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Miss Huckabay's Thoughts on Descriptive Writing

Why is descriptive writing important? If there were no descriptions, any and all writing would be horrendous. Essays, short stories, poems, letters, song lyrics, and plays would have no substance. Audiences and readers would have nothing to look forward to reading.

It is so important to first understand that descriptions in writing create pictures in the readers’ minds. Some characteristics of descriptive writing include the use of figurative language, imagery, and rich details. All three of these characteristics combine to construct a mental picture of the person, place, or idea being described. Of these three, the use of imagery, appealing to the five senses, is one of the most important to note. By using all of the senses in describing a certain object or idea, the writer can easily captivate and involve the reader in a strong way.  In addition to using imagery and figurative language, I enjoy nothing more than to pull up an online thesaurus while beginning a new short story or essay that I want to write and continuously find synonyms for overused words and verbs. Variety in word usage creates more descriptive and vivid paragraphs that engage and involve the reader. It is strong descriptive writing that breathes life into otherwise bland, dull observations and narrations.

What would happen if people stopped challenging themselves to describe in detail daily activities and observations? How could cops solve cases of burglaries and murders without the help of witnesses’ vivid memories and descriptions? How could scientists develop new cures to diseases without precise, detailed observations? Could engineers design new structures without a creative mind and vivid details for their goals?  In a first glance, descriptive writing may not seem all that important in the grand scheme of life. However, if you just start asking yourself what would happen in the world if there were no descriptions of anything, its importance will become much more clear

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