In a guest post on Writers Helping Writers, C.S. Lakin says that less is more when it comes to describing your setting. “The challenge is how to find the proper balance between over- and under-describing, between extensively showing the setting with sensory details and briefly summarizing,” she says.
But how do you find that balance? “Learning to find the balance between too little and too much description takes time, practice, and study,” Lakin says. “Study is the most important of the three elements because that is how you will learn masterful technique.”
Lakin suggests reviewing a favorite novel to see how the writer handled setting. “Often you’ll find that just 3-4 sensory details will convey a sense of place,” she says. Whatever detail you choose should be shown from your POV’s character’s perspective. What your protagonist notices about their surroundings and how they experience it will provide you reader with powerful images and set the mood of your scene.
To get into your protagonist’s mindset, remind yourself of the purpose of your scene when you write. “Hardly anyone ever looks around them and makes a mental list of every single thing they can see,” Lakin notes. She shares some examples of writers who captured a sense of place with only a few sentences, using their narrator’s POV. The descriptions are personal and often accompanied by interaction with the setting.
