creative writing description of a destroyed city
The two eyesockets which adorned the upper part of his face, lay empty. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. ", reminiscent of the towns Stephen King writes about. If you try to fluff up that by throwing in adjectives (i.e. Descriptive writing - English Dubai has the tallest buildings and the largest malls in the night the sparkly skies make me exited like a small child that has sweets it is the city that never sleeps. The grinding of parts of their home against one another? So a small town will probably have between 1,000-5,000 people. starts and ends within the same node. He gives us therightdetails, not all the details. Find out how you can use descriptions to create a sense of place and immerse your reader in your story. stony sky. This cookie is native to PHP applications. Theyve removed anything you could tie a rope to. Thebuildings, cities, places, rooms, trees, weather of your fictional world have to be convincingthere. Making a convincing fictional city will strengthen your characters as well, as you can shape the city to fit with the actions and perspectives of your characters. Satisfactory Essays 338 Words 1 Page Analyze This Draft A description of an abandoned factory near my house. Crushing. These liquids then intertwined with each other forming a I love them, so I had to add a few positive descriptions.) Focus on using the five senses to describe these recurring settings well, as this will help the world of the story feel more convincing. As the sun crept above the horizon, it shone vibrantly lighting up the scenery in the countryside landscape, but the events of the previous night had left an indentation in the surroundings of the small, unfamiliar settlement. Stuff falling on shelves? Is it hot and humid or cold and dry? Used by sites written in JSP. Give them a Moloko. Writing descriptions thatseemvivid, with the use of evocative language, is therefore essential. I'm fascinated with the concept of 'lost cities'. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. a soft gray sky. The inciting incident can be tiny discovering that a photo frame has been moved, for example. Vast amounts of heavy rain fell on the small village and quickly formed huge puddles over the streets. The abandoned city applauded the new brave souls that entered by opening shutters all at once, right on cue. It's boring. A small, stray puppy was whimpering as it scampered along the debris, with only three legs. Too unfocused. Across the road, the unpleasant cacophony of cars blaring their horns is heard above everything else. Modern readers wont (necessarily) think about seventeenth-century connotations like this, so if youre writing a scene set in a very different era or culture to what you know, research so youre creating a true sense of place. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. The buildings were built recently. Clamorous. Copyright 2023 Harnoor C. All rights reserved. If your story takes place in the middle of winter in a fictional town located in Northern California, for example, it may be warm during the day and cooler at night. The victims of the tragedy also eventually woke up, still with the looks of utter disbelief and dismay on their faces as they looked at the scene of destruction. Just nudge a little as you proceed. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. Do you need more help?Did you know we have an entire video course on How To Write? This essay was written by a fellow student. Creating a fictional city will also allow you to use elements of a real city you know well, such as your hometown, and twist them around so they become fictional. Sure, a page or so into the scene, they may start to add details to it but by that point its too late. A One Year Course They want atmosphere. and wed absolutely love it if you chose to join us. In his village. Even with a setting like Hogwarts a place readers really do want to know all the hidden details of J.K. Rowling doesnt share how many revolving staircases it has, how many treasures in the Room of Requirement, how many trees in the Forbidden Forest. http://villageofjoy.com/chernobyl-today-a-creepy-story-told-in-pictures/, (You must log in or sign up to reply here. The small, green trees on the roadside swayed as the strong breeze hit them. He could have written something like this: Macondo was a village of about twenty houses, built on a riverbank. They had managed to get very few possessions out of the burning wreck, the night before, but the remainder of their belongings had burned away over the silent, yet lively night. I would concur with Simon Clemens this is no essay, this belongs in another category, possibly even part of a larger work. This free worksheet will help you write multi-dimensional, believable characters that leap off the page. the layer of grime, he had been dead for about a day. