Block Buster
Ideas To Thwart Writer’s Block
Tell Me More!
Today’s activity is the exact opposite. The object of this exercise is to enrich a piece of writing with increased description. However, there can be danger here. Too much description and you run the risk of being accused of padding the text to increase the word count. It can also frustrate readers and ruin your pacing, not to mention look amateurish.
Again, choose a starter image.
I’ve recommended the use of a random picture generator before.
https://writingexercises.co.uk/random-image-generator.php is a good one, or you can just use Google Images.
Write a paragraph to describe what you see.
Then take that paragraph and double its length. How will you do this? Use more colourful descriptions? Add additional metaphors? Or will you add in another aspect of the picture that isn’t included in the original description?
Once you’ve done this, then go back with a fresh eye and see if you can trim the piece – this is vital, to avoid your final prose becoming flabby and embarrassingly florid. The aim is not to simply delete what you’ve just added (that would be a pointless activity), rather to cut the fat and make it more pacey.
How much of the new text will you keep? Will you ditch some of the original paragraph?
Can you tighten sentences by using more efficient language? Are there tautologies (sentences that are written in a redundant fashion – eg he ran faster, covering the distance more rapidly – well obviously, that is literally the definition and purpose of running faster!)? What about punctuation? Commas and semicolons can eliminate the need for joining words. See if you can decrease the length to between 50% and 75% – that’s a tall order, so don’t worry if you don’t quite manage it.
Ideally, you are looking for a balance between tightly written prose and rich description.
Do you have any suggestions on ways to increase the descriptive power of a piece without sacrificing pacing?
As always, feel free to comment her or on social media.
Best wishes,
Paul
