.

When it comes to dialogue, it’s important to remember that people don’t always express their emotions directly. In fact, sometimes what isn’t said is just as important as what is said.

Consider using subtext to convey the character’s sadness indirectly. For example, a character might say “I’m fine,” when in reality they are struggling with intense sadness.

Another way to use dialogue to convey sadness is through the use of behaviors. For example, a character might withdraw from social situations, stop eating or sleeping properly, or engage in self-destructive behaviors as a result of their sadness.

By showing these behaviors, you can help your readers understand the depth of the character’s emotions.

Finally, when describing sadness, it’s important to consider the overall mood of the scene. Use sensory details to create a somber atmosphere that will help your readers connect with the emotions of your characters.

For example, you might describe the rain falling heavily outside, the silence of an empty room, or the dim lighting of a funeral home.

Overall, when writing about sadness, it’s important to choose your words carefully and use a variety of techniques to convey the depth of your character’s emotions.

By using metaphors, adjectives, dialogue, behaviors, and sensory details, you can create a powerful and emotionally resonant story that will stay with your readers long after they’ve finished reading.

Expert Views on Emotion

When it comes to writing about emotions, it’s important to have a deep understanding of how they work and how they can be conveyed effectively through writing. Here are some expert views on emotion that can help you write about sadness in a more effective and engaging way.

Dr. Paul Ekman

Dr. Paul Ekman is a renowned psychologist who has spent decades studying emotions and their expressions. According to Dr. Ekman, there are six basic emotions that are universally recognized across cultures: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust.

When it comes to writing about sadness, Dr. Ekman suggests focusing on the physical sensations that accompany the emotion.

For example, you might describe the heaviness in your chest, the lump in your throat, or the tears that well up in your eyes. By focusing on these physical sensations, you can help your readers connect with the emotion on a deeper level.

While sadness is often seen as a “negative” emotion, it’s important to remember that all emotions have their place in creative writing. Disgust, for example, can be a powerful tool for conveying a character’s revulsion or aversion to something.

When writing about disgust, it’s important to be specific about what is causing the emotion. For example, you might describe the smell of rotting garbage, the sight of maggots wriggling in a pile of food, or the texture of slimy, raw meat.

By being specific, you can help your readers feel the full force of the emotion and understand why your character is feeling it.

Overall, when it comes to writing about emotions, it’s important to be both specific and authentic. By drawing on your own experiences and using concrete details to describe the physical sensations and causes of emotions, you can create a more engaging and emotionally resonant piece of writing.

Unique Examples of Describing Sadness

When it comes to describing sadness in creative writing, there are many unique ways to convey this emotion to your readers. Here are some examples that can help you create a powerful and moving scene:

  • The crying scene : One of the most common ways to show sadness is through tears. However, instead of just saying “she cried,” try to describe the crying scene in detail. For instance, you could describe how her tears fell like raindrops on the floor, or how her sobs shook her body like a violent storm. This will help your readers visualize the scene and feel the character’s pain.
  • The socks : Another way to show sadness is through symbolism. For example, you could describe how the character is wearing mismatched socks, which represents how her life is falling apart and nothing seems to fit together anymore. This can be a subtle yet effective way to convey sadness without being too obvious.
  • John : If your character is named John, you can use his name to create a sense of melancholy. For example, you could describe how the raindrops fell on John’s shoulders, weighing him down like the burdens of his life. This can be a creative way to convey sadness while also adding depth to your character.

Remember, when describing sadness in creative writing, it’s important to be specific and use vivid language. This will help your readers connect with your character on a deeper level and feel their pain.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some effective ways to describe a person’s sadness without using the word ‘sad’.

When describing sadness, it’s important to avoid using the word “sad” as it can come across as cliché and lackluster. Instead, try using more descriptive words that evoke a sense of sadness in the reader. For example, you could use words like “heartbroken,” “bereft,” “devastated,” “despondent,” or “forlorn.” These words help to create a more vivid and emotional description of sadness that readers can connect with.

How can you describe the physical manifestations of sadness on a person’s face?

When describing the physical manifestations of sadness on a person’s face, it’s important to pay attention to the small details. For example, you could describe the way their eyes become red and swollen from crying, or how their mouth trembles as they try to hold back tears. You could also describe the way their shoulders slump or how they withdraw into themselves. By focusing on these small but telling details, you can create a more realistic and relatable portrayal of sadness.

What are some examples of using metaphor and simile to convey sadness in creative writing?

Metaphors and similes can be powerful tools for conveying sadness in creative writing. For example, you could compare a person’s sadness to a heavy weight that they’re carrying on their shoulders, or to a storm cloud that follows them wherever they go. You could also use metaphors and similes to describe the way sadness feels, such as a “gnawing ache” in the pit of their stomach or a “cold, empty void” inside their chest.

How can you effectively convey the emotional weight of sadness through dialogue?

When writing dialogue for a character who is experiencing sadness, it’s important to focus on the emotions and feelings that they’re experiencing. Use short, simple sentences to convey the character’s sadness, and avoid using overly complex language or metaphors. You could also use pauses and silences to create a sense of emotional weight and tension in the scene.

What are some techniques for describing a character’s inner sadness in a way that is relatable to the reader?

One effective technique for describing a character’s inner sadness is to focus on their thoughts and feelings. Use introspection to delve into the character’s emotions and describe how they’re feeling in a way that is relatable to the reader. You could also use flashbacks or memories to show why the character is feeling sad, and how it’s affecting their current actions and decisions.

How can you use sensory language to create a vivid portrayal of sadness in a poem or story?

Sensory language is an effective way to create a vivid portrayal of sadness in a poem or story. Use descriptive words that evoke the senses, such as the smell of rain on a sad day or the sound of a distant train whistle. You could also use sensory language to describe the physical sensations of sadness, such as the weight of a heavy heart or the taste of tears on the tongue. By using sensory language, you can create a more immersive and emotional reading experience for your audience.

English Department

Pic of Bellingham Bay at sunset.

Spring 2024 Course Descriptions

Table of contents, 100-level english courses.

  • ENG 101 Writing Your Way Through WWU

200-Level English Courses

  • ENG 201 Writing in Humanities
  • ENG 202 Writing About Literature
  • ENG 215 British Literature
  • ENG 216 American Literature
  • ENG 227 Queer Literature

300-Level English Courses

  • ENG 301 Writing & The Public
  • ENG 302 Technical Writing
  • ENG 307 Seminar: Medieval
  • ENG 308 Seminar: Early Modern
  • ENG 309 Seminar: The Long 18th Century
  • ENG 310 Seminar: The Long 19th Century
  • ENG 311 Seminar: The 20-21st Century
  • ENG 313 Critical Theories: Prac I
  • ENG 314 Critical Theories Prac II
  • ENG 317 Survey: Medieval
  • ENG 318 Survey: Early Modern
  • ENG 319 Survey: The Long 18th Century
  • ENG 321 Survey: The 20-21st Century
  • ENG 334 Texts Across North America and Europe
  • ENG 335 Texts Across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America
  • ENG 338 Women's Lit Across N America and Europe
  • ENG 342 Studies in Literary Genres
  • ENG 347 Studies in Young Adult Lit
  • ENG 350 Intro to Creative Writing
  • ENG 351 Intro to Fiction Writing
  • ENG 353 Intro to Poetry Writing
  • ENG 354 Intro to Creative Nonfict Writ
  • ENG 364 Intro to Film Studies
  • ENG 365 Topics in Film History
  • ENG 385 Sustainability Literacy II

400-Level English Courses

  • ENG 401 Sr Writing Studies/Rhet Seminar
  • ENG 406 Topics: Critical/Culturl Theory
  • ENG 410 Lit Hist:
  • ENG 418 Sr Sem: Post-9/11 Literature
  • ENG 418 Sr Sem: Literary Time
  • ENG 423 Maj Auth
  • ENG 441 Language & the Sec Classroom
  • ENG 443 Teaching Eng Lang Arts in Sec Sch I
  • ENG 444 Teaching Eng Lang Art in Sec Sch II
  • ENG 451 Creative Wrtng Seminar: Fiction
  • ENG 453 Creative Wrtng Seminar: Poetry
  • ENG 454 Creative Wrtng Seminar: Nonfiction
  • ENG 459 Editing and Publishing
  • ENG 460 Multi-Genre Wrtng
  • ENG 462 Professional Wrtg
  • ENG 464 Topics in Film Studies
  • ENG 466 Screenwriting
  • ENG 497D Disability and Literature

Graduate English Courses

  • ENG 504 Seminar in Writing Poetry
  • ENG 505 Seminar in Writing Nonfiction
  • ENG 509 Intrnship in Writ, Edit & Prod
  • ENG 550 Studies in American Literature
  • ENG 560 Studies in British Literature
  • ENG 594 Practicum in Teaching
  • ENG 597 MA Capstone Seminar
  • ENG 598 Seminar Teaching English
  • ENG 690 Thesis Writing

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ENG 101 Writing Your Way Through WWU 5cr

View CRNs and DAY/TIMEs on Browse Classes in Web4U.

Prerequisites Notes: May not be taken concurrently with ENG 100. GUR: ACOM.

A writing course designed to prepare students for college-level creative, critical, and reflective writing. Because writing looks and works differently in different contexts, this course teaches the rhetorical competencies that students need to write across multiple disciplines. The course introduces students both to the processes of building and analyzing ideas, and to ways of communicating those ideas in context-specific genres for targeted audiences. This course has the immediate goal of preparing students to succeed in their writing at Western, but it will also serve them personally and professionally. Students needing to satisfy Block A of the communications section of the General University Requirements, which ENG 101 does, are required to do so prior to completion of 45 credits. Students with a 4 or 5 AP score are encouraged to take this class so they can learn to adapt their test-taking skills to college coursework.

OVERRIDES / CAPACITY OVERRIDES ARE NEVER GRANTED FOR ENGLISH 101.

ENG 201 Writing in Humanities 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101 or 4/5 AP English Language Exam.  

CRN: 22076 DAY/TIME: MWF 08:30-09:50 am Instructor: Redwoman, Zoe

Advanced instruction and practice in writing using ideas, texts and questions from a specified topic in the humanities. Areas and focus vary with section.

ENG 202 Writing About Literature 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101. 

CRN: 20125 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Bridges, D'Angelo

In this course, students will learn strategies for the close reading of and writing about literary texts. We will primarily focus on works written by twentieth-century African American writers.   

CRN: 20240 DAY/TIME: MWF 11:30-12:50 pm Instructor: Forsythe, Jenny Marie

A writing course designed to help students develop the skills of close reading and careful analysis of literary texts, with particular attention to how language, style, and form contribute to a text’s social or political claims. Introduces students to the challenge of situating themselves in relation to a literary text and the critical conversation about that text, and crafting multi-draft critical essays with a focused, arguable thesis supported by thoughtful sequence of claims and carefully selected textual evidence.

CRN: 20654 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: Prichard, Tony

This course directs attention to where literature and madness overlap by examining texts that either include characters experiencing hallucinations or texts that claim to produce madness. We will inquire into the differences between madness, weirdness and that which is yet to be articulated and made habitual.

Required Texts • Clark, P. Djèlí. Ring Shout • Shadows of Carcosa: Tales of Cosmic Horror by Lovecraft, Chambers, Machen, Poe, and Other Masters of the Weird • A People’s Future of the United States • Solomon, Rivers & clipping. The Deep

CRN: 20660 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Bell, Michael Patrick

This section of English 202 involves critical inquiry into the literary effect of “speculative fiction,” which for our purposes we can define as the literatures of the imagination: fantasy, science-fiction, horror, alternate history. Such fiction has become arguably the dominant mode of contemporary narrative production, so there is rich opportunity to explore the power these literatures have had on history and culture. The specific forms we will study will of course include the written word, but because so much of our contemporary culture is expressed and reflected in the visual realm, we will be making constant connection to TV, film, comics, and game narratives in our inquiries.

