Smells: acid, acrid, airy, biting, clean, crisp, dirty, earthy, faint, feminine,
fetid, fishy, fresh, floral, flowery, light, loamy, masculine, moist, musty,
nauseating, perfumed, pungent, putrid, rancid, redolent, repulsive, rotten,
sharp, sour, spicy, spoiled, stale, stinking, sweaty, sweet, tart, and wispy.
Tastes: acidic, biting, bitter, brackish, briny, cold, dry, earthy, flavorful,
fruity, full-bodied, gamy, gross, hot, juicy, peppery, rancid, rank, rich, salty,
sharp, sour, succulent, sugary, sweet, syrupy, tangy, tart, zesty, zingy.
Chapter – Sounds.
Sounds also play an important role in setting the scene and adding
excitement to your writing. Ticking clock, howling wolves, crickets chirping,
drumming rain, horns blaring, tyres screeching, whip cracking, tap
dripping, floorboards creaking, doors slamming, glass shattering, waves
crashing.
Sounds: Bang, bark, beep, bellow, blare, blast, bleat, boom, bray, buzz,
cackle, cheep, chime, clack, clank, clap, clatter, clink, cluck, clunk, crack,
crackle, crash, creak, dingdong, drop, drumming, fizz, glug, gnashing,
gobble, grating, growl, grumble, gurgle, hiss, hoot, howl, hum, jingle, jangle,
knock, mew, moan, mod, murmur, neigh, patter, peal, peep, pop, power,
pounding, pulsing, purr, put-put, rap, rat-a-tat, rattle, ring, rippling, roar,
rumble, rushing, rustle, scream, scrunch, shriek, sizzle, slam, snap, snarl,
snort, splash, sputter, squawk, squeal, squish, stamp, swish, swoosh, tap,
tattoo, tearing, throb, thud, thump, thunder, tick, tick-tock, tinkle, toot, trill,
twang, twitter, wail, wheeze, whine, whir, whisper, yap, yelp, zap.
Chapter - Touch?
Touch: Bristly, burning, cold, cottony, damp, dry, feathery, frosty, furry,
fuzzy, gnarled, hairy, hot, knobbed, knotted, leathery, limp, lumpy, oily,
puffy, ribbed, rough, rubbery, sandy, sharp, slimy, smooth, sticky, tough,
velvety, wet.
Chapter - Feelings. For example, you could say the character has goose
bumps, a pounding heart. Was wide-eyed, openmouthed, speechless,
trembling, or feeling faint.
List of adjectives to describe tone: Alarmed. Angry. Annoyed. Believing.
Bitter. Bold. Calculated. Cautious. Clever. Conservative. Devoted.
Disbelieving. Disgruntled. Dreary. Dull. Enlightened. Foolish. Fresh. Guilty.
Happy. Hating. Heavy. Horrified. Humorous. Hurtful. Intelligent. Intently.
Involved. Irritated. Liberal. Light. Loving. Mysterious. Narcissistic.
Obnoxious. Outraged. Political. Purposeful. Quizzical. Religious.
Remorseful. Republican. Resentful. Sad. Sarcastic. Sardonic. Secretive.
Secular. Social. Startled. Supportive. Supportive. Sympathetic.
Adjectives to describe character feelings: Aback. Agreeable. Amazed.
Angry. Animated. Attracted. Attractive. Bashful. Beautiful. Better. Brave.
Calm. Cheerful. Chilly. Clean. Cold. Defeated. Delightful. Dirty.
Disgruntled. Dreadful. Dumb. Eager. Embarrassed. Empowered.
Engrossed. Evil. Excited. Faith. Festive. Foolish. Fortunate. Free. Gentle.
Gorgeous. Great. Handsome. Happy. Hating. Hope. Hot. Hungry. Hurt.
Intelligent. Involved. Jolly. Joyful. Kind. Loving. Lucky. Moody. Nervous.
Nice. Okay. Optimistic. Pessimistic. Playful. Proud. Reliable. Relieved. Sad.
Sadistic. Scared. Serene. Sick. Silly. Smart. Strong. Stupid. Supportive.
Sweet. Taken terrible. Thirsty. Thrilled. Tired. Ugly. Understanding. Warm.
Weak. Well. Wonderful.
Chapter – Emotions.
Adjectives to describe emotions:
Aggravated. Angry. Annoyed. Anxiety. Appreciative. Depressed. Despise.
Devastated. Disgruntled. Envy. Faith. Fear. Frustration. Grumpy. Guilt. Hating.
Happy. Hope. Horrified. Hurt. Jealousy. Joyful. Liking. Longing. Loving.
Lusting. Mad. Overcome. Overjoyed. Overwhelmed. Pity. Pride. Respectful.
Sad. Self. Selfish. Serene. Shame. Sick. Sour. Supportive. Sweet. Tearful.
Thrilled.
Chapter – Weather.
The weather is another way to set the scene for your reader. It may even
determine how your character might act in the scene. Are there any heavy
gray clouds threatening to burst? What about torrential rain, claps of
thunder and flashes of lightning illuminating the ink-black sky?
Descriptions of weather: Arid, bad, bitter, blusterous, balmy, calm, cold,
cloudy, crummy, clear, close, damp, dead, dark, drizzly, frosty, good, hot,
humid, hazy, icy, mild, misty, muggy, rainy, raw, revolting, sunny, stormy,
snow, steamy, showery, scorching, sultry, tempestuous, warm, wet, windy.
Describe the sky and clouds. Sunrise and sunset. Lightning and thunder.
The wind and the rain. The moon and the stars. Dusk or dawn, and so forth.
A note of warning. Don't be overly descriptive, you don't want to drown
your reader with every little detail. The secret is balance - knowing when
you have amply described a situation, and moving on with your story.
Lastly, the most effective way to hone your descriptive writing skills is to read,
read, and read. You can never read enough if you want to become a successful
writer who captivates his readers from the beginning of the book right up to the
very last page.
I hope you have enjoyed this little book of descriptive writing and have taken
something interesting from it. Continue reading to learn some writing tips from
published authors.
