For anyone who enjoys writing scenery?

[Hayley R]

Hello, fellow YahooAnswerers!

I am in the midst of writing a novel--I know it sounds pretentious--and I absolutely abhor writing scenery...

I skipped literally all scenery descriptions, leaving myself little notes to be sure to come back to it...and now it's time!

My first challenge is describing my protagonist's house. He is a wealthy businessman living in Anaheim, California. The story is set between 1910-1930, but I suppose the relevant information concerning this plot of scenery would be that the house was built in...let's say 1850.

So, I'm asking for help concerning how I can describe this house. The requirements for it include:

- It is quiete large
- It has a large deck, leading to the beach and Ocean
- It has a basement

Other than that, it's a blank canvas.

I'm looking for any tips or suggestions! Anything is welcome!

 

[Gemi]

I'm not writing it for you, that's your job. But I will say that when in doubt, skip it. Only describe the scenery that's relevant to the storyline. Figure out what type of house it is, for instance, and weave that into the action of the story. You don't want paragraphs of dead description anyway. Only what is necessary to tell the story. Look at Charles Dickens work if you want to see how to do it. I know no other author who is as capable as he in describing scenery without ever really spending multiple paragraphs describing it...he weaves it into the action and leaves out minor details that do nothing to push the plot along. Good luck.