All of our study will assume that whatever form it takes, fictional narrative has the power to construct and inform our worldly experience, even our reality. To sometimes great extent, we model our identities on literary stories, and build our perspectives from them. By making connection to our experiences and histories, stories illuminate the world, permitting us to see more texture and variety and possibility in our lives. Through intensive reading, discussion, activity, and writing we will further develop our ability to make meaning from the texts we study, focusing our analyses through formal critical practices as well as rigorous play and experimentation. You will emerge from the course a stronger analytic writer and reader with greater appreciation of the power of literature to bring you to deeper self-knowledge and increased awareness of a wider, richer, more complex world.

TEXTS: The Fifth Season, N.K Jemisin, This is How You Lose the Time War , Max Gladstone, A Dreamer’s Tales, Lord Dunsany, Palimpsest , Catherynne M. Valente, A Psalm for the Wild Built, Becky Chambers

ASSIGNMENTS: In addition to reading assignments and participation in class activities, requirements will comprise one formal analytical paper, several informal writing assignments, and a final project.

CRN: 20661 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Redwoman, Zoe

Crn: 21081 day/time: mwf 08:30-09:50 am instructor: wise, christopher.

Course Description In this course, we will analyze and interpret various literary genres, including poetry, plays, films, as well as literary fiction and nonfiction, with the goal of preparing students for advanced work in literary study, especially writing college-level essays in literary criticism. In addition to studying prominent works of literature, student papers may sometimes be workshopped in class.  

Course Requirements Students will be required to regularly attend class, perform all reading and film assignments, and turn in all formal and informal assignments. No laptops or cellphones are allowed in the classroom. Students are also required to bring writing paper and pens to class, as informal written assignments will often be turned in during class.   Students should come to class having already read the required literature and/or viewed required film listed on the course schedule. 

Writing Assignments [70% of grade]: Written assignments will include the following: (1) miscellaneous short story analyses; (2) miscellaneous poetry analyses; (3) translation exercises; (4) film analysis; (5) play analysis; (6) comparative formal paper on long narrative; (7) take-home final essay exam. Written assignments will comprise 70% of grade. There is not a set number of assignments we will perform, as the total number of writing assignments will depend upon how much we are able to accomplish during each class session; however, it is likely you will write approximately 5-7 different writing assignments that will be graded. An average will then be calculated based on these assignments to determine the 70% total average.  

In addition to formal and informal writing assignments, students will select one long narrative and be assigned to a group comprised of approximately 3 students. Students will then meet in groups outside of class to prepare oral reports on their assigned long narrative. More instructions about oral reports will be forthcoming; however, students will divide the tasks in preparation for reports of approximately 25-30 minutes total per group. Students will also each select a short poem to memorize and recite to the class from memory.  They will also write a brief essay on the poem that they have memorized that will be due the same day as their oral recitation.

Participation-Attendance [30% of grade] Attendance will be taken for every class session. Participation-attendance will comprise 30% of grade. Sometimes, ungraded in-class writing will be factored into your class participation grade, rather than your written assignments grade. Class participation grade will also include poetry recitations, group meetings in preparation for group reports, and the group reports on your selected long narrative. You cannot receive the full class participation grade without fully participating. Informal writing assignments submitted during class cannot be made up. 

Course Texts William Shakespeare, Hamlet James Joyce, Dubliners

CRN: 21822 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Rivera

“Books are a form of political action. Books are knowledge. Books are reflection. Books change your mind.” These words, voiced by Toni Morrison, whose work we will encounter this quarter, endow literature with a tremendous amount of value and power. Literature effects change, prompts reflection, and shapes minds. Yet how does it do this? What separates ‘literary’ texts – novels, short stories, poetry – from non-literary texts – instruction manuals, catalogs, hiking guidebooks? How does literature interact with the broader social, cultural, and political structures and systems that influence our daily lives? Why are some texts considered more beautiful than others? What makes some interpretations of literary texts stronger than others? In this class we will work together to answer these questions, or at least try to answer them, by examining literary texts across three distinct genres: short fiction, novels, and poetry. We will also center the work of Black writers in the United States, including Toni Morrison, Tracy K. Smith, Claudia Rankine, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. 

ENG 215 British Literature 5cr

Crn: 23923 day/time: mwf 01:00-02:20 pm instructor: amendt-raduege, amy michelle.

Analysis, interpretation and discussion of a range of texts in British literature with attention to cultural contexts.

ENG 216 American Literature 5cr

Crn: 23635 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: roach orduña, josé.

Fight the Power – Contemporary American Writers Take on the Empire

In this class we will read literary essays, short stories, and poems written by contemporary US-based authors that dare to take on the systems of oppression in force in this country. We will examine how they do this in ways particular to literary art, how language and form can come together as a weapon in the struggle for justice, how writers participate in social movements through their literary output. We will read writers who write from different vantage points in relation to the US empire, writers like Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, Kiese Laymon, Joe Bageant, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, Solmaz Sharif, and Javier Zamora among others. We will read supplementary texts that engage the social problematics our literary texts do. Much of our class will be lecture and discussion based, but we will also have plenty of in-class activities and group work. We will write reading reflections, do group presentations, take weekly quizzes, and take a short answer midterm and final exam.

ENG 227 Queer Literature 5cr

Crn: 23637 day/time: mwf 11:30-12:50 pm instructor: roach orduña, caitlin.

This course will serve as an introduction to contemporary American queer literature. In it, will examine a variety of contemporary works of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, graphic nonfiction, film, and photography. Among many questions we’ll investigate in this course, we will constantly ask: in what ways do queer authors, texts and narratives intersect with broader social, political, and cultural contexts, and how do they contribute to discussions of identity and power?

ENG 239 Latina/o Literatures 5cr

Crn: 23638 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: rivera, lysa.

Analysis, interpretation and discussion of a range of texts in English and in translation by Latina/o authors.

ENG 301 Wrtg Stds: 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101; junior status; or instructor permission. Major restrictions will be lifted on Thursday Feb 29 at 4:30pm.

CRN: 20072 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Redwoman, Zoe

Focuses on the composition, delivery, and public circulation of written texts in the era of digital communication technologies and practices in the personal, public, and/or academic spheres. Topics vary. Repeatable with different topics up to 10 credits, including original course.

ENG 302 Technical Writing 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101; junior standing. Major restrictions will be lifted on Thursday Feb 29 at 4:30pm.

CRN: 20135 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: McGuire, Simon Leonard

Students engage with the rhetorical and technical practices for creating artifacts that help people do things with technology, such as usability testing, screencasting, web authoring, document design, and information architecture. The course covers a variety of technical genres and focuses on the ethical and social implications of a technical writer's choices.

CRN: 20319 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Forsberg, Geri

English 302 is the English department’s introductory 300-level workshop course in technical writing. It is for juniors and seniors. It is a 5-credit writing proficiency course. English 302 emphasizes the writer-reader relationship in a variety of nonacademic writing situations. Students learn to identify their audience, develop objectives, organize the content of their documents and revise documents for readability. Students write and design a resume, letters, memos, a proposal, a formal report, an infographic, and a visual presentation. Students also learn to work in small breakout groups, collaborate on writing, and give peer feedback. The final project in this course is a professional portfolio which provides examples of your strongest work. When you have completed this course, you should be ready to write in the professional world.

CRN: 20378 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Forsberg, Geri

Crn: 20402 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: mcguire, simon leonard, crn: 20432 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: sarkar, rachel diane.

English 302 addresses the essential elements of technical writing—or writing in action. My underlying objective for English 302 is to explore the power of language to change people, events, and self. We’ll explore ways to use writing skills to accomplish personal, professional, and ideological goals. In the process, we’ll also consider the use of humor, empathy, ethics, and storytelling in technical writing.  

CRN: 20520 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: Bell, Michael Patrick

In this section of English 302 you’ll develop your skill in generating reader-centered documents that work: documents that do things as well as say things, performing specific functions for specific kinds of readers. Given that so much of our culture now communicates and conducts its business in the visual realm, your work in the course will be focused as much on document design as written language. Through this work you will gain an understanding of how all the elements of a document work together to communicate within specific contexts, for specific audiences.   

English 302 is not simply a skills-acquisition course however. We will use technical communication as a field in which to conduct analytic inquiry appropriate to study in the humanities. This quarter the analytic component of the course will take us into a study of games and the culture surrounding them: both table-top and video games. As a student of the course, you will be collaborating with other students on a series of documents, presentations, and prototypes leading to the development of an original tabletop game. The design of your game will be based in part on contemporary game studies and critiques. Every stage of this inquiry will generate documents in accord with the guidelines of effective technical and professional communication. (And yes, we will be playing games in class!)   

You will emerge from the course with the ability to respond effectively to the requirements of technical communication. You will also have a complex understanding of what is becoming a vital aspect of our contemporary culture.   

ENG 307 Seminar: Medieval 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202. Major restrictions lift for Creative Writing Majors (without an endorsement) on Monday Mar 4 by 10am. All major restrictions will be lifted on Tuesday Mar 5 by 10am.

CRN: 22354 DAY/TIME: MWF 08:30-09:50 am Instructor: Amendt-Raduege, Amy Michelle

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 307 if you have taken ENG 307 or ENG 317.

The Middle Ages spanned 1000 years of some of the most dynamic and fascinating growth in world history.  In this iteration of the class, we focus on the literature and culture of England, but this tiny island offers us a microcosm of the  medieval period at large.  We wrestle with ideas of kingship and heroism with Beowulf, watch the rise and fall of nations with Gildas and Bede,  struggle with the purpose of life with the Wanderer and the Seafarer, and laugh at the double meanings of riddles.  We’ll also experience tangible aspects of the period in the form of physical artifacts:  you’ll get to touch a real medieval manuscript and even make your own masterpiece.  The wonders of the medieval world await.  

ENG 308 Seminar: Early Modern 5cr

Crn: 22078 day/time: mwf 10:00-11:20 am instructor: lester, mark m..

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. If you have taken ENG 308 or ENG 318, do not take ENG 308.

DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of 16th and 17th century fiction, poetry and drama focusing on the cultural significance of early modern representations of nature in general, and of the forest in particular. In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the forest is contrasted to the court and is said to have a great deal to teach us. The majority of the action of Loves’ Labours’ Lost takes place in the park surrounding the royal court. The manner in which such representations have shaped our relationship to the woods, our sense of our place in the world, will also be explored.

TEXTS: Norton Anthology of English Literature: vol b – 16th Century/Early 17th Century; Shakespeare: As You Like It and Love’s Labours’ Lost (Arden Shakespeare Editions). Additional materials will be distributed in class or posted on Canvas.

ENG 309 Seminar: The Long 18th Century 5cr

Crn: 21283 day/time: tr 02:00-03:50 pm instructor: loar, christopher f..

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 309 if you have already taken ENG 319 or 309.

The long eighteenth century in Great Britain used to be thought of as a time of religious reconciliation. After the bloody religious conflicts of the 1640s and 1650s—which claimed tens of thousands of lives--the decades that followed have often been seen as a time of reconciliation. In this course we’ll challenge that assumption: this period’s writing and thought are still characterized by a conflicts between competing versions of Christianity, as well as by emerging forms of religious skepticism (including both deism and outright atheism), as well as an ongoing interest in supposedly “exotic” religious practices and beliefs found in Asia and among indigenous peoples in the Americas and the Pacific.   

