Description - How to Share the Workload with Your Reader

Whatever genre or form you’re writing in, getting the level of description right can be tricky. Too much and your reader might get bored, too little and they might not be interested. 

But you don’t have to do all of the work yourself. One of the things I love about writing is that the reader brings so much of the story-telling process with them.  They look at our squiggles on the page and transform them into worlds and characters in their minds. 

Active Reading for Writers

WARNING: Once acquired, this skill can be difficult to get rid of. You will notice writing techniques everywhere.

Active Reading means becoming more than the average consumer of literature. It means abandoning the comfort of passive reading.

If you’re a driver, you might remember how your perspective changed when started learning to drive. Before, you simply got in the car, fastened your seat-belt and that was it. That was your active engagement with the driving process. You allowed yourself to be transported, swaying with the twists and turns, becoming alarmed at any sudden stops or unexpected movements.

But, once you started learning to drive, you became a more active passenger. Hopefully you’re not an annoying backseat driver who can’t stop commenting, but now, when someone else is driving, you are probably more aware of what they are doing. You notice at least some of the hazards on the road ahead and anticipate some of the bends and the sudden stops.

Active Reading does a similar thing. You have to train your mind to notice things you wouldn’t usually notice as a reader.