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Hes also written non-fiction, short stories, and has worked as ghost/editor on a number of exciting projects. Thank you so much for the idea :). For each topic, write down a list of specific facts using your reference materials. Or say if your story was set in Hong Kong, you might write in a dai pai dong (a sort of Chinese street kitchen), something very specific to that city if youre describing a street there. Birds were twittering and singing with the voices of angels, filling the air with the sweet sound of nature. I could see my confusion mirrored on several other faces This cookies is installed by Google Universal Analytics to throttle the request rate to limit the colllection of data on high traffic sites. This cookie is used for external HTTPS load balancing of the cloud infrastructure with Google. It should feel like its own thing. Obstreperous. Ugrade to Premium Membership to feature this review at the top of your content and also on listings across the site. Writing about a fictional city can be a difficult challenge. colorless sky. I hope to give you all the information you need to write a descriptive scene using the rain.My new book 'Writing with Stardust', is now available on Amazon. The name may be repeated often in your story by your main character, other characters, and in your descriptions. Go for unfamiliar angles that add drama and excitement to your work. It stores a true/false value, indicating whether this was the first time Hotjar saw this user. Craters and cracks considered themselves to be the perfect decorative pieces but still one redolent with vividness and atmosphere thanks to the powerful use of atmospheric specificity. You may also notate landscape details, like a mountain range that borders the city or sand dunes that protect the city from the outside. For example, a town named Hell that has the nicest, most pleasant townspeople. (Oh, I cant write that, because Wikipedia tells me that the river isnt as long / the forest isnt as thick / or whatever else.). for the road. Very descriptive. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". It might be tempting to share every detail with us on surroundings. For example, the naming of Sin City in Frank Millers, Note how the author describes the city. The essay is from a young girl's perspective as she views the destruction. You are doing the research, because that research may inspire and stimulate a set of ideas you might not have ecountered otherwise. Shouted over the barriers at a train station? As the roughest of rough guides, those nudges need to happen at least once a page so about every 300 words. . Last Updated: October 5, 2022 The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. Remember: we were founded by writers for writers and we created this club for you. Dystopian writing prompts. Describing The Rain 111 comments. bleak day. It should be clear, strong, and believable. ", http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2011/10/the-50-coolest-fictional-cities/, https://scottwrites.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/how-to-create-your-own-fake-town/, http://www.springhole.net/writing/town-and-city-questions.htm, http://io9.gizmodo.com/7-deadly-sins-of-worldbuilding-998817537, http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/09/17/25-things-you-should-know-about-worldbuilding/, The fictional city of Basin City or Sin City in Frank Millers, The fictional city of Kings Landing in George R. Martins, The fictional city of Oz (The Emerald City) in L.Frank Baums, The fictional city of The Shire in J.R.R. City Center, Las Vegas is made up of multiple skyscrapers with contemporary designs. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Swarming. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon. Box 321, 266 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DL, United Kingdom. One businessman, dressed in a shirt and tie and clutching a black leather briefcase, is shoved back as the current of the swarm of people against him is too strong. Keep up with our news,membership offers, and updates bysigning up to our newsletter. Vociferous. (Most people don't like gray days, so most of these descriptions are negative. You should also have your characters treat the more fantastical or strange elements of the fictional city casually and in a straightforward manner. War and Military fiction war shock descriptive. An incredible course on Getting Published, Access to AgentMatch, the worlds best literary agent search tool, A brilliant and supportive writers community, Chances to pitch your work in front of literary agents, live online every month. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The underground terminal has stores and shops lining the walls. I stumbled my way through the dense smoke, covering my nose and mouth with a dirty, torn handkerchief, leaving my eyes to water. Make sure your selection . cite it. were crumbling and sinking to the ground, covered with bullet holes and smeared with what dreadfully looked like blood. This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. gunfire and bombs. and other family members rang through the air. There are literally thousands of villages in the world which would fit that description. Finally, it was awake and had good reason to remain so. Offering a full range of sensory information will enhance your descriptive writing. The sun shone its rays, yet again, after many hours of thunderous rain. And once, early in your scene, youve created your location, dont forget about it. Theres authenticity, grit to this description of Tokyo, as opposed to using stock descriptions that could apply to many modern cities. The buildings were built a long time ago. so dont buy it! A few meters away, a rat scuttles over to the litter, scavenging around for food. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Choose a city you would like to describe. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Did you know that we have over 70,000 essays on 3,000 topics in our The ones at the base were completely covered in ash. The reader doesnt want information. ), and a plushy chair. was a tree root or a rather large rock, but in later years I realised it could have been something else. Running April 2023 March 2024. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. ), And to be clear: youre doing the research, not because you want that research tolimityou. a grimy table, gleaming window, wooden floor), the chances are youll either have (i) made the description even more boring, or (ii) made it odd. The key thing is to do your research to nail specifics, especially if they are unfamiliar, foreign, exotic. His scruffy, short, light brown hair covered with a worn out, chequered hat. The people on the sidewalks are doing various things but everyone is unaware of the chaos going on around them. prehistoric eggs. Then they talk (or argue, or fight, or kiss) some more, and then you drop in some other detail which reminds the reader, Yep, here we still are, in this coffee shop.. This could mean a character who is middle-class lives in a certain area of the city and a character of an upper class lives in a more lavish or expensive area of the city. One of the main initiatives which have been employed by the City University within the Information Technology (IT) department is that of the Green Monitor, where a computing room has. Essay. Note this same thing with foods: in Japan, your protagonist could well be eating miso soup, as per Ryu Murakami. Writing About a City Exercise . The area may be populated with strange creatures and monsters but it may also have elements you may find in a real-life urban area, like buildings, streets, and alleyways. Describing the rain. Something with its own mood and colour. Stephanie's writing has appeared in Joyland, Catapult, Pithead Chapel, Cosmonaut's Avenue, and other publications. Abstract An annotation cannot contain another annotation. Get expert help in mere A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Drug Warrior is a well-known book written by Charles Bowden. The climate may also depend on the time of year when your story is taking place. Just click on any of the book images below. Come and take a look. Joanne Harris opening ofChocolatplays to readers senses, as were immersed straightaway in the world of her book through scent, sound and sight: We came on the wind of the carnival. Clamorous. Empty. Turning into the car park, we see that the once overflowing place full of resting vehicles of every size and shape, now contains nothing but the dormant parking meter that patrols the area. Consider a name that fits the region or area where your fictional city is located. With the right nouns in place, youll need fewer adjectives to jazz things up and when you do use them, theyll feel right, not over the top. Paste the link to picture in the entry below: Drag a picture from your file manager into this box, The Abandoned house stood there, with fog rising to the sky. Use a program like Photoshop, for example, to cut and paste images from the internet to create a map or a physical representation of the city. "wikiHow has helped me a lot in the writing of my book. A big ask, right? Find a research page for reference purposes. Consider what locals love or enjoy about the city, as this will make it feel more unique. Play with surroundings, how you can make them different, how you can render the ordinary extraordinary. The gloomy grey sky, with its heavy nimbostratus clouds, blocking all of the sun's rays from reaching the Earth. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. The night before, the neighbours had gone back inside their warm, pleasant, snug homes, but one family did not have the advantage of shelter or warmth. So you could have your characters talking then theyre interrupted by a waitress. The sky seemed as though it would release its contents on the gloomy scene. View his website, his Amazon profile, his Twitter. A towering pile of the carcasses of unfortunate individuals, who were in the range of the enemy's They bought Harrys school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk. The puddles had forms large pools of water and shone in the gentle sunlight, yet the remains of the destroyed house lay there in between two other towering houses and had been abandoned by its owners who had left it to move on to a new place and leave their old one to stay there in its place, solitary and pitiful as it lay in ruins on a wet, windy winters day. That doesnt mean you should always play things the obvious way: no need