These topics were of course addressed in somewhat dry theological works and sermons. We’ll look at a few of those, but most of our attention will go to the vibrant works of poetry, fiction, and autobiography that characterize this period. While the reading list is still taking shape, we will certainly engage with writings by Aphra Behn, this period’s most prominent female playwright and poet; John Milton, John Dryden, Anne Finch, and Alexander Pope, brilliant and controversial poets whose writing struggled over the relationship between religious belief and political life; Olaudah Equiano, a formerly enslaved writer and political activist; and Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved poet whose writing challenged readers on both sides of the Atlantic.    

No special knowledge of Christianity or other religious traditions is needed for this course—lectures and readings will give you all the information you need. It should also be clear that no religious belief (or nonbelief) is expected, though respect for the beliefs of others in the classroom is of course a basic requirement of this course (as for any course at WWU).   

Course requirements will likely include regular engagement in class meetings; several informal response papers (2-3 paragraphs); and a longer culminating writing project.

ENG 310 Seminar: The Long 19th Century 5cr

Crn: 21284 day/time: tr 04:00-05:50 pm instructor: yeasting, jeanne ellen.

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 310 if you have already taken ENG 320 or 310.

A research and writing intensive course in the context of the literary history of the long nineteenth century. Students will develop the skills to research and write about literary texts and participate in the critical conversations about them. 

ENG 311 Seminar: The 20-21st Century 5cr

Crn: 21285 day/time: mwf 11:30-12:50 pm instructor: prichard, tony.

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 311 if you have already taken ENG 321 or 311.

A research and writing intensive course in the context of the literary history of the 20-21st century. Students will develop the skills to research and write about literary texts and participate in the critical conversations about them. 

ENG 313 Critical Theories & Prac I 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20073 DAY/TIME: MWF 02:30-03:50 pm Instructor: Lester, Mark M.

In this course, we will examine a series of questions concerning the nature, function, and value of literature. What is a work of literature? How does it work? What is if for? On what grounds should it be judged or assessed? Under what circumstances might it be censored? Should the literary work of art be conceived of strictly as an object of analysis (something to be interpreted and explained) or do works of literature themselves have a distinct, dynamic, critical and constructive dimension in their own right? What can we say about the authors and readers of literary works and the sort of knowledge to which they lay claim? Using Plato as the starting point of our survey of theory and criticism from ancient times through the Enlightenment, we will follow a number of trajectories or threads that will allow us to explore the intersections of literature, philosophy, politics, and science.  

Texts Vincent B. Leitch, et al. (ed.), The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, Third Edition); Benjamin Jowett (trans.), Selected Dialogues of Plato . Other materials will be made available on Canvas.

CRN: 23121 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Vulic, Kathryn Rajam

Course Description:  In this class we will explore and demystify some of the vocabularies and ideas that are the foundations of modern cultural thought and criticism. This course has some similarities with a philosophy class, because we are going to be exploring big and important concepts, breaking them down in our discussions to better understand them. But because this is an English class, we will be focusing our attention on how these ideas help us better understand language, literature, and other forms of human expression, and we will use these ideas for our own literary analysis and interpretation. ENG 313 and ENG 314 are organized in terms of time periods, so ENG 313 takes on the early history of the field, up to the 19th c. Theory classes can seem daunting to those who have never studied this kind of material before, so let me assure you: you can do this. You just need to be willing to engage with big ideas, to think about thinking, and to devote some time to learning unfamiliar terms and ways of expressing ideas. 

Class expectations: 

  • Consistent attendance, active engagement. We will be depending heavily on class conversation to help us work though and understand the texts.
  • Reading journal. I will ask you to keep a handwritten journal of your thoughts, questions, and reactions for each day’s text. (If you have a formal accommodation, we will discuss alternatives.)
  • Occasional in-class writing to review and reflect on the class texts.
  • One short paper (4-5 pages) drawing on one of our class theoretical texts to help you interpret a text of your choice.

Course Text:  The majority of our readings will be from The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism, 3rd edition, which is a fantastic resource for the history of ideas (use ISBN: 978-0-393-60295-1 to verify you have found the right edition). This can be an expensive book when bought new, but used copies are widely available, and you may also be able to check out a copy from the library (double-check the edition!). If cost is a barrier, let’s talk about options. 

ENG 314 Critical Theories & Prac II 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 22357 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Dietrich, Dawn Y.

Required Texts: The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism (3rd edition), Leitch, Cain, Finke, et al. Excerpts from A Critical and Cultural Theory Reader (2nd edition), Antony Easthope and Kate  McGowan (Canvas PDFs)

Course Description Want to think about how we construct identities? Why gender, sexuality, and race matter? Why texts are political? How capitalism, immigration, and climate change are related? How power is embedded within our institutions and practices? And how to create meaningful change within our communities and the broader world? This class will utilize critical and cultural theories to help us think about literary texts and methodologies--as well as engage the pressing issues of our day. We will do so through so a wide range of readings and examples from contemporary culture. 

The course will begin by providing an overview of structuralist and post-structuralist literary and critical theories, from Ferdinand de Saussure’s insights about language as a sign system to N. Katherine Hayles’ analysis of cognitive assemblages and Bruno Latour’s work on politics and climate change. We will engage a full range of readings and media selections from post-Marxism; new materialism/object-oriented ontology; eco-criticism/Anthropocene; feminism, gender and sexuality studies; disability studies; critical race theory; post-colonialism; and Indigenous knowledge systems. Course questions and themes will investigate the embodied perspectives we assume in the material world and how these perspectives shape our reading and writing practices as well as our behavior, generally.  The digital context in which we find ourselves necessitates our thinking about our relationship to “things” and “machines” as well as peoples and cultures.  And the current climate crisis requires us to think about the relationship of all systems and networks, including those involving non-human animals, geological processes, and inanimate objects. By the time you’ve completed this course, you will be able to identify the ideological perspectives and inherent biases embedded within texts, whether written, spoken (aural), or visual; and you will understand how to use critical thinking to inform your agency and advocacy in the larger, civic world.

Assignments Course work will include the assigned readings; class discussions and small group problem-solving; and multimodal blog writing.

Evaluation Course evaluation will be determined by writing critical/multimodal blogs, working with small group assignments, and engaging in workshops and peer response.

ENG 317 Survey: Medieval 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am.   

CRN: 22447 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: Vulic, Kathryn Rajam

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 317 if you have taken ENG 307 or ENG 317.

Analysis, interpretation and discussion of texts in English or in translation from the medieval period with an attention to literary history.

ENG 318 Survey: Early Modern 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 22359 DAY/TIME: MWF 08:30-09:50 am Instructor: Forsythe, Jenny Marie

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 318 if you have taken ENG 308 or ENG 318.

Analysis, interpretation and discussion of texts in English or in translation from the Early Modern period with an attention to literary history. 

ENG 319 Survey: The Long 18th Century 5cr

Crn: 21286 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: laffrado, laura.

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 319 if you have already taken ENG 309 or 319.

CONTENT: This courses focuses on the time period that scholars have recently named the long eighteenth century—that is, the era that extends from the late seventeenth century to the early nineteenth century. These are such dynamic years in the literature of what becomes the United States. We will read literary works by people of various races, ethnicities, religions, and economic positions that explore vital issues of the day such as liberty, literacy, revolution, and science. We will examine the various ways in which a dominant rich male Whiteness is challenged as America and American identities are formed and defined. 

ASSIGNMENTS: Two essay exams (a midterm and a final), a participation grade, and much reading, writing, and thinking, along with steady attendance, group work, and various out-of-class assignments.

TEXT: Norton Anthology of American Literature, Vol. A, Beginnings to 1865 ISBN 978-0-303-88617-7

ENG 321 Survey: The 20-21st Centuries 5cr

Crn: 23639 day/time: mwf 10:00-11:20 am instructor: roach orduña, caitlin.

The seminar and survey time periods are not repeatable. Do not take ENG 321 if you have taken ENG 311 or ENG 321.

Analysis, interpretation, and discussion of texts in English or in translation from the 20th-21st centuries with an attention to literary history. We will explore the ways in which writers have confronted social, political, and racial conflict in their work in order to examine how revolutionary identities form. 

ENG 334 TextsAcrossNAm&Eur: 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101 or equivalent.  

CRN: 21612 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Dietrich, Dawn Y.

Course Description This course will introduce you to the radical creativity of the Indie comix scene that largely originated in Seattle. Focusing on handmade comics and contemporary Indie presses, we will explore the intersectional themes of identity, community, and agency. Through our diverse range of texts, we will try to articulate and understand the strange, the beautiful, the complex, and the interesting . . . in these graphic narratives. The selected texts feature marginalized and under-represented characters and themes, including topics such as love and friendship (relationship building), depression, sexuality, resiliency, and loneliness/isolation. We will celebrate comix as a potentially queer space where openness, fluidity, and non-conformity represent textual strategies as well as characters’ identities. The themes in these writers’ works intersect and overlap with politics and rebellion while highlighting the complex ways in which individuals are situated in larger generational, regional, and national contexts. We will also study comix form and technique and you will have the opportunity to write about comix and create your own small comix in the course. No artistic experience or illustrating talent is required for the Studio Comix assignments. Students receive full credit for playing with the prompts! I invite you to share your favorite comix or web comix on the Canvas Graffiti Board throughout the quarter. *Please note: this class content contains adult language and themes.

Assignments and Evaluation You will have the opportunity to read fabulous graphic novels and learn about the Seattle art scene. Reading comics requires a knowledge of the artform and an introduction to technical aspects of graphic art, which is super fun and interesting in itself. You will have the opportunity to write multimodal blogs during the quarter as well as practice your own comic-making with Studio Comix exercises that come with full credit for completing the assignment! No artistic experience or illustrating talent is required. This seminar is geared for both literature and creative writing students as well as students in other majors who are interested in comix.

Required Texts

  • Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud (PDF available)
  • Comix Criticism (Selected PDFs available)
  • Comix Samples, Eroyn Franklin (in-class demonstration and online)
  • Skim, Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki
  • Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
  • Megahex, Simon Hanselmann
  • Hot Comb , Ebony Flowers
  • My Favorite Thing is Monsters (vol. 1), Emil Ferris
  • Sabrina , Nick Drnaso

ENG 335 Global Texts Outside N.Am&Eur: Global Horror 5cr

Crn: 22698 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: prichard, tony.

We will examine the literature of horror and the weird throughout the world.

Required Texts • Jenkins and Cagle eds, The Valancourt book of World Horror Stories Vols 1 and 2. • Vandermeer, Ann and Jeff ed. The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories

ENG 338 Women's Lit N Am and Europe 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 101  

CRN: 20388 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Giffen, Allison A.

This class will focus on Black and white American women writers, with a focus on the 19th century. At this time, large numbers of women began to self-consciously craft careers and literary identities as professional writers, and we will read their work in their historical and cultural context. Political, economic, and cultural forces profoundly affected the literary professionalization of American women writers: the Industrial Revolution gains momentum, the middle class begins to grow, literacy rates increase, and white middle-class women’s work becomes increasingly relegated to the home. We will consider how this context leads to a specifically racialized ideal of womanhood that becomes intimately associated with motherhood and domesticity. Finally, we will look to the strategies these women relied upon to participate in the more public work of reform, especially as it relates to slavery. Writers will include Ann Bradstreet, Phillis Wheatley, Emily Dickinson, Harriet Jacobs, Louisa May Alcott, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Lydia Maria Child, and Zorah Neal Hurston. 

