Strategy:
Let’s take a nostalgic journey through a familiar place, helping you practice vivid, detailed descriptions. By recalling and writing about your childhood home and surrounding areas, you'll tap into rich sensory details and emotional connections. This practice can enhance your ability to create authentic and immersive settings in your fictional works.
Instructions:
Pick a Childhood Home: Choose a home from your childhood that you remember well. Spend a few moments visualizing it clearly in your mind. Think about the layout, colors, smells, and sounds associated with it.
Describe an Interior Space: Start by describing a specific room or space inside this home. Focus on sensory details—what did it look, sound, smell, and feel like?
Describe the Exterior: Now step outside and describe the exterior of your childhood home. Consider the architectural style, the yard, any distinctive features, and the surrounding environment.
Travel to School or Work: Describe the journey you used to take from your home to school or work. What did you see along the way? Were there any notable landmarks, sights, or experiences?
Describe the Exterior of the New Location: Once you arrive at school or work, describe the exterior of this new location. How did it differ from your home? What were the prominent features and atmosphere?
Describe an Interior Space of the New Location: Finally, step inside this new location and describe a specific room or space. Use sensory details to bring it to life—consider the lighting, sounds, smells, and any memorable aspects.
Tags: setting, memory, sensory details, childhood, descriptive writing, narrative techniques
Category: Drafting a Manuscript > Write About State » Settings
Example:
Pick a Childhood Home: My grandparents' house.
Describe an Interior Space:
The living room was a cozy haven with worn, floral-patterned sofas and a large wooden coffee table. The scent of my grandmother’s lavender polish lingered in the air. A grandfather clock ticked rhythmically, and the fireplace crackled softly, casting a warm glow. Family photos lined the mantel, capturing years of cherished memories.
Describe the Exterior:
The house was a quaint, white cottage with blue shutters and a wraparound porch. The front yard was a burst of colors with my grandmother's meticulously cared-for garden, filled with roses, daisies, and marigolds. A tall oak tree provided shade, and a white picket fence enclosed the property.
Travel to School or Work:
Walking to school meant taking a winding path through the neighborhood. I passed by Mrs. Johnson's house, always smelling of freshly baked cookies, and the old, abandoned lot that was rumored to be haunted. The sidewalk was cracked in places, with dandelions sprouting defiantly through the gaps.
Describe the Exterior of the New Location:
The school was a brick building with tall, narrow windows and a large, imposing front door. The playground was a flurry of activity, with kids running around, the squeak of swings, and the bounce of basketballs. The building stood out with its ivy-covered walls and the large clock tower that always seemed to be a few minutes fast.
Describe an Interior Space of the New Location:
Stepping into the classroom, the first thing that hit me was the smell of chalk and old books. Desks were arranged in neat rows, each carved with the initials of former students. The walls were covered with colorful posters and educational charts. The large windows let in streams of sunlight, illuminating the dust motes that floated lazily in the air. The teacher's desk was cluttered with papers, a gradebook, and a figurine of a worm coming out of an apple.