“Insert Description Here”

Literally. As I’m writing out my first draft, I am putting placeholders in areas where I know I’m going to get flack from my writing partner in crime. Description is not my forte.

We’ve been at this for more than a decade, and I know damn well where he’s going to say…. what does xxx look like (be it person, place or thing).

I’m bad, very bad when it comes to more than a couple of words of description. For me if the curtains are billowing, they are billowing- – to elaborate on the fabric, the color, the pattern, the ferocity in which they are billowing mostly escapes me.

My main character in this first of the Otherworld series revolves around Bert- a female chief of police. I’m about half way through the book and other than looking over the rim of her reading glasses from time to time, the reader has no freaking clue on what she looks like. Heck, I haven’t even given her a hair color.

I did great with her personal assistant though. Jasper’s physical detail on page one is thorough and precise. The reader can envision the Fae in their minds without issue. His brother? I think the same. I would actually have to go back and see how in depth his description is.

I think I need to go give Bert “a look”.

I tried to give the great hall “a look” but it’s mediocre at best. If I don’t have a comment there, there should be.

See what I mean? Bad, very bad.

What is the fine line between none, sparse, too much, and over the top? I think it depends on the reader. When I’m engrossed in a book, I’m focusing on the plot, the actions (although fight scenes can be way too descriptive as well) where the characters are going and what they need to do.

I will skip over too much description, and thus far it hasn’t hampered how the book flows in my mind.

But I am not my readers (future readers, yes I know). So I must take these things into account, no matter how much angst I get trying to include the imagery.