ENG 342 Studies in Literary Genres 5cr

Crn: 22079 day/time: mwf 01:00-02:20 pm instructor: roach orduña, caitlin.

Studies in literature from the perspective of genre and of topics in particular literary genres.

ENG 347 Studies in Young Adult Lit 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202 or instructor permission. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20366 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Hardman, Pam

In this course we’ll read a diverse array of texts written for young adults. These books all address complex notions about identity, power, race, sexuality, gender, class, love, and voice. We’ll explore the texts from a variety of angles, asking questions of the texts themselves and readers’ responses to the texts. In addition to exploring the books, we’ll think about the histories of childhood and adolescence, and how youth culture is represented.  We’ll address issues of consumerism, popular culture, and technology, looking at their effects on this genre of literature and its target audience. You should expect much intensive reading and lively discussion.

TEXTS:  may include: Trung Le Nguyen, The Magic Fish ; Isabel Quintero, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces ; Andrea Rogers, Man Made Monsters ; Neal Shusterman, Challenger Deep ; Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam, Punching the Air.

ASSIGNMENTS: Reading responses; discussion questions; culminating mixed-media project

ENG 350 Intro to Creative Writing 5cr

Crn: 20136 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: gulyas, lee r..

This course will introduce you to the process of writing—the reading, drafting, craft elements, analysis, extensive revision, focus, and discipline that are essential. You will explore, develop, rethink, and revise with the final goal of a portfolio of creative work. This is a skills class, one that will require practice and participation. We will work in fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry.

Assignments include: exercises, readings, analysis, discussions on a variety of topics, and extensive revision of your own drafts into your final portfolio, held together by an analytical discussion.

COURSE GOALS You will practice reading published work as a writer.

You will work with craft elements and literary techniques in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, and read examples from a variety of authors, perspectives, genres, and forms.

You will experiment and take risks to create drafts, then cut, hone, and explore possibilities through revision.

You will actively work to increase your knowledge and skills, aim for professional standards, participate effectively in our writing community through discussion, develop useful feedback, work with revision and deadlines, and locate resources and opportunities both in and out of our classroom.

CRN: 20438 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Pagh, Nancy

In this section of Introduction to Creative Writing we will examine and practice the fundamentals of craft:  imagery and figurative language; sound; character and setting; voice and perspective; form and structure.  We will focus on “close reading” of model poetry and prose; brainstorm creative expression and response; draft poems, stories, and creative nonfiction personal essays; share some of these projects with peers; and revise selected works--learning how to communicate about and make practical use of feedback on drafts.  Evaluation will be based on completion of a sequence of activities and full participation in the class.

Required Textbook:  Write Moves: A Creative Writing Guide & Anthology 

CRN: 21421 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Pagh, Nancy

Crn: 22360 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: everyhope-roser, jemma.

What does “write what you know” mean? How do we write what we know when we’re writing a novel about a demonically infested high school, a poem about environmental policy, a memoir that includes our grandmother’s immigration story, a game about fighting alien world conquest, or... anything else, really? Our real lives are filled with tedious waits in grocery store lines, frightening and sudden visits to the ER, long shifts at work, vibrant dreams that make no sense when retold, and anecdotes about our friends that are only funny if you were there.  

In this Introduction to Creative Writing course, you’ll learn the foundations of creating memoir/essays, poems, and short stories. In our observation journals, we’ll make brief daily entries to learn how to draw on real-world details like sensory information, voice, character, and setting in our creative work. Each week, you’ll read and analyze a creative work, learning how to read like a writer. We’ll also write a reading response to a craft essay to situate our classwork within a larger writing community. You will write one story, one poem, and one essay and select one of these pieces to workshop in class. We’ll write feedback letters and revise in class. Through in-class writing, we’ll explore idea generation, tropes, and stylistic conventions. For our final project, I’ll work with you to create an individual work of creative written art that reflects your goals as an aspiring writer.  

CRN: 22361 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Winrock, Cori Anne

Examines the fundamentals of at least two genres, such as fiction, nonfiction, playwriting, or poetry. The course will include both lectures, focused on model texts, and workshop-style discussions, focused on student work.

ENG 351 Intro to Fiction Writing 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 350. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20299 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Westhoff, Kami Dawn Marie

This course is designed to introduce you to the craft and culture of writing fiction as well as the complex world of critique and workshop. We will read established authors of various identities and study the ways they make their writing shine through unique use of voice, description, language, dialogue, character development, and experimentation. While reading and studying these authors, you will begin your own journey into short story fiction writing with the help of various writing exercises and assignments, revision, and most importantly, your imagination and individuality.

CRN: 20439 DAY/TIME: MWF 11:30-12:50 pm Instructor: Araki-Kawaguchi, Kiik

As a community of writers, we will strengthen our competencies through reading, writing, discussing and reflecting. You will be tasked with developing fictional worlds, characters and predicaments. We will have conversations about the fundamental elements of fiction (e.g. tense, pov, dialog, voice, conflict), as we examine a diverse body of published works and the early drafts (stories) written by you and your peers. 

Expect this to be an exciting and challenging course. We hope you will develop new ways of thinking, working, writing and communicating. We hope you will take risks. Count on being brave, respectful, and a hard worker. 

Participation in a 5-credit course is equivalent to 150 hours of work over the quarter. This will include 4 hours of classroom time weekly (lecture, discussions, workshop) and approximately 10 hours of outside preparation (reading, writing, investigating, reflecting, projects). You are also encouraged to visit me in office hours, attend literary events, and  (safely) connect with your peers. 

We will examine a diverse body of published work across genre boundaries. I attempt to keep course costs as low as possible, but I require access to a few critical materials:  •    Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer •    An electronic device (e.g. smartphone) that will allow you to access podcasts

CRN: 23640 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Westhoff, Kami Dawn Marie

Eng 353 introduction to poetry writing 5cr, crn: 20074 day/time: tr 04:00-05:50 pm instructor: mcguire, simon leonard.

In this introductory course we will practice reading poetry and writing poems. Through in-class writing exercises and structured assignments, we will extend our sense of how poems work (on) and move (through) us. Each week we will attend to different elements of poetic creation – including imagery, metaphor, repetition, soundplay, traditional form, and -making and -breaking. Investigating how these elements and structures are woven together in poems we’ll read & write will both create a classwide understanding of poetic possibility and prompt us as poets to weave our own phonotextual tapestries. 

Projects in this class require you to blend your reading and analytical skills with your poetic practice. Several assignments ask you to choose, read, analyze and present to the class poems and writing that engage you or are examples of forms or structures we’re studying. We’ll also spend classtime sharing and responding to the pieces of poetic practice you produce each week. As a class sharing work with each other, we’ll seek to listen carefully, be both considerate and critical, and open for each other potential avenues of revision and rewriting. 

CRN: 21823 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Winrock, Cori Anne

Introduction to the techniques of poetry writing, including craft, practice and modeling.

ENG 354 Intro to Creative Nonfict Writ 5cr

Crn: 20317 day/time: tr 08:00-09:50 am instructor: gulyas, lee r..

Required Materials Miller & Paola, Tell It Slant, Third Edition (only this edition will work), all other readings provided Canvas & Internet access, and ability to print out hard copies of your work Paper and pen or pencil for in-class writing

Course Description This is a beginning level creative writing class that combines a creative component and the study of literature. We will explore a broad spectrum of content and form, as we strive to translate personal experience, perspective, and research into effective work. Students will submit drafts, provide feedback, and practice discussions in critical exploration of readings. Coursework will include in-class writing exercises, reading responses, writing assignments, and extensive revision. Since this is a five-credit course, the university expects fifteen hours of work per week: five hours in class and ten hours on your own.

My goals for this class are that you will: 1) read a variety of creative nonfiction, grasp basic concepts about what the term implies, the variety of forms it can take, and the craft elements, reworking, and revision integral to its success. 2) begin thinking about the ethical implications involved when writing about your life and the lives of others. 3) read published nonfiction as models for your own work, and read your colleagues’ writing with empathy, compassion, and insight. 4) participate effectively in our writing community through discussion, developing useful feedback, working with revision and deadlines, and locating resources and opportunities both in and out of our classroom. 5) gain a better understanding of yourself as a writer, learn how to incorporate feedback into your revision process, and be able to critically analyze your own work.

CRN: 20517 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Westhoff, Kami Dawn Marie

Welcome to English 354. In this course, you will read the work of established creative nonfiction writers, engage in extensive practice of the techniques, forms, and styles they employ, participate in in-depth discussions and peer workshops, and eventually produce a portfolio of your own creative nonfiction.

ENG 364 Introduction to Film Studies 5cr

Crn: 20440 day/time: tr 08:00-09:50 am instructor: cosey, felicia.

Film Viewing DAY/TIME: T, 04:00-06:50 pm

In this course we will learn how the formal elements of film practice and technique such as cinematography, editing, sound, and mise-en-scène are employed to create meaning for the spectator.  Moreover, we will investigate the ways in which critical perspectives such as genre, authorship, ideology, race, sexuality, and gender inform our analyses of film and media.  As part of our study, we will screen and analyze excerpts from narrative and documentary films.

Assignments: Course work will consist of activities, quizzes, and writing assignments.

Required Textbook: Corrigan, Timothy and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction . Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2021.

CRN: 23641 DAY/TIME: MWF 02:30-03:50 pm Instructor: Youmans, Greg

Film Viewing DAY/TIME: M, 04:00-06:50 pm

The course introduces the foundations of film studies. We will explore core vocabulary, concepts, and skills that help us look and listen more closely to motion pictures. We will also develop practices of critical thinking, argumentation, and analysis through various writing exercises. Our course screenings will present films from around the world and from the historical beginnings of cinema to the present day. In the second half of the term, we will shift focus to a video-production project that will further enrich everyone’s understanding of how movies are put together.

Textbook: David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Jeff Smith. Film Art: An Introduction , 13th edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education, 2023. (You are welcome to use the 10th, 11th, or 12th edition instead to save money.)   

ENG 365 Film Hist: New Jack Cinema 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 364 or ENG 202.

CRN: 21288 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Cosey, Felicia

New Jack Cinema

“New Jack” refers to a hip-hop sound called New Jack Swing created by musician, artist, and producer Teddy Riley during the late 1980s.  It was a sound that combined rap and dance music and featured prominently in urban culture.

The phrase New Jack Cinema was coined by Steven D. Kendall in his book titled New Jack Cinema: Hollywood’s African American Filmmakers.  He uses the phrase to connect Riley’s musical sound with a new movement in Hollywood cinema evolving around the same time.  Kendall describes this movement as a time, the late 1980s and early 1990s, when a new crop of African American filmmakers served as the “cultural vanguard” for their generation.  Kendall asserts they had to be the best at their craft “in order to survive the Hollywood system, as they were not often afforded the same access and opportunities as their white counterparts” (vi).  And we indeed witness this cultural shift as more Black filmmakers are given opportunities to direct major Hollywood productions than ever before. 

While New Jack Cinema gave voice to a marginalized group, it also inadvertently painted that group with a broad brush.  Black films during this period prominently featured urban settings, eliding other Black voices in rural and suburban settings.  New Jack Cinema would soon become identified not for its varied Black narratives, but for its gangster films.

