on Fiction University:

Every novel needs description, even when you don’t wanna write it.

I dislike writing description. Which is funny since I write science fiction and fantasy—two genres known for their abundant descriptions. I’d rather focus on what’s going on in the story and less on what everything looks like, but describing the world is a must for genre writers. If we don’t set the scene, the reader can’t ground themselves and be drawn into the story.

So, yeah, super important. And not only for genre writers.

Description is everywhere in every novel—what the characters look like, what the rooms look like, how the setting feels, how the action plays out. When you think about it, even dialogue and internal thoughts are describing how a character says something and how they think.

However…