Deeper Purposes of Descriptions in Novels

When I pick up a novel, I want to be transported to the character’s world. I want to experience what they experience, see what they see, and feel what they feel. Descriptions hold the power to do just that.

Descriptions begin with setting and physical attributes, but their job doesn’t stop there. Descriptions can take us far deeper than the surface. They need to matter and have a deeper point. The purpose of descriptions is multi-dimensional. I want to dive into two aspects of descriptions today. First, we can explore a few elements that go into crafting descriptions. Next, we will dive into how we can write strategic descriptions for deeper purposes.

A few elements to aim for when crafting descriptions:

1. Put yourself in the character’s skin. Let the scene play out in your head like a movie. Think about how you can describe what you are seeing in a way the character experiences it or reacts to it.
2. Weave in the five senses in each chapter. As you write, notice if you use one sense more than others. Try to get them all in, if possible. Taste is the hardest to implement but still can appear through your book.
3. Make your words count. As you write a description, ask yourself if there is a reason for it. Challenge yourself to create descriptions that have emotions, analogies, or foreshadowing in them.
4. Ponder how you can use similes, metaphors, hyperbole, or foreshadowing in your descriptions to make them come to life and create relatable images in your reader’s mind. We don’t want to overuse figurative language, but it can be beneficial when strategically placed.
5. Descriptions are often mixed with dialogue, action, and emotion. It’s wise to avoid long paragraphs that describe many things but lack a grounding force. Often descriptions are interwoven beautifully with other elements. Study some of your favorite novels. Take a chapter or two and underline different elements (emotions, action, dialogue, description, and narrative) in different colors. This gives you a visual on how you can weave descriptions in with the other elements of the story.

Now that we have a few starting points, let’s move into how we can go deeper with descriptions. One of my favorite ways to learn about certain elements in storytelling is by studying how other authors do it. In this next section, I will share different elements of your story that descriptions can explore by sharing excerpts from novels.

Emotion

Descriptions can be a perfect way to show emotions and feelings without telling what the character is feeling. In Tricia Goyer’s book, A Secret Courage, she uses descriptions of the setting to place the reader into the emotion of fear. “Behind him, his pursuers. Before him, a mountain of rubble. To the right a wall, but to the left a centuries-old-arched entrance, a gate, and an empty, overgrown courtyard. He pulled and pushed the cast iron gate, but its only response was a loud rattling. Locked.”

Symbolism

Is there something you want to use as a symbol in your book? Can you tie that into a description? In Susan May Warren’s book, Nightingale, she uses stars as a symbol of hope throughout the story. She begins this thread early on when she is describing the night. “Especially with the stars swelling against the velvet black of midnight, so resplendent that she could probably pluck one from its mount. She’d tuck a jewel in the pocket of her apron and after her shift take it home to Sadie and save it for the dark, starless nights ahead.”

Theme

In the novel The Lost Melody by Joanna Davidson Politano, a major theme is finding light in darkness. It’s also about seeing glimpses of joy and purpose, even when things seem awful. Her setting is an asylum. Through the entire novel, she interweaves the theme with descriptions of what the characters see in the asylum. Here is a glimpse of that: “I stared at that face as it melted into the shadows. Darkness again wrapped itself around me, tightening. Oddly chilling. I felt my aloneness. I gripped the end of that Anna woman’s bed, drawing strength from her music box just as she did, clinging to what was solid. She wound it again while Dr. Turner likely put the frantic patient back to bed, then he came for me, leading me out with one hand to my back. Light. A small glow along the corridor. I could see again, had a sense of what was around me. I took a few breaths as the world settled back into normalcy. Stones, wall lights, rows of doors.”

Trigger

Can you tie in a description of the weather, the place they are in, or something they see with a trigger of past pain? In my current work in progress, I tie in a cloudless day that doesn’t occur often in the area with a painful past event. “As I turn to go back into the house, something scurries in the tree branches above me and I direct my gaze up. The bundle of flowers I clutched just a second ago falls to the ground. I press my hand against my chest. As if pressing hard enough will remove the aching memory. Not even a single cloud adorns the bright blue sky… The day my husband left was exactly like today. Perfect in every way.”

Understanding the Story World 

For the reader to be transported to the characters’ daily life, they need to have details on the story world. Sarah Sundin does a great job of placing the reader in the atmosphere of Europe in 1938 at the beginning of her novel, When Twilight Breaks. “She stood under the blood-red swastika flags as the Fuhrer’s cavalcade rolled into Vienna to the thunderous cries of “Heil, Hitler!” In her story, she’d described the little girl in native costume tossing flowers and the black-uniformed SS officer handing the bouquet to the Fuhrer. But she’d also described the scene on another street, where a mob forced two dozen Jews to scrub anti-Nazi graffiti from the sidewalk. She could still see the silver-haired man down on his knees, still see the jeering boy knock the gentleman’s hat into the gutter. The man had reached for his hat, then thought better of it and returned to work.”

Setting

When describing a setting, consider if it is possible to tie in a character’s struggles, wounds, fears, or personality. Another example from my work in progress gives the reader an idea of where the house is located and shows a little about the character herself:

My house sits on the edge of town, right over the bridge. Just far enough away from people that I feel safe, but close enough my grandson can ride his bike to see me.

Descriptions have been a weak point for me in my writing. I was always afraid to use them because I didn’t want to lose the reader in boring details. But I have learned they are so much more than describing something. We need descriptions to set our reader in the story and we can use them without them being pointless. The more I learn about them, the more fun I have crafting them. I hope this post has given you some ideas to go craft some fun descriptions that really set your reader in the story!