The music, movies, and political climate that created New Jack Cinema serves as the impetus for this course.  We will study the early films of such directors as John Singleton, Julie Dash, the Hudlin Brothers, and of course, Spike Lee.  Some questions we will attempt to answer are as follows:

  • How did New Jack Cinema reflect and shape the socio-political climate of the late 1980s and early 1990s?
  • In what ways did New Jack Cinema provide a platform for marginalized voices, and how did it confront or perpetuate stereotypes?
  • How did the intersection of music, particularly New Jack Swing and rap, influence the thematic and stylistic elements of New Jack Cinema?
  • What were the challenges faced by African American filmmakers during this era, and how did they navigate the Hollywood system?
  • How has New Jack Cinema influenced contemporary filmmakers, and what is its lasting legacy in American cinema?

Required Textbook:  Course readings will be provided on Canvas.  

ENG 385 Sustainability Literacy II 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: One course from: UEPP 116, SUST 116, ENG 203, ENG 302, or SALI 201; or instruction permission.  

CRN: 21454 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Brown, Nicole

Systems Thinking

This course will take a human-centered approach to understanding complex systems through research, story, and information sharing. By shifting focus from the parts to the whole and from nouns to verbs, this course offers an introduction to the specialized language, habits-of-mind, and methodology of systems thinking to understand human and beyond-human materialities as interdependent and co creative elements that form a complex and unified whole. Systems thinking can be applied to every discipline and context. It engages with different cultural, ecological, technological, and disciplinary perspectives to find problems, reframe stories, and discover leverage points for enacting systems change.

Course projects include weekly writing assignments that incorporate visual and verbal elements, including experimenting with new media and/or multi modal compositions. For the major project you will be a part of a team that applies a systems thinking approach to writing about sustainability issues in a professional or public context you care about. We will use these models to articulate solutions through written and oral proposals. The course also invites guest visits from social change leaders in our community. This broad spectrum of disciplinary viewpoints will offer unique perspectives on systems thinking as a practice and field of study and work. Together we will identify the properties and engage in the process of writing/building a viable, desirable, and sustainable future. You should leave the course with excellent writing samples: mappings, systems and rhetorical analyses, research displays, and proposals, as well as a new vocabulary and methodology to facilitate systems-based analysis, communication, and change.

ENG 401 Writing/Rhetoric Seminar 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 301, ENG 302, ENG 313, ENG 314 or ENG 371, or instructor permission. Major restrictions will be lifted on Thursday Feb 29 at 4:30pm.

CRN: 23122 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Bridges, D'Angelo

In this course, we will examine the work of an array of nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first century Black writers to consider the rhetorical, historical, and political contexts in which these writers produced formative poems and essays on the nature and significance of African American writing. Focused primarily on the study of how African American writers cast visions of the rhetorical force and power of their writing, students will learn about how Black writers have theorized the exigencies of their work. Essays from writers to be considered include James Baldwin, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison, Jesse Redmon Fauset, bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Alain Locke, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, Margaret Walker, and Richard Wright.   

ENG 406 Topics:Critical/Culturl Theory 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 313 or ENG 314; two courses from: ENG 307-347, ENG 364 or ENG 371. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 23123 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Lee, Jean

Afropessimism/Black Joy

We are at a conjunctive moment where the theories of anti-Blackness through Afropessmism drive much activism as calls for focusing on Black Joy. This class will introduce students to the contributions that scholars such as Frank Wilderson, Saidiya Hartman, Christina Sharpe, Hortense Spillers, and Achille Mbembe in theorizing the construction and exclusion of Blackness in the category “Human.” At the same time, we will consider how the Black Joy movement complements, extends, or complicates these ideas from a different lens.  

ENG 410 Lit Hist: Arabism, Zionism, & Gaza 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202; plus three from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310, ENG 311, ENG 313, ENG 314, ENG 317, ENG 318, ENG 319, ENG 320, ENG 321, ENG 331, ENG 333, ENG 334, ENG 335, ENG 336, ENG 338, ENG 339, ENG 341, ENG 342, ENG 343, ENG 347, ENG 364, ENG 371. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20766 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Wise, Christopher

“Arabism, Zionism, & Gaza” is a course in the historical literature of Arab Nationalism (Arabism, Ba’athism, Nasserism), the Pan-Arab Movement, and Jewish Nationalism (Zionism), including discussion of US involvement in the region from the period of the Six-Day War of 1967 to Gaza. As a course in literary history, the literature we study will also be situated in the context of the era of decolonization and the rise of the post-colonial nation-state following WWII. We will read the literature of Arab and Jewish people in Israel and Palestine, including Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Ashkenazi Jews. We will also explore non-Arab Muslim views of political Arabism and Zionism, including those of Amazigh, Black African, Fulani (“Black-Arab”), and Persian peoples. Course discussion will include the complex history of regional conflicts after the creation of Israel in the aftermath of the Shoah/Holocaust and the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, the Six-Day War of 1967, the Yom Kipper War of 1973, and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East prior to the Gaza conflict of 2023, especially following 9/11. Significant time will be devoted to the analysis of poetic, literary, and theoretical texts in historical context. Two regional poets will occupy much of our attention, Mahmud Darwish and Yehuda Amichai. We will also read theorists and figures such as Freud, Herzl, Faisal, al-Husri, Rabbath, Nasser, Aflaq, Fanon, Khomeni, Shahak, Chomsky, Finkelstein, Vattimo, Said, Derrida, Shohat, Ngom, Rose, Gaddafi. Students will work in groups, give oral presentations on pre-assigned topics, write in-class, and perform significant independent research. Regular in-class attendance and participation is mandatory.  Some documentaries will be viewed outside of class, and there will be some on-line lectures that will require written responses. However, this is a FTF course requiring active class discussion.

Texts: Sigmund Freud, Moses and Monotheism Edward Said, Freud and the Non-European & The Question of Palestine Jacqueline Rose, The Question of Zion Thomas Friedman, From Beirut to Jerusalem Omar Dahbour (ed), The Nationalism Reader Theodor Herzl, A Jewish State Sylvia Haim, Arab Nationalism: An Anthology Christopher Wise (ed), Being Arab: Arabism and the Politics of Recognition Gianni Vattimo, Deconstructing Zionism: A Critique of Political Metaphysics Jacques Derrida, Specters of Marx Mahmud Darwish, Unfortunately, It Was Paradise Israel Shahak, Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel

ENG 418 Sr Sem: Post-9/11 Literature 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: Senior status; ENG 313 or ENG 314; and one course from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310 or ENG 311. Opens to Literature juniors on Monday Mar 4 at 10am. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20389 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Anderson, Katherine J.

Important note: ENG 418 is not repeatable & cannot be used as an elective for the literature major.

Post-9/11 Literature: Narrative in an Age of Terrorism

Everything changed after the planes hit the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. We now live in a “post-9/11” world, defined by our obsessions with security, warfare, terrorism, ethnicity, and national identity. Certainly, 9/11 is frequently described as a defining event of the 21st century for the United States, but what about the rest of the world, Western and otherwise? 

In this senior capstone seminar, we’ll examine the literary response to the events of September 11th, 2001 and their aftermath. Throughout, we’ll consider the distinctive identity of a body of twenty-first century writing (often called post-9/11 literature) that is transnational as well as American. Our discussions will be framed by our attention to both our writers’ aesthetic choices and their cultural and political claims. Our class will be different from (and perhaps more difficult than) many others because of the contemporary relevance of the material. Discussions will inevitably involve an attention to contemporary politics, both national and global, and I ask that you engage each other with mutual respect and sensitivity.  Some of the topics we’ll consider include: the ability of literary writers to help us understand the consequences of terrorism and war on our imaginations the adequacy of language to represent this kind of world-shifting event; the extent to which representations of the events can be said to have changed as time has elapsed; how texts written by non-western authors present a challenge to the U.S.-centric narratives that have dominated the post-9/11 moment; and how historical events preceding 9/11 connect to and contributed to the event.

Course Objectives: In addition to offering an introduction to critical terrorism studies, the concept of terrorism, and the production of knowledge about political violence, this course interrogates the influence contemporary writers have on the ways we shape our cultural narratives about 9/11, terrorism, warfare, security, ethnicity, religion, politics, globalization, and national identity, and conversely, the way cultural narratives about those things influence contemporary writers. 

Student Learning Objectives (what you’ll get from your work in this class):

  • Advanced capacity to compare and contrast texts of different forms or genres, making connections between different literary texts and/or critical theories.
  • Advanced ability to analyze contemporary, transnational literature published since September 11, 2001 and to relate its concerns and its modes of expression to historical and cultural contexts. 
  • Advanced ability to perform and then apply proactive research. 
  • Advanced ability to write cogent literary criticism. 
  • Increased autonomy in assessing literary texts and critical theories.
  • Increased ability to participate in an ongoing academic conversation.
  • Increased self-awareness of personal reading, writing, and methodological practices. 

Content Warning: Some of our texts contain reference to sexual and/or racial violence, suicide, and/or various verbal denigrations. I did not assign these texts lightly, nor is it my intent for us to dismiss the problematic things they depict. Rather, it is my goal for us to confront those elements sensitively, thoughtfully, and deeply, as I hope we do when we encounter them in the real world. Literature exists in part to help us bear witness to, process, and cope with human crises, trauma, and atrocities, and in asking us to confront these things, it also actively encourages our empathy with and for others. Please be certain when signing up for this class that you can commit to reading and discussing this material and further, that you can do so in a mature, respectful way.

Required texts will likely include:                                

  • Don DeLillo, Falling Man 
  • Laila Halaby, Once in a Promised Land
  • Mohsin Hamid, Exit West 
  • Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist 
  • Jane Mayer, The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned 
  • into a War on American Ideals
  • Ian McEwan, Saturday
  • Kamila Shamsie , Burnt Shadows 
  • Required theoretical/critical readings will be available on Canvas as PDFs.

ENG 418 Sr Sem: Literary Time 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: Senior status; ENG 313 or ENG 314; and one course from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310 or ENG 311. Opens to Literature juniors on Monday Mar 4 at 10am. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20390 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Heim, Stefania F.

Tense, duration, chronology, perception, memory, rhythm.  Time travel, flash back, simultaneity, linear progression. Feminist theorist Elizabeth Grosz has argued that “time remains the central yet forgotten force that motivates and informs the universe, from its most cosmological principles to its most intimate living details.” It is also, necessarily, a central component of literature. Time is literary structure, organizing principle, subject matter, emotional catalyst. From the “timeless” lyric to the immersive novel through whose duration you feel yourself to exist simultaneously in multiple planes, writers and readers play with time. In this senior seminar, time will not be ancillary to other literary or theoretical concerns: we will home in on the representation, manipulation, and creation of time. We will explore widely across genres and media and through the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, engaging with writers and artists like Emily Dickinson, Claudia Rankine, Frank O’Hara, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, Octavia Butler, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Chantal Ackerman, Ed Roberson, and Yoko Ono. We will also research political, cosmological, theological, and literary arguments about the organization and apprehension of time. Throughout the course, students will work through a set of scaffolded writing assignments (including creative experiments, low-stakes writing-to-think activities, peer workshopping, and revision) toward the completion of an original 10-15 page analytical paper. 

ENG 423 Maj Auth: Ella Higginson 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 202; plus three from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310, ENG 311, ENG 313, ENG 314, ENG 317, ENG 318, ENG 319, ENG 320, ENG 321, ENG 331, ENG 333, ENG 334, ENG 335, ENG 336, ENG 338, ENG 339, ENG 341, ENG 342, ENG 343, ENG 347, ENG 364, ENG 371. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20243 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: Laffrado, Laura

“Ella Higginson has created her own field in American fiction; she has taken a new country and given us new types. What Mary Wilkins is to the East, she is to the West; and there is not another short story writer in this country today who can compare with either of them.” (Rev. of A Forest Orchid. Peterson Magazine, Dec. 1897)

TEXTS:  •     Selected Writings of Ella Higginson: Inventing Pacific Northwest Literature.  ISBN 978-0-939576-27-2  •     Mariella, of Out-West (1902). Forgotten Books edition. 978-1-331-29621-8 •     Alaska, the Great Country (1908), any edition.

