writing/description 316

Strategies
Try giving all the details first; the dominant impression then is built from these details.
Check your details to be sure that they are consistent with the dominant impression. You might even want to write down the five senses on a scratch piece of paper and check to see that you have covered them all.
Try moving your reader through space and time chronologically. For instance, you might want to describe a train ride from start to destination, or a stream from its source to the point at which it joins the river.
Use a then-and-now approach to show decay, change, or improvement. The house where you grew up might now be a rambling shack. The variations on this strategy are endless.
Select an emotion and try to describe it. It might be more difficult to get started, but it can be worthwhile.