658349328743289

Chapter 14: Using Description to Create Atmosphere and . . . and . . . Suspense!
169
2. Use a postcard or photograph of a place in your story – or that’s similar
to a place in the story, if you’re writing about somewhere imaginary.
Similar to step 1, describe the memories and feelings it evokes in
the character.
Enhancing character and atmosphere
with description
Always relate description in your story to a character’s feelings and thoughts,
so that the passage constantly gives your reader information about the character,
but in a more subtle manner than writing ‘he’s anxious’ or ‘she’s determined’.
To do so, you can use the fact that different people can perceive the
same place completely differently. A character who is anxious or depressed
might think a place unpleasant, while someone who is happy might see only
the good things about it.
Write about the same place from the point of view of three different characters.
Make them respond emotionally to the place and also make them notice
different details. Make sure that you reveal important things about your characters’
mood and emotions through the words you choose and details you
highlight.
Description is always more interesting when you weave it into action (something
I discuss in more detail in Chapter 12). Work on finding ways to make
your character’s experience of something active – for example, have the character
search frantically for an item under time pressure in order to describe
the shambolic contents of a room; or make your description of a misty, murky,
inhospitable landscape more interesting by requiring the character to cross it
while inadequately dressed.
You can reveal aspects of characters by what they do and don’t notice. For
example, when a character sees a person or place that he knows well, he
probably doesn’t see the whole picture. What he does notice, however, are
the things that have changed – and describing these objects or people can be
really interesting to readers. If the character has lost weight, readers wonder
why: is he ill or lovesick or has he just decided to get healthier? If a picture is
missing from a wall, readers want to know who took it and why.