We will also look at letters, essays, book reviews, and other fascinating Higginson material (original copies of magazines in which Higginson published, postcards, sheet music, paper weights engraved with her poetry) to help us understand how to read Higginson and why it matters. The class will meet several times at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies which holds a large archive of Higginson’s papers. 

CONTENT : This course looks at the writings of once celebrated but then long forgotten author Ella Rhoads Higginson, the first prominent literary writer from the Pacific Northwest and the first Poet Laureate of Washington State. Higginson was celebrated for her award-winning fiction, her lyric poetry which was set to music and performed internationally, and her prolific nonfiction. During the turn from the nineteenth century into the twentieth century, readers across the nation were introduced to the then-remote Pacific Northwest region by Higginson’s descriptions of majestic mountains, vast forests, and scenic waters, as well as the often difficult economic circumstances of those dwelling near Puget Sound. We will read her major works in the order she wrote them, pay attention to their interactions with the larger culture, watch her create characters who help define the Pacific Northwest, and ask why Higginson became so famous. We will consider issues of gender, race, region, and identity, among others. 

ASSIGNMENTS : Much reading and thinking will be asked of you, along with frequent class participation, class presentations, regular attendance, and one research paper, due at the end of the term. The research paper will use at least two critical sources and will be 10-12 pages, typed, double-spaced, adhering to Modern Language Association (MLA) citation guidelines, and turned in on time.

ENG 423 Maj Auth: H.G. Wells and Ursula K. Le Guin 5cr

Crn: 20457 day/time: mwf 11:30-12:50 pm instructor: anderson, katherine j..

Sci-Fi Shakespeares: H. G. Wells and Ursula K. Le Guin

This course provides deep analysis of the writing of two of the “Shakespeares” of Anglophone science fiction (SF): H. G. Wells and Ursula K. Le Guin. In the late-nineteenth century, the British Wells, an eventual socialist who staunchly advocated for free love, was perhaps the most famous contributor to a genre known as “scientific romance”: an early form of science fiction that placed science at the center of its plot, using it to create tension, anxiety, or fear, as well as revealing the darker desires of humanity and frequently attributing those darker desires to evolutionary inheritance. Although Wells himself eschewed the term “scientific romance,” the power of his early SF novels continues to resonate all over the world. 

In the mid-twentieth century, British SF writers established a New Wave in the genre. New Wave SF was more literary and experimental, including a willingness to experiment with postmodernism. It strayed from the traditional focus on “hard” science in favor of the “soft” sciences, and it foregrounded sexual liberation. More women writers also appeared on the scene during the New Wave. Across the pond in the US, Le Guin, the daughter of anthropologists, began her career as an SF legend and literary giant by writing stories that blended British New Wave sentiment with American genre imagery and her own anthropological interests into tales of loss, companionship, isolation, redemption, and love.

Wells and Le Guin are two of the most influential SF writers of all time. You will exit this class with a more sophisticated understanding of their respective contributions to literature, including their representations of gender and sexuality; race and ethnicity; class, capitalism, and socialism; utopia/dystopia; war; apocalypse; and scientific experimentation and technology, as well as a firmer grasp of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Anglophone cultural and literary history. 

Student Learning Outcomes (what you’ll get from your work in this class): 

  • Advanced ability to analyze nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature and to relate literature’s concerns and modes of expression to its historical context as well as our present moment. 
  • Advanced capacity to compare and contrast texts of different forms or (sub)genres, making connections while noting evolutions in form, style, and content over an author’s oeuvre.
  • Advanced capacity to analyze literary genealogy via a comparison of major authors working at different historical moments in the same genre
  • Increased autonomy in assessing literary texts and critical arguments.

Required texts will likely include: 

  • The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
  • The Time Machine (1895)
  • The War of the Worlds (1898) 
  • A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
  • The Dispossessed (1974)
  • The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
  • Required visual text: Epix’s War of the Worlds, season 1 (2019, 8 episodes, streaming on Amazon with trial subscription)
  • Additional required short texts and secondary readings are available on Canvas as pdfs.

Content Warning: Some of our texts may contain reference to sexual and/or racial violence, suicide, and/or various verbal denigrations. I will not assign these texts lightly, nor is it my intent for us to dismiss the problematic things they depict. Rather, it is my goal for us to confront those elements sensitively, thoughtfully, and deeply, as I hope we do when we encounter them in the real world. These realities are particularly important to consider in relation to the intertwined histories of imperialism, colonialism, slavery, patriarchy, and white supremacy that accompanied the British Empire and literary canon and that continue in our present political moment. Literature exists in part to help us bear witness to, process, and cope with human crises, trauma, and atrocities, and in asking us to confront these things, it also actively encourages our empathy with and for others. Please be certain when signing up for this class that you can commit to reading and discussing this material and further, that you can do so in a mature, respectful way.

ENG 424 Major Directors: Jane Campion 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 364 or instructor permission.  

CRN: 23642 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Odabasi, Eren

Film Viewing DAY/TIME: W, 05:00-07:50 pm

Two-time Academy Award winner Jane Campion is one of the most significant and influential figures in contemporary world cinema. She became the first woman in history to win the prestigious Golden Palm, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival, in 1993 with The Piano . Her adaptation of celebrated author Janet Frame’s autobiography An Angel at My Table (1990) was awarded the Grand Jury Prize in the Venice Film Festival, where Campion also won the award for best director in 2021 with The Power of the Dog. She remains the only filmmaker ever to win the Golden Palm awards for both short and feature films. Throughout a career spanning more than 35 years, she has distinguished herself as the most decorated film director to emerge from New Zealand and Australia.

In this course, we will study Campion’s complete body of work through the lens of auteur theory. We will identify the central themes in all Campion films (such as female subjectivity and autonomy, desire and societal oppression, mental illness, painful family ties etc.), analyze her work in a variety of formats (multi-episodic series and short films in addition to her narrative features), and explore the unusual cinematic techniques that she frequently uses as a part of her visually inventive style. We will watch and discuss all the feature films directed by Campion, survey many scholarly accounts written about Campion’s cinema, and read Campion’s own comments about her films.

Throughout the course units, we will investigate the literary roots of Campion’s films, identify the notable artists with whom she collaborated repeatedly, and discuss her influence on contemporary films from around the world. The requirements for this course include two short film analysis papers and a substantial final essay that comparatively examines two or more works by Jane Campion.

 All books are available as free e-books through WWU Libraries, no purchase is necessary. 

“Jane Campion” by Deb Verhoeven, Routledge, 2009. “Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema” by Alistair Fox, Indiana University Press, 2011. “Jane Campion’s The Piano” edited by Harriet Elaine Margolis, Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Additional readings will be available online on Canvas.

Features: Two Friends, 1986 Sweetie, 1989 An Angel at My Table, 1990 The Piano, 1993 The Portrait of a Lady, 1996 Holy Smoke, 1999 In the Cut, 2003 Bright Star, 2009 The Power of the Dog, 2021

Series: Top of the Lake, 2013 Top of the Lake: China Girl, 2017

We will also see several short films directed by Campion.

ENG 441 Language and the Sec Classroom 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 301, ENG 302 or ENG 371; ENG 347; ENG 350, ENG 351, ENG 353 or ENG 354; two from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310, ENG 311, ENG 317, ENG 318, ENG 319, ENG 320 and ENG 321. Major restrictions do not lift. 

CRN: 22364 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: VanderStaay, Steven L.

This course will explore language structure and use in the Secondary Language Arts classroom, including cultural and equity issues, dialect and discourse style bias, ESL learners, and the challenges of standard grammar and conventions.  We’ll spend some time addressing linguistic fundamentals as a means of understanding language diversity. This methods course requires the same kind of individual initiative, dedication, and professionalism that you will apply to your future work as a teacher. 

ENG 443 Tch Eng Lang Arts in Sec Sch I 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 301, ENG 302 or ENG 371; ENG 347; ENG 350; ENG 441 or concurrent or MLE 444 or concurrent; and two courses from: ENG 307, ENG 308, ENG 309, ENG 310, ENG 311, ENG 317, ENG 318, ENG 319, ENG 320 and ENG 321. Major restrictions do not lift. 

CRN: 20662 DAY/TIME: TR 12:00-01:50 pm Instructor: Hardman, Pam

CONTENT: This course focuses on the teaching of writing in middle and high schools. Through the frames of various pedagogical theories, we will connect what we know about the diverse student population that secondary teachers face with what we know about ourselves as language arts learners and teachers in order to create useable teaching materials. This is a writing and reading intensive course. This methods course requires the same kind of individual initiative, dedication, and professionalism that you will apply to your future work as a teacher.

TEXTS: may include: Gallagher, Teaching Adolescent Writers; Gallagher, Write Like This

ASSIGNMENTS:  Writing responses; unit assignments; mini-lesson plan and performance; target assignment project

ENG 444 Tch Eng Lang Art in Sec Sch II 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 443. Major restrictions do not lift. 

CRN: 20082 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: VanderStaay, Steven L.

This course is the second of a two-quarter sequence designed to help you become a thoughtful, knowledgeable, and effective teacher of English language arts at the secondary level. In 444 we emphasize the teaching of reading and literature with whole-class, small group, and individualized methods. This methods course requires the same kind of individual initiative, dedication, and professionalism that you will apply to your future work as a teacher.

ENG 451 Creative Wrtng Seminar:Fiction 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 351. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20138 DAY/TIME: MWF 10:00-11:20 am Instructor: Araki-Kawaguchi, Kiik

“Nine Challenges” 

In this advanced fiction workshop, you will be issued nine challenges meant to stretch your competencies as a writer, reader and collaborator. Potential challenges include, “write a story that is 90% dialogue,” and “write a story one earth over from ours.” As a way to approach these challenges, we will discuss innovative texts, do in-class writing activities, and build an archive of reflections. Our most significant focus will be on workshopping the early drafts (stories) written by you and your peers. 

We will examine a diverse body of published work across genre boundaries. I attempt to keep course costs as low as possible, but I ask that you obtain an electronic device (e.g. smartphone) that will allow you to access podcasts. 

CRN: 20519 DAY/TIME: MWF 02:30-03:50 pm Instructor: Westhoff, Kami Dawn Marie

Seminar in Fiction Writing, is designed to encourage you to continue your exploration into the complex world of creating literary fiction. We will read the work of contemporary fiction writers and examine the ways in which they create compelling and innovative fiction through careful and unique attention to such elements as character development, setting, theme, format, and narrative focus. In addition to extensive fiction writing, you will be asked to engage with the literary world on a larger scale, including literary journal research, submitting your work, and presenting a live reading of your own work.  

