How to Write Great Setting Descriptions with Justin Fike

Have you ever wanted to know how to write great setting descriptions? I don't mean simple, bland descriptions; I'm talking amazing descriptions that immerse your readers in the world you've created. The ability to do this isn't something people are born with. It's a skill they've developed by studying their craft and practice. In this episode, author Justin Fike shares some tips for how you can improve your descriptions.

Throughout the interview, we talk about anchor points, the difference between show and tell, and mistakes that new authors make. Justin also shares two examples of a scene written with and without anchor points, and we analyze the two descriptions.

Highlights

00:01:20 Justin's Author Journey.

00:13:20 How Justin improved his setting descriptions.

00:19:02 What is the difference between a poor description and a great one?

00:26:18 Lack of confidence will cause writers to over-describe a scene.

00:26:53 Anchor Points.

00:28:03 Examples of scene descriptions with and without anchor points.

00:31:47 What is the difference between show and tell?

00:35:21 Analyzing the two examples.

00:40:10 What anchor points should an author include? How many?

00:45:00 Should you rotate your use of anchor points?

00:46:14 Common mistakes new authors make when describing scenes, and how can they avoid them?

00:50:39 How do inside scene descriptions differ from outside ones?

1:02:09 Resources for scene descriptions.

1:09:00 Author Action Point.

Resources Mentioned

Story by Robert McKee

Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

Writing Vivid Settings by Rayne Hall

 

Head to the Show Notes for more.