I think the advice "when you walk into a room, you only see things you're interested in" should actually be "you FIRST see things you're interested in". I, an avid reader, will probably notice a bookshelf first, then a boyband poster. Viceversa, a boyband fan will notice the poster first, then the bookshelf. It might be a more accurate twist that shows the POV character's personality and interests, without making it seem like they have tunnel vision. I mean, I'm no boyband fan, but a giant poster would be pretty hard to miss.

who's gonna tell shaelin that's she's the literary fairy godmother ?

Any time I write "flower" I remember "specificity" and either pick a flower or know i'm going to need to find a concrete type of flower later. That goes for other cases too. You conditioned me, but I'm thankful.

I swear Shaelin always knows exactly what I'm struggling with.

As a 17 year old dude who has no one irl to talk about any of this stuff with, these videos have been a godsend. They've genuinely helped me hone my craft, and especially helped me with fine tuning my prose. I'd already subconsciously figured out a lot of stuff, but having a name for it helps tremendously.

people started complimenting my imagery and writing improvements so I got too nervous to write the next chapter because I feared my imagery would down grade so this is good for me thank you

Hi everyone! I'm seeing a lot of comments about the example I chose for my point on descriptions being insightful & surprising, the line from K-Ming Chang's story "Baba" that describes a city as 'sizzling out in my mouth like a match.' To me, this is an original, sensory, and surprising metaphor, that engages the senses and feels truthful and original, even though yes, it is still abstract in its meaning. It's not conveying a concrete quality about the city, but rather, the sensory experience of being there for the narrator. I'm sorry my phrasing made it seem like an equivalent to a concrete description of what the city looks like, when rather, it's a description of the narrator's physical experience of being there and her relationship to the place. This line was the first line that came to mind when I thought of lines that are surprising and insightful, because that was my first reaction when I read it. I'm very sorry that I chose a line that is causing so much confusion. K-Ming Chang is one of my favourite writers, but she is also young, new in her career, and very talented, and I feel awful that I may have used a line of her work in a way that is now causing some pretty mean comments about the excerpt. I chose all the examples in this video because I wanted to celebrate the authors, and because I think the works in question are skillfully written, but now I feel awful that the opposite seems to be happening regarding one of the pieces. I wish I had chosen a different example. The line in question makes sense to me. It's abstract, but to me it captures a physical sensation/experience that feels accurate and interesting, which was the point I was trying to convey about truthfulness and surprising writing. It's not concrete, but it presents something abstract in a sensory way which to me is very powerful, but I understand that it's hard to explain and might not land with everyone. Now I can see that this line doesn't resonate with a lot of people the way it resonated with me. I really just wanted to share a line that is, to me, surprising and original, but the nature of trying to explain 'truthfulness' as a concept is that inherently, it won't feel truthful to everyone, and I'm sorry for choosing an example that has proven to be pretty inaccessible to a lot of people. However, it hurts to see hate towards the author, when it's my mistake for choosing a line that was unclear when explained out of context, not K-Ming Chang's fault for writing the line.

Yes! More prose-y writing rocks! I dislike when writing is described as "purple" when it is just a notch above simplistic. Thanks for the definition of purple prose: using convoluted language just for the sake of being complex.

I always love writers who can describe something in the simplest, plainest words and still make you look at it in a completely new way; making it feel much deeper and impactful than it looks on the page. This is why I was so impressed with Paulo Coelho (writer of The Alchemist). He always describes deep, spiritual concepts or experiences so simplistically, which actually shows that he knows what he's talking about more than if he'd use complex jargon.

I'm finding my preferences as I discover my own style as a writer. I tend to minimally describe scenery and focus more on dialogue, body language, and character interiority. Ironically, some beta readers still dislike specificity I include, preferring more plot than setting. I'm reading City of Bones right now and cringing at the descriptions. I feel like too many metaphors make my brain stumble and take me out of the story. And the style of prose ought to shift within each book. In action scenes, I focus on strong, economical, short prose. But if I'm talking about a romantic stroll on a beautiful spring day or the wonder of a character discovering how to use their powers, I'm taking my time to express it and wax poetic. And there's no perfect book for every reader. Some people want to spend 3 pages taking in a scene--able to smell the fresh-cut grass, hear the call of a swallowtail from an ash tree rustling in a slight breeze, watch a butterfly flap it's way through the sky and land on a dandelion, all while sitting on a homemade denim quilt and tasting an ever-so-perfectly sweet peach, feeling the juice dribble down your chin, reminding you of the summers you spent with Grandma Walters in North Dakota as a child. Other readers want: the next day, they went to the park for a picnic.