ENG 453 Creative Wrtng Seminar: Poetry 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 353. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20391 DAY/TIME: TR 10:00-11:50 am Instructor: Yeasting, Jeanne Ellen

Forms of Verse: This course is a seminar in learning about, and writing in, some of many poetic forms available to poets.  Students will write and extensively revise their own verse.  We will explore the histories of some forms (old and new) and undertake intensive reading of examples from different time periods.  We’ll also talk about ways to make our own poems better through a direct application of our newfound knowledge.  Class will be a mixture of discussion of assigned writing models, collaborative presentations, writing exercises, and workshops.  EVALUATION:  Based on active class participation and fulfillment of assignments, including collaborative projects, writing literary reviews, and a Final Project.  REQUIRED TEXTS:  

  • Mark Strand and Eavan Boland, editors. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. W. W. Norton & Company. 2001. ISBN (paperback):  978-0393321784
  • Kaveh Akbar, Pilgrim Bell: Poems. Graywolf Press, 2021. ISBN (paperback):  978-1644450598
  • Donika Kelly, The Renunciations: Poems.   Graywolf Press, 2021. ISBN (paperback):‎ 978-1644450536
  • Rena Priest, Patriarchy Blues. Moon Path Press.  2017. ISBN (paperback): 978-1936657278

ENG 454 Creative Wrtg Sem: Nonfiction 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 354. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 21289 DAY/TIME: TR 08:00-09:50 am Instructor: Dorr, Noam

An advanced workshop course in the writing of nonfiction, building on skills learned in prior courses. Repeatable with different instructors to a maximum of 10 cr.

ENG 459 Editing and Publishing 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 351, ENG 353 or ENG 354. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 20442 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Colen, Elizabeth Jane

This course will give students an overview of professional editing and publishing practices across a variety of genres and professional venues. Students will conduct an analysis and assessment of their own writing and publishing aims and engage in exercises and assignments geared towards individual goals. To that end, we will read, respond to, analyze, and try our hand at composing and refining a wide range of essential texts, including cover letters and query letters, synopses, back cover copy, blurbs, bios, book reviews, and interview questions. Additionally, students will exercise and cultivate research, copyediting, and proofreading skills and closely examine how an author may utilize and refine grammar, syntax, and other elements of style to improve their writing and begin to take part in wider literary community and conversations.

CRN: 23124 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Trueblood, Kathryn R.

Course Goals: This is a capstone course that offers practical information not only about the business of publishing books but also about literary careers that exist behind the scenes. The course will include a brief history of the book industry in the United States; corporate versus independent publishing; the roles of book reviewers and reps; agents, editors, and publicists. An overview of the literary arts scene in the Northwest will be included with a discussion of internship opportunities in the region. We will have guest speakers who are professionals in the field, so the syllabus will have to bend here and there to accommodate.

In this class, students will role-play the part of editor, publisher, and writer, learning the protocol and diplomacy of the industry. The course will offer an introduction to useful skills such as copyediting, proofreading, and promotional writing. The assignments for this course are designed to heighten students' awareness that publishing is key to the democratic process i.e., one of the ways ideas are disseminated in an open society. Historically, communities whose access to the public forum was limited have begun their own publishing movements; students will be encouraged to understand the roles of editor and publisher in that context.

As advanced workshop graduates, students are expected to be conversant with the principles and techniques of good writing and aim for the standards of professional copy. This is a course in professional development, and a high level of fluency in writing is expected. 

Texts: The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer, edited by Larimer & Gannon A People's Guide to Publishing by Joe Biel Copyediting & Proofreading for Dummies by Suzanne Gilad  

ENG 460 MultiGenre: 5cr

Crn: 20656 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: dorr, noam.

Intensive study of topics in creative writing that cross genre boundaries, or that critique those boundaries. Opportunities to compose experimental or hybrid works. Repeatable with different instructors to a maximum of 10 credits.

ENG 460 MultiGenre: Odd Forms 5cr

Crn: 20368 day/time: mwf 11:30-12:50 pm instructor: colen, elizabeth jane.

In this generative, workshop-based class we will examine what it means to forgo the standard expectations of genre and venture into the space of attempting to allow content itself to generate form. We will read closely (as closely as possible, given the constraints of a 10-week quarter) many examples of odd forms and delve into them in our own writing through exercises in imitation and by questioning our own content in order to determine what odd forms might be possible for our work. This exploration will culminate in a portfolio (3 pieces) final of fully revised work of 10-15 pages.

ENG 461 Interns in Eng: Prof Identity 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: Senior status (135 credits) and instructor approval. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 23643 DAY/TIME: MWF 01:00-02:20 pm Instructor: Brown, Nicole

This course is structured around your experience interning as a writer in a professional context and participating in weekly discussions and group meetings that guide and call upon you to reflect upon that experience. Course meetings, readings, and assignments are designed to contribute to your internship experience by providing you with opportunities to discuss observations, challenges, and accomplishments that arise for you in your internship. Weekly readings and discussions also offer professional development insights and reflections about: transitioning from academic to nonacademic contexts, approaching problem-solving, developing a professional identity as a writer, and other topics relevant to your personal internship experience. In addition, you will have the opportunity to share strategies and activities from your internship as well as articulate and develop your professional identity as a writer.

Writing is a fundamentally social activity. The most effective and most valued writers in professional contexts are those who are able to use social knowledge for two purposes: to recognize the key aspects of an organizational culture and to contribute effectively to the organizational culture, such as influencing and improving the culture and work practices of the organization.

In English 461, you will develop skills in “reading”(or recognizing and analyzing) the culture of your particular organization, and you will apply this knowledge to contribute to the organization’s work and your own professional identity.

ENG 462 Professional Writing 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: One course from ENG 301, ENG 302, ENG 371; or equivalent experience and instructor approval. Major restrictions will be lifted on Thursday Feb 29 at 4:30pm.

CRN: 22462 DAY/TIME: TR 02:00-03:50 pm Instructor: Cushman, Jeremy W.

Story-driven Podcasting

Before I even start this description, please know that while we will be making story-driven audio and podcasts in this class, you do not need any experience with audio editing software or with recording. We’ll all learn that stuff together, and it’s easier than you may think. You also do not need to buy any digital technology for this class; we’ve already got what you need.

Alright, here’s the class description:

Everybody seems to have a podcast. Barack Obama and Bruce Springsteen have a podcast; Snoop Dogg has a podcast; the lovely middle-school kid down the road from me has a rad podcast. We are stumbling and tripping over so many podcasts!

And still, podcasting offers us ways to consider important notions related to digital circulation, the fascinating nature of sound, our own emotional and affective responses to ideas, and, most importantly for this class, the differing ways storytelling practices play a critical role in nearly every aspect of what the field of Technical Communication calls ‘community engagement.’

So in this class, we are going to get a bit obsessive about story-driven podcasting. I say “story-driven” because so many popular podcasts are interview shows where a host spends an hour talking with guests. Many of those are great, but we won’t deal much with interview shows. And quite a few popular podcasts sound like a group of friends hit the ‘record’ button and just chatted for an hour. In the podcasting industry, those get called, ‘chum-casts,’ and while some of those are pretty delightful, we won’t spend any time with those either.

Together, we’ll center story-driven podcasting.

What that means is that we’ll explore how podcasting can highlight the ways storytelling is baked into all (all!) our communication practices; we’ll wonder about the ways podcasting can challenge the traditional shape of story; we’ll obsess over the ways podcasting blurs the distinction between sound and writing, which allows us to better reflect on the supposed distinction between orality and literacy.

To help us chase after those fairly lofty goals, together we will:

  • Listen to heaps and heaps of story-driven podcasts
  • Listen to different types of music to help us think about storytelling in terms of melody and countermelody
  • Read a little in the field of Storytelling Research, which draws on Technical Writing and Sociology
  • Read a little in the field of Sound Studies
  • Create and share soundscapes, mini audio stories, and of course, story-driven podcast episodes.

ENG 464 Topics in Film Studies 5cr

Crn: 22706 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: odabasi, eren.

Even though film festivals have been in existence in one form or another for more than ninety years (with the Venice Film Festival, initiated in 1932, often cited to be the first major one), scholarly work on the festival phenomenon is relatively recent. In the early 1990s, with the extremely rapid proliferation of film festivals around the world, many scholars have started to analyze the various types of festivals, the groups of agents who participate in this circuit, and the impact of festivals on filmmaking, film financing, distribution, and reception.

This course offers a comprehensive review of major theoretical and methodological approaches employed in the growing field of film festival research. The first unit of the course is devoted to the theoretical frameworks through which film festivals can be understood as subjects of academic work. The second unit considers the social and political aspects of film festivals, looking at the historical contexts under which major festivals were born and analyzing the influence of external factors on their structures, programming, and development. The final unit examines the economic and institutional dimensions of festivals, with a particular focus on their involvement in the funding, sales, and distribution of films. Various questions about the active role festivals play in forming a world cinema canon and cultivating local film cultures are raised throughout. 

Requirements  Written requirements include 2 reading responses (approximately 1000 words each) and a substantial final project, which may take the form of a comprehensive literature review or original research (10-12 pages).

Books de Valck, Marijke. “Film Festivals: From European Geopolitics to Global Cinephilia.” Amsterdam University Press, 2007.

Wong, Cindy H. “Film Festivals: Culture, People, and Power on the Global Screen.” Rutgers University Press, 2011.

Both books are available as free e-books through WWU Libraries, no purchase is necessary.

ENG 466 Screenwriting 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 364 or one from: ENG 350, ENG 351, ENG 353 or ENG 354. Major restrictions lift on Tuesday Mar 5th by 10am. 

CRN: 23125 DAY/TIME: MWF 11:30-12:50 pm Instructor: Youmans, Greg

Film Viewing DAY/TIME: M 04:00-06:50 pm

The course introduces screenwriting with an emphasis on the art of storytelling. We will focus on the writing of narrative screenplays, both short and feature-length. To guide our efforts, we’ll explore and analyze a range of examples, both as screenplays and final films, ranging from art cinema to indie films to mainstream Hollywood movies. Although our focus will be on linear narrative storytelling, we may also look at examples of screenwriting for other genres and formats, such as television, online video, and interactive storytelling. 

You will often work collaboratively in class on exercises geared toward developing stories, characters, dialogue, and screenplays. Although some time will be set aside for in-class writing, most of our time together will be devoted to inspiring and guiding the projects you’ll be working on outside of class. The term will culminate in substantial work toward a full treatment and at least ten pages of a feature-length screenplay. 

500-Level Graduate English Courses

Eng 504 seminar in writing of poetry 5cr, crn: 23645 day/time: tr 02:00-03:50 pm instructor: wong, jane.

The Ghost Archive

“The living and the dead share an interest in the future.”

– M. NourbeSe Philip

Victoria Chang writes in Dear Memory: “Nothing is missing… /If I dip my hand in, /I will change history.” This graduate level seminar will explore the layers of writing poetry while deeply engaging and wrestling with the archive. How can we expand the definition of the archive to include the half-lit, the half-recorded, the speculative even, the act of the hand dipping itself? What happens when your archive is a ghost? How can we grapple with the difficulty of research while also placing lyrical pressure on the line? With rigorous attention to the relationship between form and content, we will engage the complexities and intersections of our personal and collective lives through poetic craft. We will write poems in dialogue with prominent contemporary poets (who will visit our class, including Diana Khoi Nguyen and others TBA!). As an active poetry community, we will revisit the stakes of poetry via seminar discussions, constructive feedback, and radical revision strategies. Some of our texts will include Diana Khoi Nguyen’s Root Fractures, Cornelius Eady’s Brutal Imagination , Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas , Mosab Abu Toha’s Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear , Arisa White’s Who’s Your Daddy , Victoria Chang’s Dear Memory , and others.

ENG 505 Seminar in Writing Nonfiction 5cr

Crn: 23646 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: roach orduña, josé.

Immersion – On the Line & In the Moment

As Robin Hemley writes in his book A Field Guide for Immersion Writing: Memoir, Journalism and Travel, “Immersion writing engages the writer in the here and now in a journalistic sense, shaping and creating a story happening in the present while unabashedly lugging along all that baggage that makes up the writer’s personality: his or her memories, culture, and opinions.” In this class we will read and write literary essays that employ immersion as their primary mode of research and narrative structure. We will read and discuss literary essays that go out into the world with an eye toward understanding how a writer prepares for, plans, and executes immersion. We will take several “field trips” where, as a class, we will immerse ourselves in an experience, a performance, and a place and produce writing from these instances of immersion. And students will be asked to prepare for, plan, and execute their own immersion which will serve as the basis for a literary essay written for the class.

