A Writing Activity that Boosts Your Descriptive Skills

Learning to apply the correct words to things like feelings or our senses is a key ingredient to writing well. It is your language that draws the reader into your story.

We each already know what we feel when we are sad, how comforting the baking cookies smell, and the frightening feeling of being out of control, and we can usually describe it to people in a few sentences with little effort if we really have to. But how easy is it to describe it in three words? Or even one?

Remember, today's internet reader is short on time. With information made easy, they want their info in small doses packed with knowledge. It is important to eliminate unnecessary, or filler words, from your sentences.

This exercise can be done anywhere with as little or much time as you have. Do it in the two minutes while waiting in line to scan your groceries, twenty minutes while waiting for your Doctor, or on your lunch hour. Every burst you can give it will help improve your writing skills immensely!

You can even do it as a boost when you're suffering writer's block.

Supplies

You only need the notepad on your phone or a small notebook or sheet of paper for your small bursts- like when waiting in line or for an appointment. Use a full-size paper for the time you set aside to develop this useful skill. Lined or unlined, that is totally up to you. I usually use lined.
Your favorite writing utensil.

Do not limit this activity by paper size. Sometimes my experience flows over onto several sheets of paper. Experiment! You never know what will spark your creativity and generate curiosity, and curiosity is the backbone of a writer.

Activity

Draw a circle and put your name in the center
Describe your five senses, six if you nourish the gift, with words. Write the words that describe each sense in the circle around your name.
Use color if you like! It helps your mind create and remember!

To increase your environmental awareness, place your words on the paper in relation to the actual direction. For instance, I am sitting on my bed in the evening at the moment. It's rush hour, and I can hear cars scurrying home to my right, my lamp is on in front of me, and the radio is on lightly to my right. I would write my descriptive words for car sounds to the right in my circle, and for the music to my left. My sight description would be written toward the top of the circle.

Prompts

To help you expand your descriptive experience, use these prompts:

Describe the shadows. How do they fall? Do this at another time of day, and describe how the shadows are now. Notice the difference?
Describe the temperature around you, and the temp inside you.
How would you describe the quality of light?
When you are out- people. Describe their aura, what they appear to be feeling based upon how they are acting. For instance, the quiet man in the coffee shop staring off into space might be contemplating a holiday. The woman being mean to the cashier might be sad inside because her husband just announced divorce. Guess what they do for work. How do they smell? Describe their wishes or regrets. Why have they chosen to stand or sit where they are? Have fun with this one!

What is your cat feeling as she stares out the window with that expression?
Describe the trees, weeds, etc. Why are they where they are? What does the shrub by the busy road feel? What does the tree in the playground feel?

When you become comfortable describing environment and emotions, start to liken them to something else. This office cubicle feels like a hamster cage, and the boss is a mean kid. This grocery store at five pm feels like a rave after it's closed at 5 am.

Continue to rejuvenate this activity as you get comfortable to increase your awareness and descriptive powers.

More Prompts

Describe what your muscles are feeling.
Describe the emotions of your clothing.
How do you feel, really?
Describe your mood. Does it have a color? A flavor?
Listen to music and describe your emotions.

Be kind to yourself while you are learning and growing with this. This is not the easiest activity, however, it is an extremely important and effective one. Even if you are not a writer, this will expand your descriptive skills tenfold in a very short amount of time.

Anyone who needs to put what they see and intuit into words: managers, judges, police, speakers, childcare workers, teachers, and many more will benefit greatly from this exercise.

Try this activity a couple times and describe your feelings in the comments!