What Makes for Good Descriptive Writing?
Good descriptive writing is the art of describing places, people, objects, sounds, tastes, smells any human experience so precisely that the reader sees or hears or smells or tastes or touches the object described in exactly the way that the writer intends. If all that matters is the transmission of information, any literate person can write a functional description. And this is fine for such forms of disposable, transactional description as directions to someone’s house, instructions for programming a DVR, or a list of attachments for one’s new food processor. However, memorable description description that is worth reading again and again features specific details which the writer has captured in precise and well-wrought phrases and sentences. This class asks you to attempt descriptive writing that matters as a way of improving not only your writing abilities but your eye for detail and your control over how readers respond to your writing.