Idk when it happened, but these videos shifted from watching a peer figure things out to watching a Real Writer TM explain their craft. Its weird to have the content be this high quality--like she is going to teach writing professionally, and I feel like that's something you can sense now, watching this. These last few videos have been so good I'm legitimately a little emotional abt it lmao. Anyway, I've been watching since highschool and I just finished my last semester of graduate school today--can't wait for the next video!

I'm a simple girl. I see a Shaelin video about description and click.

that zsuzsi gartner excerpt is so *chefs kiss* i'm this close to ordering the book right now omg

I appreciate the distinction because they’ve demonized all description and beauty as purple prose and it’s quite a detriment to the literary arts

I finished History of Wolves and loved it. Also I have become enlightened to the existence of the _em dash_ and am now addicted to it. I’m having to stop myself from overusing it lol

I’ve noticed in my writing tastes as I’ve gotten older that I value aptly done description more. I love it when a character or a setting is described in such a way that it truly sticks with me. And I try to replicate that in my writing, but it ends up falling flat. Thanks for this video!

This was a FANTASTIC video. Thank you so much. I had a fiction writing professor who basically just stressed “concrete, sensory detail” over and over, but never got into the nuances you covered here. Thank you again. I think another thing to think about is how much FUN getting specific can be! In that same fiction writing class, I was writing a character's drive home, and at first he was just in a car. But then I realized, “Well, wait. He’s not the sorta guy who would’ve bought a car recently, and even when he bought one in his younger days, he wouldn’t have prioritized coolness.” So then I got to research lame cars from twenty years ago, and discovered something called a Smart Fortwo, which was not only a fun process, but it also provided a specific detail that ALSO said something about my character! It was a really great moment!

Oh my... How did you know I was looking for these tips?

This is so helpful! Can't tell you how many times I've heard 'engage all the senses' and felt like there had to be more to it than that.

Hey Shaelin. I'm a 24-year-old journalist from a small city in Ontario. I've been writing for about 10 years as well and I have been trying to fulfill my dream of crafting a novel as of late. Your videos are so helpful. I enjoy your work. I also randomly worked in Whistler, B.C. for a while and want to move back to the west coast.

17:00 imagine the one moment when the writer had the idea to write the second 'uh' in italics. And that uh really sounded italic. I just think it was a brilliant invention.

This came at the right time ! I was struggling to write a description right now , all the advices were ecstatic !

I think descriptions can be fancyful, rich and "decorative" without being purple prose. As long as not everything is described like that all the time, and as long as it doesn't become vague and so tick with similes that you almost don't get what it's saying anymore. XD Or it becomes a little silly (overly dramatic). Sometimes it's a fine line between a beautiful description and purple prose.

Petition for Shaelin to start an online writing master class and give us homework! But really now, my writing improved tremendously after watching your videos!

Does anyone else do this: picture an idiom as literal before you write it, and wonder if you should use it? Someone dropped his eyes; a smile crept across her face; he heard footfalls; her expression fell; She flew to his side; etc. Some pretty cool visuals.

I love how you talked about specifity like it’s drugs ‘It’s the good shit’

Coming through with this content 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

I never comment on videos but I really wanted to here, because they're incredible. Super informative, to the point, well structured and very clear. Also, way beyond 'generic' advice. I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH, every single one of your videos have been so helpful to me

From your talking about History of Wolves, I read it, and thought it was so good. Very emotional, layered, literary, and metaphorical.

Purple vs Descriptive is now a huge issue in writing groups and with critique partners. Usually, the people that call Descriptive prose purple are the ones that have an opposite style (as in basic and plain)

"Secret" descriptions blended into a scene are my favourite. Maybe try asking someone to read an excerpt of your text, then mark each sentence as Story or Description and see how deep they cut into your descriptions perceiving them as storytelling? If they manage to perfectly outline them - back to the drawing board.

Loved the example you read: it really helped to show me and other viewers how description is capable of movement. I’ve also discovered listening to audiobooks can do this, too - thanks for another great video!

Wow... so much needed in my writing life. I especially like the idea of physical description, emotional/psychological description, and narrative description. That can bring so much depth to a piece of writing

ngl Biting Board sounds metal af - I'd listen to a band with that name also never ever ever stop talking about specificity it's changing lives including mine you are doing god's work

specificity needs to be ingrained my head so thank you, shaelin.

Hey, Shaelin! I've recently discovered your videos, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking the time to make them. I think you are an excellent teacher, and I'm pretty sure you're a genius. Thanks so much! :)

Before I watch, I’m betting they say “specificity” at least four times 😂😂

Master class without having to pay for it! Thank you so much. You are amazing and so knowledgeable. I feel I can take my writing to the next level.

Thank you for this! I've been working on editing a short story and I wrote down a lot of your tips. Also, The History of Wolves book looks interesting. I really appreciate this video!

