This is probably one of those things that every creative writing teacher loves to tell you. And they’re right. Being specific in your imagination is probably one of the most powerful tools to good writing. Its a grueling process, but once you say “PIDGEONS” instead of “BIRDS”, “TOPAZ” instead of “JEWELS” and “SILK” instead of “FABRIC” your story has texture. It’s compelling. It starts to become an immersive, visceral, compelling experience.
One of the things specificty does is GIVE YOU A CLEARER SENSE OF THE WORLD. Specific words are what will really help you will world building. Take the word “birds” for example. You might have a clear idea of what kind of birds. For me, the reader, it could be anything from ostriches, to peacocks to sparrows. These three evoke three very different environments. I imagine them in three very different places. Choosing the exact bird will save you precious word count, and also add to world building. Or, should I say, “bird building.” har har.
Silk, for instance is evocative of a certain kind of economy. Right away, we know where we might be. Hopefully, a silk punk novel, but I’ll settle for anything nodding to the Asian continent.
You see what I mean. It’s the difference between powerful, compelling, evocative, clear writing and writing that fails to leave an impact and a picture in the reader’s mind.
The next thing it does is give you visual texture. Visual texture is the kind of thing that deserves its own post, but it’s my favorite tool for good writing. If something would happen in the scene without your characters having to be there, in that setting having their scene…well, to me, that makes the place real.
Something is happening in the background, engaging them with the room, the space. The background makes the scene come alive. I’m still new to this idea, still experimenting with it, but it’s an exciting notion.
The third thing specificity does – and to be honest it does nearly everything for you, so this is the most important thing you will ever learn – is ADD EMOTIONAL TEXTURE. Your character isn’t coldly describing everything when they look at something. They are seeing/perceiving the world in a specific way. Everyone does it, your character will too.
If your character is used to poor surroundings, they will react differently to richer ones than a character who pretty much lives in the richest of places. They will notice different things, feel differently about it. This is always a fun thing to play around with. So this also helps with things like voice and showing the personality of your character.
Another thing it does is IMBUE action with FEELING. For instance, using exact verbs like hunkered, tore, hunched instead of stand, ran, sat etc. These instantly give you a clearer picture in your mind. And that’s what writing tries to do – create pictures in your mind. So the more specific you are, the easier it will be for those who read your work.
All good art invokes feeling and emotion. Specificity in your writing will do this better than anything else, because we have an emotional connection with specific descriptions like “tangled nests” instead of “nests”.
The reason many writers don’t use this is because it is a challenging thing to tackle.
BUT it’s necessary. It’s NOT OPTIONAL.
I have found specificity to really help me, as a writer, to discover a world that I just started writing about. It turns generic descriptions of buildings into emotionally charged ones. It sharpens character without the writer having to talk about it.
So, don’t say flowering bushes, say rhododendrons!