Prompt: Write an entry noting points that interested you in Chapter 5

Response: This chapter focused on description. Description seems like one of those writing concepts that are easy to grasp, but when someone tries to write, it turns out to be harder than initially thought. Even seasoned writers and authors have trouble finding the right words or the right shot to describe. The author of this section talks about many traps that writers tend to fall into. For example, the overuse of adjectives and adverbs tend to be a trap that many fall into. I know that in my own writing, I definitely overuse adjectives and adverbs. It can be a really hard habit to break, but the author then goes on to say that even if one doesn’t know how to say something exactly, it is just important to get something on the page. Words can be used as placeholders, even if they aren’t necessarily the best words to use during description. This, to me, was an uplifting point during the chapter. I always feel like my descriptions are terrible, so much so that I tend to overthink my word choices, which gets me nowhere. I also think that it was important to go over how each sense can be used within writing. I feel that many writers focus on describing what characters can see, rather what they hear, smell, taste, and feel. Using the senses can enhance a description that relies heavily on sight alone. Going off this, I enjoyed the section about synesthesia. For me, I had never thought about using synesthesia within my own writing, and I hadn’t focused on it in works that I’ve read, but while reading that section, I couldn’t help but think about how some of my favorite stories most definitely used this technique. Lastly, one of the most important lessons I’ve taken away from this chapter is that it is better to over-describe at first, rather than under-describe. A writer can always edit and revise, but it’s harder to do if you don’t have much of a description to work with.