I wish I could like this video a hundred times. I'm getting back into writing from a hiatus for work & school reasons, but listening to this makes me anticipate finishing and editing my novels in progress so much more!! I'm genuinely excited to take my writing to a new level and this type of content has been instrumental in priming my brain for the work in the next couple of months. Also, Shaelin--I love love LOVE when you use examples. The highlighted portions of the excerpts really clarified your points. Lastly, excited to try check History of Wolves and K-Ming Chang's Baba. Thank you!

Ugh finally! I always heard the phrase "purple prose" but for some reason whenever i looked it up to see exactly what it was, they only gave examples and basically just said "thats purple prose", leaving me sitting there like "okay but *how* is it purple prose? What makes this purple???" I don't know how this is the first time i saw the explanation be put like this but i am *so* grateful that i can go back in my writing looking for these things and actually know what to ask myself besides "is this purple"

Chengdu is capital of Sichuan province it is basically in central China and its know for it's spicy food and more than 3000 different dishes. It also has a vibrant work life balance. So this description of it is so on point it's amazing. Your videos are really well thought out and explained, I'm learning so much from you. Thank you.

In 2014 I took a creative writing class in college, and while I didn't feel like I gained much out of it, there is this one thing that sticks out to me still to this day. A girl in my class described something a "caffeinated indifference." I don't even know what she was describing, but that description is burned into my brain to the point that whenever I see her post on social media, I recall her reading her poem in class and saying that. It's so good.

Thank you got these videos Shaelin. They are very helpful❗️

I was searching your Tumblr posts for thoughts on purple prose just hours ago! What a great timing! :D

Great video. This has helped me understand and how to use description. Thank you.

I feel the joy of the lenguaje when I read your short stories, Shaelin!

Shaelin, I love description and imagery. I often feel like description and language can flow into a story. Imagery is the magic of a story because it is a tool used to bring the character’s experiences to life. At times, I write description and vivid details without even realizing it. I love when description is simply integrated through the layers of a story. I love you

I don't comment often but you need to know you're a fantastic teacher.

I am obsessed with description. My book - even at the beginning - has much more description than any other type of narration, not least because the plot is set in a very distant world, in the past. I enjoyed the video and most especially the topic "surprising and insightful".

Great video! I just found your channel but I've subscribed and I'm looking forward to hearing more of your tips.

the !! best !! topic !! also baba by k-ming chang is so good?? its literally one of the best things i've ever read??

This video honestly helped me a lot thank you so much

This is an excellent video, and hopefully I can now apply it to my writing

The flow and narrative part is a revelation for me. Great stuff as always :) Specificity Rulez

You're a pretty good teacher.

The excerpt was reassuring to me; I am a Zoltàn!

Clarity drafts have alway's been a part of my end result. I can get so long winded XD

RE: points 1 & 2. Specificity Clarifies. A great tandum.

Your videos are fantastically useful. I have subscribed for more!

Very good advice here. Thank you for sharing.

Your videos are amazing! Thank you so much!

I haven't watched the video yet, but SHAELIN YOU LOOK ADORABLE!

This is very helpful! Thank you so so much

Needed this. Thanks.

So helpful! Thank you.

Great video. Keep going. It's very helpful.

One of the greatest video posts in the history of video posts! Bravo! Thank you!

"I am sorry. It's the good shit, OK."

You just gained a subscriber 😍❤️

Love your videos love from 🇮🇳

Thank you so much for this great video! :)

Sol Stein has a good way of looking at this. He calls it particularity. Good trick for characterization but also the concept works in description. Look up who Sol was and read his book on writing. The particulars of particularity are better explained by him.

Shaelin the cutie. Tnx for Shaelin your plecious tips. I like descriptions too. The editor of my book even called them "poetic". Seeking to promote my book "The Tartar", and your advice has helped a lot. Tnx.

Thank you so much!!

I feel like this is very adolescent writing but I find nature descriptions quite calming. Here’s my little description, lmk how to improve. At first glance it was perfect - too perfect. In the centre stood a proud evergreen; its limbs dancing in the light breeze, enticing its visitor to come a little closer. Blades of nature caress virgin skin, as a malevolent sun seems to beam down upon this tiny piece of Heaven. The leaves are painted an almost unnatural green and splayed open - an inviting hand quivering with anticipation. Yet despite its carefully crafted facade, the brambles lurking behind spoke of rot and disease.

The bad advice about not seeing things that aren't important to you, is bad, but it makes my think of a story an interior design once told. There was a stain on his front door that he meant to paint off, but ever got around to it and in time he stopped seeing the stain. He forgot about until a friend came to visit and asked why the stain was still there. I think that is one way to take the advice that makes since. A character won't describe something that's uninteresting and/or unimportant to them/the story.

