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A writer's words have power: lush, compelling words that create a reader's world have savvy power. Knowing how [and when] to be descriptive is what dips story into the well of one's imagination.

What sets writers apart from one another is the ability to be descriptive at the right moment. If all that's warranted is a brief narration of the opening scene - say in a story - being descriptive may send the reader's mind skipping ahead of itself too fast, or put the reader to sleep. One must be aware of when to use, or not use, description.

If however, the writer has trouble knowing when to use it, s/he should think "How would this sound the way it's written? What is the point I want to get across?"

They are questions one's mind must find an answer for. Say for instance, one is in the middle of a story about 2 men capsized from their catamaran; they have run out of food, and have very few survival skills. Writing "the sea was calm and salty" is not only bad description, it is cliche.

It is a story point where the narrator wants his/her readers to feel sympathy, hopelessness, and fear: properly placed descriptive narrative would do just that, as seen below:

Stan stood, staring at the water: the sea that had terrorized their hearts and fate the night before was a peaceful aquamarine by daylight, emerald where its depths dove for miles. Rocky edges stained the color of copper completed the scene.

"We're going to die in a rocky paradise," he told Holden without turning around. "How ironic is that?"

Because this type of story lends itself to many spots for description, one must pick and choose where and why it would be most effective. Always asking oneself what the purpose would be in a scene, comes in very handy. Say a writer wants his/her audience to know Stan is severely burnt. Would it be absolutely necessary for readers to know what the blisters looked like? Not really. Merely knowing him and his buddy are outcasts infers being burnt.

However, if Stan had a condition that was triggered by excessive exposure to the sun, that would be different: describing the blisters, and letting readers know Stan will go into anaphylactic shock soon because his allergy relief syringe and serum were gone, would cause fear and heart pounding suspense for the reader.

For some writers, asking that question to him/herself "What is the point I am trying to get across?" is a very helpful tool. It can help one create a laser-like focus on a story point, instead of going

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