How to set the scene.

[HopefullAA]

How do you get better at describing surroundings without slowing a scene down too much? I tend to focus heavily on dialogue and characters and realize afterward that I barely described where they are. ive noticed my chapters are a little short because one of my biggest flaws I've noticed is I'm bad with making surroundings feel real or easy to imagine.

 

[pmmg]

The best way to get good at writing is to review the crap out of other ppls stuff.

 

[Prince of Spires]

That's what the second draft is for. You can always add in the details when editing the story.

Also, keep in mind that every writer is different. Some give loads of descriptions while others give just enough to set the scene, and you find everything in between. If you're unsure, give the story to a beta reader and ask their opinion.

As for how to do it, practice and the "rule of three". The rule of three is that 3 is the ideal number of details to give. It's enough for people to remember (most people will have trouble remembering more than 3 details at a time) but not so many that it slows down the story. Sprinkle it into the dialogue and action and don't just have it as a blob at the start.

A good excercise is to write a scene 3 times. Each time, pick a different character and describe what they see. For instance, have the character walk across a marketplace. What do they see? Maybe they perform a drop or try to prevent one. Or maybe they just need groceries. But a spy will see the market differently from a child and different again from a woman taking her fish to market. Or whatever.

 

[HopefullAA]

That's what the second draft is for. You can always add in the details when editing the story.

Also, keep in mind that every writer is different. Some give loads of descriptions while others give just enough to set the scene, and you find everything in between. If you're unsure, give the story to a beta reader and ask their opinion.

As for how to do it, practice and the "rule of three". The rule of three is that 3 is the ideal number of details to give. It's enough for people to remember (most people will have trouble remembering more than 3 details at a time) but not so many that it slows down the story. Sprinkle it into the dialogue and action and don't just have it as a blob at the start.

A good excercise is to write a scene 3 times. Each time, pick a different character and describe what they see. For instance, have the character walk across a marketplace. What do they see? Maybe they perform a drop or try to prevent one. Or maybe they just need groceries. But a spy will see the market differently from a child and different again from a woman taking her fish to market. Or whatever.

i like you strat but i write in POV for one character per chapter so i cant do that one last part exactly. the other parts were very helpful though thank you

 

[Karlin]

The best way to get good at writing is to review the crap out of other ppls stuff.

I know you always say that, but I disagree. I say: Read a lot, and write as much as you can."

 

[pmmg]

We will remain in disagreement then.

There are many ways to the same destination. I choose to advocate the one that my wisdom tells me is the fastest and most effective path.

 

[Romy]

i like you strat but i write in POV for one character per chapter so i cant do that one last part exactly. the other parts were very helpful though thank you

Doesn't need to be in the book. Try from another character. Or even a 'fly on the wall'. It just helps you visualize the scene.
You are the creator, nothing you can't do

 

[JBCrowson]

"The best way to get good at writing is to review the crap out of other ppls stuff."

"I know you always say that, but I disagree. I say: Read a lot, and write as much as you can."

I don't think these two ideas are mutually self exclusive. You can't review without reading first, and I find since starting writing, I'm unconsciously analysing everything I read even if I'm not doing do deliberately.

Oh and I agree that it makes my own writing better. It is also the way that most helps me out of a period of block.

 

[pmmg]

Im gonna say these two are not the same. One is reading, maybe evaluating, maybe just enjoying…or hating. The other is looking for how to improve the story, how to say it and putting in writing. Do that 100 times and you will have a much better feel for what makes a story work and how to present. And you will have a much sharper inner editor. <—and you did not have the burden of being blind to your own.

 

[skip.knox]

>I tend to focus heavily on dialogue and characters and realize afterward that I barely described where they are.
I have a tendency to do this, too. It's nearly always in first draft, and I think I know why I do it. It's because in the first draft I'm primarily struggling with figuring out what happens and how. Some folks use the phrase: telling the story to myself. I'm focused on the character interplay, plus a bit of stage mechanics--who is where, when. Sensory description, emotional descriptions, these often get neglected.

I have and do try to get those thing in on the first draft, not least because once in a while those things actually cause changes in how the scene plays out. They're more than just decoration. But the more focused I get, the faster I'm moving through that first draft, the less attention those descriptive elements receive.

After a while, with enough books behind me, I stopped calling them bad habits and started calling them my process. It's how I work. Doesn't mean I don't work on my craft. The goal is still to get all of it in there on the first draft, so the damn thing doesn't squirrel around on me so much.

If that's you, or at least it's you right now, then you're off to a good start. You recognize a need. The place to practice is exactly on that second draft. Take the advice about writing from different POVs. Only one will make it into the final, but it's exercise of the authorial muscles. Those others aren't wasted effort, they're practice. Every artist has a high practice to performance ratio.

And, as you go, take the other advice. Read. Do some critiquing, either in a critique group or online, or even on your own. There's lots of things a writer can do beyond working on the WIP.