for clich;. Just read how J.R.R. The silent, harmonious noises of the city now amplified. This description delivers a sense of intimacy and darkness in a few words: The mesto [place] was near empty it looked strange, too, having been painted with all red mooing cows I took the large moloko plus to one of the little cubies that were all round there being like curtains to shut them off from the main mesto, and there I sat down in the plushy chair and sipped and sipped. Buildings So anchor your writing in description of the setting, but in a character-influencing way. Set your permissions during sign up or at any time afterward. Just the description can be under-imagined because you aren't imagining what these visions are doing to your character. Explore how the human body functions as one unit in Vociferous. We will send recovery instructions to you. Too generic. They stood around the site desperate to find any more of their belongings. What are some buildings that would be in a small town? It has profited those who were using quality web content without too many repeated keywords; and it has negatively impacted those who were using recycled, perhaps even plagiarized web content packed full of SEO terms on their website. As I walk by, I can smell all sorts of things. Just weave place and action together like this to create atmosphere, excitement, tension, foreboding. But he doesnt. In the same sense, we thrill to the sense of a place with excitement and promise, too, like when Harry makes his first trip to Diagon Alley (inHarry Potter and the Philosophers Stone) to shop for Hogwarts equipment with Hagrid. Why was the city founded? Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Good, huh? swirly patterns on the dirt which covered my face. By using our site, you agree to our. Heres an alternative way to describe a bar the Korova Milk Bar inA Clockwork Orange. We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. (Or if youre writing a fantasy or sci-fi novel, plan your world down to its most intricate details. Take the time to think about small details of the school, from how the building appears within the surrounding area to the school colors and the school mascot. I was about to start walking, having seen enough, when an awful stench radiated towards me. If your fictional city is located under water, for example, a character who has lived in the city for a long period of time may not be surprised that he has to get in his submarine to visit with his neighbor. His torn, tatty shirt and his trousers covered with holes both sizes too small for him. Clamorous. 10 minutes with: Explore how the human body functions as one unit in harmony in order to life //= $post_title People living in their snug, warm homes ran to their windows to witness sheets of torrential rain crashing to the thick, impenetrable tarmac. Those clipped words transport us straight to Offreds enclosed, and terrifying, space. As her success has shown, its possible to write successfully about a place you dont know, but you must make it your business to know as much as you can about it. granite sky. There would probably a bank, a courthouse, police and fire stations, an elementary school, and a library as well, among other things. You have to get your passengers into your train your readers into your story. If you have a friend who is talented at illustration, you may ask them to help you draw a map of the city in more detail. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. a table, chair, window, floor, bar, stool, etc. The vastest tree of the park comes into view with its narrow finger-like branches reaching skywards and brushing the heavens; its gnarled bark and broad trunk radiating infinite wisdom. This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. This is a student piece written by Maryam Saad. The sentence works so well because Marquez has: That basic template is one you can use again and again. When youve written a piece, go back and check nouns. Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Dresden260, Dec 5, 2011. Do I really have to name the town in a novel? Tolkiens, Look at the naming of the areas or streets in the fictional city. Already excited to see what lies ahead. Cacophonous. It seeped through the nostrils and mouths and resided in the lungs causing its Vociferous. It was all too much. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. They want vivid language. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. You should think of a name that has resonance and feels purposeful. Thats accurate, yes. I just wanted to know, out of the following two paragraphs, which do people think is the best description of a town? The use of obvious names can be effective if the town acts in contrast to the name. gloomy sky. Details matter! It is used by Recording filters to identify new user sessions. All we really have in terms of detail are those mooing red cows, some cubies (curtain booths? And if you want more on writing techniques, then check outthis article on verbs its a must read. This description generator will generate a fairly random description of an abandoned town. The fog dragged a cold breeze, that sent a chill up my spine, this house has been here forever and nothing like this has ever happened before, I gulped and strolled into the cold night fog. Creative Writing - Life in the City GCSE English Life In The City The day in the city is starting: Claustrophobia. Do find outmore. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. How old is the city? It was still emitting smoke, but faintly, as if it had already exhausted its supply of the horrible substance. Silent. Crushing. Lights flickered being the only light in the dark.. Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/describing-city/, Hire skilled expert and get original paper in 3+ hours, Run a free check or have your essay done for you, Didn`t find the right sample? Like protagonist Bella, she was raised in Arizona, but explained the process of settingTwilightin an unfamiliar setting on herblog: For my setting, I knew I needed someplace ridiculously rainy. A boring apartment inAbove Suspicionbecomes scary when it seems someones been inside. "This article help me a lot, I have all the ideas I need to put in my novel, thanks.". The hills and moors all shone with the intense sunlight and all the living things in the area woke up to the new day. Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published, Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing, Portland State University. The wails of distressed wives, children you to an academic expert within 3 minutes. 48 Vitosha Boulevard, ground floor, 1000, Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgarian reg. (And one easy test: take one of your scenes and highlight anything that references a non-visual sense. dreary day. This ensures that behavior in subsequent visits to the same site will be attributed to the same user ID. Who founded the city? with free plagiarism report. Their features were unrecognisable and squished due to the crushing weight of the bodies above. In historical novelGirl with a Pearl Earringby Tracy Chevalier, set in Holland in 1664, maid Griet narrates how artist Johannes Vermeer prepares her for her secret portrait, musing, to her horror, that virtuous women did not open their mouths in paintings. Tolkien describes the Morannon inThe Two Towers: high mounds of crushed and powdered rock, great cones of earth fire-blasted and poison-stained like an obscene graveyard. Its obvious from this description trouble lies ahead for Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee. Describing scenes. And that crucial first step doesnt have much to do with characters or story or anything else. By Angela Abraham, @daisydescriptionari, March 17, 2021 . % of people told us that this article helped them. a gray day made for books and tea [AdSense-B] steel-gray sky. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Stephenie Meyer, when writingTwilight, decided she needed a rainy place near a forest to fit key plot elements. All seem to be unconscious of anything going on around them, but they somehow manage not to run into anyone else, almost operating like robots. They fight their way past each other, determined to do anything they can to get to their destination. The cities or regions inside the shire consist of The Westfarthing (where Bag end is the home of Bilbo and Frodo), etc., etc. In poetry, we describe scenes, experiences, and emotions. When I go into one of the many coffee shops, I can tell everything that the store sells just by smelling the air in and around the store. database? It does not correspond to any user ID in the web application and does not store any personally identifiable information. Thank you for sharing your writing "Tell me." The little girl whispered, curling up in her mother's embrace. For example, your characters may spend time in a dense urban area in the city. Everyone seems to be in a hurry, not worrying about anything going on around them. For example, the map provided in J.R.R. Shelves: 4 | By picking out those details, Melville makes his setting feel vibrantly alive. The ones at the top had blackened faces, with missing body parts that were still oozing blood and pus. Sure, a page or so into the scene, they may start to add details to it - but by that point it's too late. But its more than that, isnt it? Best of all, we offer a great membership service to serious writers. Rippling reflections of the stars are shown in the peaceful pond. Essay by deadnburied , High School, 12th grade , A+ , May 2003 download word file, 1 pages 4.8 3 reviews Downloaded 150 times Keywords factories, Tree, Parking lot, roofs, vines 0 Like 0 These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Looking down, all I can see is the movement of a mass of people: Some are carrying bags and some are dragging rolling backpacks. Some aspects of the descriptions will remain the same, this is done to keep the general structure the same, while still randomizing the details, but it'll never include the exact details of why the town might be abandoned. One vivid descriptive detail will do more work for you than three worthy but colourless sentences. Your fictional city may be divided by class, with certain areas off-limits to all classes except for one class.