Fantastic thank you

This video is packed with extremely essential insights and advice! Thank you for putting those into words for us! It hits several writing issues on the nose and is very well put! Very edifying and much needed! I haven't seen many other videos on this topic address all the potential pitfalls of descriptions (and narration in general) in prose with such precise depth, clarity and perspicuity! ===============================================================================================================================================================

Id say very flowery prose is good for characters that are that. Like theyre charming, old fashioned, perhaps a stereotypical dreamy vampire, a philosopher, a scientist that questions the world, but then it works. If its for a character thats straight forward and not artistic, its weird. ALso, depends where you use, which scene. Purple prose to me is scenery, can be cynical, usually indirect wandering of with thoughts. An action scene to me just wouldnt work with purple prose if it happens NOW and isnt a a storytelling from the character. Good example I found: Anne Rice, Interview With the Vampire. Really good at distinguishing when the vampire is storytelling or doing something, whether short bursts or longer movements etc.

The wooden chair had been chipped. The paint worn off, scarred from the debris and rubble. Surviving the war had bent the legs, loosened the surviving screws. He wept. Palms sweaty from the sunny memories of his grandfather sitting on a squeaky chair, carving away the details of these mahogany legs.

specificty, gotchu.

my favorite instance of purple prose is in cold comfort farm: "the golden orb" 🌞

Thank you

maybe something we can do to avoid a lack of clarity but who want to write poetically is state the object XYZ then use poetic language to describe it if it is important to the moment in our story?

7:20 Hey Shaelin, although I understand using the name of a song instead of the word "song" , I am wondering if that is acceptable when it comes to work that could be published down the line. I've been trying to avoid naming specifics in terms of things that could be copyrighted as I'm so unsure.

I'm just here to comment that Shaelin is very good at descriptive writing. -source: I have read Honey Vinegar

Describing things that are interesting to the character first, might be a thing though. Like, if someone enters a room, who is extremely interested in plants, they might notice if this room has any plants first. That said, the character wouldn't miss if the room was otherwise clogged with sport-stuff. But description-wise the sport things should probably be described last, or as an offhand remark if it's uninteresting or lacks any importance to the character. Also, if the character is uninterested, but is for one or another reason looking for something specific, they'd notice these things first, other things later. Unless the other things are too much "in your face" to avoid seeing. XD

Have you made a video on approach

It seems everyone struggles with being too convoluted and purple prosey - I in fact struggle with the opposite. I struggle with it in real life too. If I was to go visit the most beautiful rose garden and went back home to try and describe it to my friends - even though I can clearly see the picture in my mind, the best that will come out of my mouth is "The flowers were colorful and pretty". Even if I try to describe in detail I feel like it comes out all clunky and out of order (perhaps its because I'm autistic and have ADD? so my brain just operates differently?). The majority of my editing is fixing my description because it always initially comes out sounding like a five year old described it instead of a thirty year old. I have such clear pictures in my mind but something gets lost in translation when I try to put picture to words, in both real life and when I'm writing. I still havent been able to find solid advice on how to overcome this :/

I’m an aspiring writer and I’m starting college in the fall. Any suggestions on classes to take that will help improve my writing skills/the quality of my writing? (This question is for anyone in the comments who sees this. Let’s chat. :))

How do I write for readers with aphantasia?

i was literally just thinking about this lol

I just came across your videos as I am trying to write my first book and I am in love! I've already learned so much from you and I have immensely more confidence in writing now, but if you don't mind me asking, what are your pronouns?

These videos are everything I've ever needed (

💜

Can anybody recommend a story within the crime genre that features more poetic prose? Preferably within the last 30-40 years. Leonard and Elroy have very, very sparse prose and I want to to find more dynamic influences.

"abstract qualities presented in a concrete way"..... my question has to do with this: the abstractness of the description, i would assume, affords the reader an opportunity to imagine what the phrase about the city, is saying about the city. how, then, are we to ensure that the message we want to convey actually comes across as what we mean about the place or object we're describing? if it's abstract, it's abstract: everyone is afforded their own imagination. a building, however, is a building. sure, "a building" is abstract in its way (there's no specificity ABOUT the building), but generally, you're expected to know what a building is. so then, what of the abstract quality, which might be presented in such a way that it has concrete language and all the rest? what if i have a vastly different picture in my head, as i'm writing it, from what my readers will get? what if it's, by and large, something that my readers, across the board, get a collective idea of, in terms of what i'm saying in a passage, but then that collective idea has little or nothing to do with what i actually meant by it? if that happens, have i messed up, because i didn't convey what was in my head?

I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum. My writing is too dry cuz I'm afraid of using too much description.

What are some books you’ve written? I would love to read them so I can get ideas for the book I’m writing! It’s called the spotlight.