Descriptive Writing

Good writers write descriptively.  A good writer does not have to tell how a character feels, because a good writer can show how a character feels by describing how the character looks, behaves, and thinks. Descriptive writing includes details that appeal to the five senses: sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. In descriptive writing, the writer must convey information that appeals to all the senses, in order to give the best possible description to the reader. Show-not-tell writing is commonly used in fiction and non-fiction writing, to help immerse readers into the world of the writer.

Read the following paragraph and write a good title for it on the line below.

The boy slouched down low on his desk – it was all he could do not to fall asleep.  The teacher droned on and on and whenever the boy tried to look at him, his eyes seemed to cross.  He could not concentrate, all he heard was a buzz in his head that sounded like, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.”  He tried to pull himself up and thought that a moan might have escaped his mouth.  He twiddled his fingers.  He doodled on his page. He did anything he could to make the time pass. He wanted to get up so badly that he thought that he was going to explode.  The seconds on the clock ticked by like decades and as the end of the period approached, he could taste freedom.  Looking around the room, he could see that all of the other students had glazed looks on their faces too.  His brain felt completely numb and he could barely move his hand to write down his homework assignment.

What title would you choose for this passage?

You probably chose a title like “The boy was bored” or “The class was boring” or “The teacher was boring that day.”  The paragraph does not use the word “boring” but it is obvious by the way that the boy acts and thinks that the class bores him.

The best kind of writing doesn’t tell you how people feel.  You KNOW how they feel because the writer shows what people do and say.  The paragraph above uses four of the five senses: 

                    Sight: looked around the room and everyone else had a glazed look

                    Sound: droned on and on; all he heard was the buzz in his head

                    Taste: it was like he could taste freedom

                    Feel: His brain was completely numb; he could barely move his hand