Some of what we’ll read will include: 

  • Tim Z. Hernandez, All They Will Call You
  • Sophie Calle, Suite Vénitienne
  • Hunter S. Thompson, The Great Shark Hunt

ENG 509 Internship in Writing, Editing & Prod 1 TO 5cr

Eng 550 studies in american literature 5cr, crn: 23647 day/time: tr 10:00-11:50 am instructor: giffen, allison a..

The Racial Politics of Childhood in the 19th Century

What is childhood and how has it been variously defined and understood? This is one of the central questions of Critical Childhood Studies, a growing field within the humanities. Along with the history and construction of childhood, Critical Childhood Studies also examines textual and visual representations of childhood, exploring, for example, how childhood functions metaphorically in literature and culture. New ideals about childhood emerge in the nineteenth century that are shaped by Romantic notions of childhood innocence and informed by thinkers like Locke and Rousseau. Our work this quarter will focus particularly on the role that race played in these new conceptions of childhood. We will begin with the racialized construction of girlhood in the novels of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Wilson, then explore seduction and consent in the figure of the tragic mulatto, in the work of Lydia Maria Child and Harriet Jacobs. We will then direct our attention to boyhood as it is represented in the popular children’s periodical St Nicholas Magazine reading representations of Black and white boyhood through the lens of critical disability studies.  

ENG 560 Studies in British Literature 5cr

Crn: 23648 day/time: tr 04:00-05:50 pm instructor: loar, christopher f..

When we talk about British fiction in the eighteenth century, we often think about the domestic novel, courtship, and the epistolary form. But the funny thing about fiction in this period is that there are no rules–at least, nothing hard and fast—and this situation allowed literary experimentation to flourish. Many authors wrote in highly experimental modes, offering up fantastic tales of magic, rambling narratives of plagues survived, or sprawling satires on the very nature of consciousness.

This course offers a sampling of some of the wild, fantastic, discordant, distorted, and highly experimental writing to appear between 1660 and 1830. Some of these experiments were influential and leave marks on the present; others were fascinating but abandoned–perhaps awaiting excavation and exploration in the present day.

Expectations:

•    regular and engaged discussion in the classroom •    informal writing assignments (short response papers or something similar) •    a final project (for most students, this will be a substantial essay, but I am willing to entertain proposals for creative projects from MFA students, or for alternative presentation media)

Possible Texts:

Fictions about consciousness and narration:

Laurence Sterne, Tristram Shandy Denis Diderot, Jacque the Fatalist

Social fictions:

Daniel Defoe, Journal of the Plague Year Eliza Haywood, a selection of short fiction  Aphra Behn, a selection of short fiction   Jane Barker, a selection of short fiction  Sarah Scott, Millennium Hall

Fantastic fictions:

Selections from The Arabian Nights Clara Reeve, The History of Charoba, Queen of Egypt

ENG 594 Practicum in Teaching 2 TO 5cr

Notes & Prerequisites: ENG 501  

CRN: 20083 TBD TBD Staff

Eng 597 ma capstone seminar 5cr, crn: 23716 day/time: tr 08:00-09:50 am instructor: heim, stefania f..

Bookending graduate study as a closing companion to ENG 501, this course is designed to support second year MA students in English as they work toward the development and completion of their Capstone Projects. In this collaborative, interactive writing workshop, students will generate significant original work in a variety of media and share and critique works-in-progress—pushing classmates’ projects farther and questioning their own. Together, we will also explore research methodologies, sustainable writing practices, and strategies for framing and presenting work in a variety of professional, academic, and creative contexts. Course activities will include weekly written reflections on project processes and practices; leading a class discussion around a theoretical text important to your project; and the development of a culminating presentation. 

ENG 598 Seminar Teaching English: 5cr

Crn: 21584 day/time: tr 12:00-01:50 pm instructor: miller, brenda.

In this seminar, we will explore the various ways one might envision, develop, and teach an Introduction to Creative Writing course, as well as courses in individual genres. As an entry-level instructor at a community college or university, you may be asked to teach such a course, and this class will aim to prepare you not only for this scenario, but also for teaching in the community. We will explore how a creative writing classroom can be a space to practice inclusivity and anti-racism for all our teaching scenarios. 

There is no one “right” way to teach creative writing. In fact there may be no “right” way at all. There are merely options, designs, and intentions that will keep evolving.

This course will be a smorgasbord. I have organized several visitors who will share with us their approaches to teaching creative writing in diverse settings. We will also study a variety of articles, textbooks, syllabi, and assignments, and you will have the opportunity to both lead and practice creative writing exercises. In the end, you will come up with your own syllabus, as well as a reflection on your creative writing teaching philosophy and practice. 

The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom , by Felicia Rose Chavez. 

Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping, by Matthew Salesses. 

Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor, by Lynda Barry. 

You will also be choosing articles or book chapters to explore on your own and bring into the classroom. 

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creative ways to write description

Create a form in Word that users can complete or print

In Word, you can create a form that others can fill out and save or print.  To do this, you will start with baseline content in a document, potentially via a form template.  Then you can add content controls for elements such as check boxes, text boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. Optionally, these content controls can be linked to database information.  Following are the recommended action steps in sequence.  

Show the Developer tab

In Word, be sure you have the Developer tab displayed in the ribbon.  (See how here:  Show the developer tab .)

Open a template or a blank document on which to base the form

You can start with a template or just start from scratch with a blank document.

Start with a form template

Go to File > New .

In the  Search for online templates  field, type  Forms or the kind of form you want. Then press Enter .

In the displayed results, right-click any item, then select  Create. 

Start with a blank document 

Select Blank document .

Add content to the form

Go to the  Developer  tab Controls section where you can choose controls to add to your document or form. Hover over any icon therein to see what control type it represents. The various control types are described below. You can set properties on a control once it has been inserted.

To delete a content control, right-click it, then select Remove content control  in the pop-up menu. 

Note:  You can print a form that was created via content controls. However, the boxes around the content controls will not print.

Insert a text control

The rich text content control enables users to format text (e.g., bold, italic) and type multiple paragraphs. To limit these capabilities, use the plain text content control . 

Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

Rich text control button

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls .

Insert a picture control

A picture control is most often used for templates, but you can also add a picture control to a form.

Picture control button

Insert a building block control

Use a building block control  when you want users to choose a specific block of text. These are helpful when you need to add different boilerplate text depending on the document's specific purpose. You can create rich text content controls for each version of the boilerplate text, and then use a building block control as the container for the rich text content controls.

building block gallery control

Select Developer and content controls for the building block.

Developer tab showing content controls

Insert a combo box or a drop-down list

In a combo box, users can select from a list of choices that you provide or they can type in their own information. In a drop-down list, users can only select from the list of choices.

combo box button

Select the content control, and then select Properties .

To create a list of choices, select Add under Drop-Down List Properties .

Type a choice in Display Name , such as Yes , No , or Maybe .

Repeat this step until all of the choices are in the drop-down list.

Fill in any other properties that you want.

Note:  If you select the Contents cannot be edited check box, users won’t be able to click a choice.

Insert a date picker

Click or tap where you want to insert the date picker control.

Date picker button

Insert a check box

Click or tap where you want to insert the check box control.

Check box button

Use the legacy form controls

Legacy form controls are for compatibility with older versions of Word and consist of legacy form and Active X controls.

Click or tap where you want to insert a legacy control.

Legacy control button

Select the Legacy Form control or Active X Control that you want to include.

Set or change properties for content controls

Each content control has properties that you can set or change. For example, the Date Picker control offers options for the format you want to use to display the date.

Select the content control that you want to change.

Go to Developer > Properties .

Controls Properties  button

Change the properties that you want.

Add protection to a form

If you want to limit how much others can edit or format a form, use the Restrict Editing command:

Open the form that you want to lock or protect.

Select Developer > Restrict Editing .

Restrict editing button

After selecting restrictions, select Yes, Start Enforcing Protection .

Restrict editing panel

Advanced Tip:

If you want to protect only parts of the document, separate the document into sections and only protect the sections you want.

To do this, choose Select Sections in the Restrict Editing panel. For more info on sections, see Insert a section break .

Sections selector on Resrict sections panel

If the developer tab isn't displayed in the ribbon, see Show the Developer tab .

Open a template or use a blank document

To create a form in Word that others can fill out, start with a template or document and add content controls. Content controls include things like check boxes, text boxes, and drop-down lists. If you’re familiar with databases, these content controls can even be linked to data.

Go to File > New from Template .

New from template option

In Search, type form .

Double-click the template you want to use.

Select File > Save As , and pick a location to save the form.

In Save As , type a file name and then select Save .

Start with a blank document

Go to File > New Document .

New document option

Go to File > Save As .

Go to Developer , and then choose the controls that you want to add to the document or form. To remove a content control, select the control and press Delete. You can set Options on controls once inserted. From Options, you can add entry and exit macros to run when users interact with the controls, as well as list items for combo boxes, .

Adding content controls to your form

In the document, click or tap where you want to add a content control.

On Developer , select Text Box , Check Box , or Combo Box .

Developer tab with content controls

To set specific properties for the control, select Options , and set .

Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each control that you want to add.

Set options

Options let you set common settings, as well as control specific settings. Select a control and then select Options to set up or make changes.

Set common properties.

Select Macro to Run on lets you choose a recorded or custom macro to run on Entry or Exit from the field.

Bookmark Set a unique name or bookmark for each control.

Calculate on exit This forces Word to run or refresh any calculations, such as total price when the user exits the field.

Add Help Text Give hints or instructions for each field.

OK Saves settings and exits the panel.

Cancel Forgets changes and exits the panel.

Set specific properties for a Text box

Type Select form Regular text, Number, Date, Current Date, Current Time, or Calculation.

Default text sets optional instructional text that's displayed in the text box before the user types in the field. Set Text box enabled to allow the user to enter text into the field.

Maximum length sets the length of text that a user can enter. The default is Unlimited .

Text format can set whether text automatically formats to Uppercase , Lowercase , First capital, or Title case .

Text box enabled Lets the user enter text into a field. If there is default text, user text replaces it.

Set specific properties for a Check box .

Default Value Choose between Not checked or checked as default.

Checkbox size Set a size Exactly or Auto to change size as needed.

Check box enabled Lets the user check or clear the text box.

Set specific properties for a Combo box

Drop-down item Type in strings for the list box items. Press + or Enter to add an item to the list.

Items in drop-down list Shows your current list. Select an item and use the up or down arrows to change the order, Press - to remove a selected item.

Drop-down enabled Lets the user open the combo box and make selections.

Protect the form

Go to Developer > Protect Form .

Protect form button on the Developer tab

Note:  To unprotect the form and continue editing, select Protect Form again.

Save and close the form.

Test the form (optional)

If you want, you can test the form before you distribute it.

Protect the form.

Reopen the form, fill it out as the user would, and then save a copy.

Creating fillable forms isn’t available in Word for the web.

You can create the form with the desktop version of Word with the instructions in Create a fillable form .

When you save the document and reopen it in Word for the web, you’ll see the changes you made.

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    Show the Developer tab. If the developer tab isn't displayed in the ribbon, see Show the Developer tab.. Open a template or use a blank document. To create a form in Word that others can fill out, start with a template or document and add content controls.