I think the best way to approach description is to remember that it is part of the story. Giving the reader a sense of place is a part of your job as a writer of fiction. Description is not the story.
Description should serve the story, not the other way around.
I'm not discounting the power of description or its place in fiction. I'm just saying that you should not get too hung up about writing long descriptive paragraphs (unless you want to, and it serves your story-- all elements of fiction serve story).
We live in an incredibly visual age. Digital photography is everywhere. Old texts (books, novels, short stories from say, 1950 and back) tend to be loaded (over-burdened, top-heavy) with description. Just ask many of my former students, who bemoaned having to read Great Expectations. (As a matter of fact, I love Dickens in general and Great Expectations is a great novel).
David Morrell, the author that invented Rambo in First Blood, has a PhD in American Literature. He taught for many years in addition to writing popular novels. Bottom line: He knows his stuff.
Morrell's advice is great. He points out that visual description is the weakest, and should always be paired up with the other senses. The 5 senses are key to understanding what draws the audience into the environment of your story. He favors a kind of triangulation of sensory detail using three of the five senses. He'll change it up, sometimes 2, sometimes one-- and if he has to cut one or two-- he'll try to cut the visual.
Scene description and character development go hand in hand. Why? Because people see, smell, hear, taste and feel. The impact on how a character perceives the world in the way you tell the story is obvious if you are using the first-person point of view. Most popular fiction uses third-person limited to one or more characters, usually separated by chapter breaks.
Out of necessity, I'm going to keep it short, knowing that I will come back to the subject in future posts. Frankly, this subject could easily be a class all by itself. I don't claim any special expertise either.
In the meantime-- pick up a favorite book-- any work of fiction you like. Any work of fiction that is the type of book/story you want to write would work just fine.
Pick a scene from that book. Any scene could work, but pick one that you like AND has description. Take some time to copy that scene by hand or just type it. Watch how the pro got that scene into your head.
Next, take a scene when a new character is being introduced-- a major character preferably-- this time anyway. Do the same thing. Notice what details he/she used to get that character across. Please note, I'm NOT suggesting that you plagiarize-- this is called practice. It is one thing to read that passage in the moment when you are into the story. It is something else to have to type it or write it out long hand. Don't be overwhelmed by the idea. You won't believe how useful it will be. You will notice how the pro gives you the answer to your questions about "how to"-- and this is something you should do whenever you feel like putting in "practice." That is what it is. Just like a ball player or a ballerina. The practice gets you ready for "showtime."
Try it.
Have fun! It should be fun. Keep writing your own stuff, apply what you have learned about scene writing, characterization, description from the same writers you like to read. You are going to notice the stuff that makes fiction tick. I know it sounds like a chore.
Trust me, I wish I had done this thirty years ago. (Yes, THIRTY freaking years ago).
Good Luck and Keep Writing!
