# Looking for a resource for descriptions



## Shreddies (Sep 20, 2015)

As the title says, I'm looking for a dictionary or compilation of written descriptions (preferably colorful in nature) of various textures, items, creatures, etc.

Like, what are some other ways you could describe the smooth overlapping scales of one type of lizard, or the rough, rumply-bumply texture of another type? etc. (I want to avoid comparing it to other animals)

Also, does anyone know of any resources for body language as well?


----------



## Zadocfish (Sep 20, 2015)

I think rough, crinkled or smooth, over-lapping transfers the mental image of the scales just fine.

As for body language...  Just describe what they're doing, and I think it'll work fine.


----------



## Svrtnsse (Sep 20, 2015)

For body language - start with looking at yourself.

This article has some interesting info on hiw emotions are felt physically: Study: body mapping reveals emotions are felt in the same way across cultures (Wired UK). It also links to the original paper for the study.

Another resources that's often mentioned in this context is the emotion thesaurus. I still haven't gotten around to picking it up, but it'll probably happen sooner or later - it's just a matter of time.


----------



## Penpilot (Sep 20, 2015)

I'm not sure if there's a resource like what you're looking for, but to be honest, I don't think you need it. Part of learning how to write is learning how to describe something with words that come from within you and are focused through the lens of your characters.

You want to describe "the smooth overlapping scales of one type of lizard"? Well... you just did it. Maybe there isn't a lot of fan-fair to the description, but you don't need fancy words or to elaborate more than what your story needs. One of the ways to kill your prose is to force something into the description that is blatantly not of you or your character. It'll stick out like a sore thumb. 

You want to learn how to describe something, go out and experience it. If that's not possible try to find something from your own experiences and extrapolate from that.

Part of learning to write is learning to find the right words to describe something. Yes, and part of that is observing how other writers/people have done it. But to me, I don't think that's going to help you develop your descriptive skills as much as just writing and trying to put your own words to things.

To me, when you describe something, there is purpose behind the choices in the words. If you look at passages from other works that describe something, and then borrow those bits and put them into your own without understanding why the words were used in that instance, the words lose purpose and won't necessarily work with your story.

Any way. Sorry about the rambly. Just my 2cents.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Sep 20, 2015)

I agree with PenPilot on the surface. Part of developing a style and voice is how you choose to describe. Like most things in life, you'll get better the more you do describe and flex your creative muscles. 

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like what you are _really_ asking is "how do I employ simile and metaphor"? From that angle, your question makes a lot more sense to me. 

Simile - a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

Metaphor - a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

I believe all metaphors are similes, but not the other way around. 

An example:
Jacob's skin rose in angry, red welts like the hide of a poisonous toad.

Anyone that's read my writing knows I love metaphor and simile, often to a fault. I have to cut a lot from my early drafts because I love how a good metaphor or simile can render an image (or other sense) so vividly with such clarity, brevity, and layered meaning. As Orson Scott Card says, "“Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space.”

All that being said, you don't need a book of descriptive metaphors. You need to sit down and think. Sit down and write. Be creative and think about comparisons you've witnessed. Allow the originality within you to shine in your work by utilizing your imagination. Above all, practice...practice...practice. In your post, you said you wished to avoid comparing one animal to another. That's good. You should probably be comparing two unlike things in this instance. So think...what else looks or feels like that sort of hide?



Shreddies said:


> Also, does anyone know of any resources for body language as well?


As mentioned before, The Emotion Thesaurus is great for this. However, if you buy it, don't use it as a cheat sheet. Meaning, don't simply look up an emotion and copy one of the descriptive expressions. Use it as a catalyst for your own original thought. Once you start reading through the list of body language cues relating to anger, for example, it should spark your own unique twists.

I hope that helps.


----------



## Incanus (Sep 21, 2015)

With PP and TAS all the way here.

I think appropriate descriptions are born out of many of the other elements of fiction.  POV and character attitudes, theme and plot can inform how a description is handled.  And since these are all unique to every story, the last thing you want is a 'cookie-cutter' list of pre-made descriptions.  Work at it and continue to work at it.

Also, however much you're reading, read more.


----------



## Shreddies (Sep 22, 2015)

Thank you, I'll see if I can find a place to buy the Thesaurus. I wasn't looking to find descriptive templates to follow. Just something that would help expand my vocabulary.


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Sep 22, 2015)

Shreddies said:


> Thank you, I'll see if I can find a place to buy the Thesaurus. I wasn't looking to find descriptive templates to follow. Just something that would help expand my vocabulary.



For that, I'd recommend you read a lot from writers who tend to be descriptive.


----------



## Shreddies (Sep 22, 2015)

T.Allen.Smith said:


> For that, I'd recommend you read a lot from writers who tend to be descriptive.



Any in particular?


----------



## T.Allen.Smith (Sep 22, 2015)

Mervyn Peake is the first that springs to mind.   

There are other scribes more widely read in the fantasy genre than I am though. I'm sure they'll pitch in here shortly.

If you don't get many recommendations here, ask in the Novels & Stories forum.


----------



## Nimue (Sep 22, 2015)

Oh! I don't think this is directly what you're looking for, but I love these online versions of Webster's 1913 & 1828 dictionaries, and Roget's thesaurus from 1911.  The definitions are far more evocative and connotative than modern dictionary definitions, and sometimes that's enough to spark connections in your brain to other words or images.  For writing fantasy specifically, it helps that a great deal of modernisms and slangy definitions are absent.  Definitely my go-to, along with the physical copy of Roget's from 1948 that I picked up at a thrift store.  Wordsss!


----------



## skip.knox (Sep 22, 2015)

Oh absolutely, Nimue. Anything prior to WWI is a treasure for the fantasy writer!


----------



## SeverinR (Nov 25, 2015)

Shreddies said:


> As the title says, I'm looking for a dictionary or compilation of written descriptions (preferably colorful in nature) of various textures, items, creatures, etc.
> 
> Like, what are some other ways you could describe the smooth overlapping scales of one type of lizard, or the rough, rumply-bumply texture of another type? etc. (I want to avoid comparing it to other animals)
> 
> Also, does anyone know of any resources for body language as well?



Found this list of lists...DESCRIPTIVE THESAURUS COLLECTION - WRITERS HELPING WRITERSÃ¢„Â¢WRITERS HELPING WRITERSÃ¢„Â¢ 
A list of thesauruses.
I will have to book mark this too. Found it searching for what you asked.

wow, a emotional wounds thesaurus for those of us who have mental characters. (Mental doesn't only mean homicidal)


----------

