Imagine your story is played out on a stage as your reader experiences it. The stage begins in darkness, and then two actors appear on stage, only their heads visible as they're dressed in black jumpsuits to blend in with the darkened stage. They begin talking, two heads floating in nothingness. This is what your story looks like without description to anchor it. But how you add that description is important too.
Blend, don't list
The least intrusive way to add your description is by blending it into the action. At a push, you can use your character as an observer, but too much flat observation can dull the story.
When you list the attributes of your setting and characters, it's as if you've called the prop movers and wardrobe team out onto that darkened stage while your audience is trying to watch the play. Like an audience member would, your reader also has to watch patiently as each item is ticked off the list.
"The walls were
1 painted white and
2 green curtains hung on the windows.
3 A long oak sideboard stood along one wall,
4 a lace cloth draped over it and
5 framed photographs were arranged haphazardly on top."
As writers, we've become too influenced by film and television, which shows us every detail of a scene. A novel, although a different medium to a play, shares some of the simplicity of the play when it comes to description: Just enough to give the reader an anchor. Leave the rest to your reader's imagination.
In that scene listed above, what is the important feature of that room? In terms of characterisation, perhaps the oak sideboard with the photo display would tell your reader the most about the person who owns it.
So, returning to our talking heads on the darkened stage, imagine one character begins to move across the stage. As he moves, the reader can picture him. A very simple example is whether he walks across the room, or wheels himself across. Do you see how one simple change offers a completely different picture? The reader doesn't need a full list of clothing in order to give the character a body, as long as he can picture what the character is doing.
The character crosses the room to the oak sideboard and picks up a photograph. Now there's an anchor in the room and the details of the photograph will tell the reader more about the person this character is visiting, if this is the point of view character.
Remember, too, that depending on whether or not he is the point of view character, the reader is either observing this character or is observing the room and other character through this character's eyes - and that influences how much you describe about that character.
Your description should give the reader a kick-off point for their own imagination - and this allows the reader to own their experience of your book and become more deeply involved in the story.
For more help learning to set your scenes up effectively, try Scene and Structure by Jack M. Bickham, or
Write Great Fiction : Description & Setting by Ron Rozelle
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