When I discover a beautiful picture, I very often catch myself standing there, sunken into the sight and just enjoying. And then, I realize, very slowly, that I picture some of my characters interacting right at this wonderful place.

In book 6 of my series, I have some of my characters meeting in a clearing which I had kept in my memory like a valuable treasure, only to remember it the moment I needed it and used it for this particular story. And there’s not much I can do than to describe what I see in front of my inner eye. I figure this is one of the things I love about reading: releasing my fantasy. If I read about scenery the writer describes, I picture it in front of me and try to look at it the way it feels comfortable and decent for me. Don’t give me too many details, author. Let me imagine! Most authors do this excellently. They give just plenty of information for me to tickle my fantasy and leave the rest to my brain.

But there are some examples where an author can provide me, personally, with an information overflow:

Scenery description:

The grass was deep emerald green, seventeen cows and four calves were feeding on there. 123 dandelions decorated the green of the meadow, on the right, there was a forest with 288 trees, 45 oak trees, 13 pine trees, 36 maples, 161 birches, 24 aspens, eight poplars and one umbrella thorn. Right in front of 6 of the eight poplars, there was a creek of about 3.3 feet width and on three maples there sat 12 sparrows, three blackbirds, and one dove.

Clothing description:

She wore a maxi dress, which looked very pretty on her, pronounced her small waist and made her beautiful muscular, creamy white thighs seem even longer, and her well-shaped feet smaller. I liked the soft, warm brown of her dress and the 2’178 little tiny daisies that decorated the wide skirt of her dress. The 211 little cherries around the collar and cleavage, which well lifted her milky breasts, made her skin blush softly…

Imagine that dress, for example. Maybe I was describing a beautiful girly dress which looked amazing, but if you take the words and information, doesn’t it look like the ugliest piece of clothing you’ve ever seen in front of your inner eye?

Room description:

I entered the room and felt like being in a shoe box. It seemed there was not one free inch of the wall where I didn’t see any furniture. It started with a beautiful little secretary, right next to it on the right I saw a decorative shelf where I saw porcelain figures like a unicorn, a little old couple on a bench that looked like from the Biedermeier period. Next, to the shelf, there was a table, and on its right, there was a velvet blue love seat. (etc. etc. etc.)

I know, these all are extreme cases of too much information, invented by me, but I think you get the point.

I saw this picture and found myself in amazing scenery which I would love to use in one of my books. And I hope I’ll be describing it in a way that takes the reader to this place and feel the magic I felt when I saw it the first time.

Connect with me:

Writer’s Treasure Chest Blog – Website

Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn

Pinterest – Google+