How much description should be used in a novel?
When I have previously attempted to write, I have always struggled with description and felt as though I haven't used enough.
Now though, I've written the first 1,000 words of a new piece and I feel as though I've used to much! There's no dialogue in that first 1,000 words.
So what's the right equilibrium? How much description should be used?
Terrific! You have achieved 1,000 words of writing. :-) That alone is a good thing. You should award yourself - um - something you like :-)
Do you feel that your first draft has to be exact? Perfect? ...because it doen't have to be.
Whatever it is - it is there as a base-line.
I suggest that you make both digital and jard copies of it - and put them safe.
It is possible, if you go forward with this piece, that you will end up not using this 1k of words in the finished text - this may be not using it as it is or (even) not using it at all. This doen't mean that it is usless or that you have wasted your time on it though. Far from it.
Your description gives you a whole pile of information. Having that pile written down gives you a reference point - or reference points...
You can leave these markers set out in one solid lump or shift them around.
If, for example, you describe a room you can do that in a block of 1k words - that will likely be a bit hard for a reader to digest - and, as your plot moves on they will tend to be having to reference further and further back to the description - this may not just be awkward but may cause the flow (that is otherwise good) to be interupted for them.
This claerly suggests that 1k of room description is not going to be such a good idea - but that is long term... At the start and as you progress it is very possible that having such a defined base will be very useful to you. You can keep refering back to it - this is especially useful for maintaining continuity.
This may sound crazy but - as well as - or instead of - 1k words of description you might draw a plan of the room - even a 3d sketch - possibly sketches from different directions. You might allow yourself some fun and do some colouring in (I always enjoy "colouring in" :-) ) You might just add notes about colours or patterns...
If you think about a lot of films - especially detective type stuff and mysteries - the colour of a piece of cloth and/or a distinctive pattern is frequently a salient clue way on into a story from when it was first mentioned - and it was often mentioned more-or-less in passing.
This raises another issue.
You have 1k of description (still using the example of a room). While retaining the original 1k for reference you can move to a next stage and take a copy of the 1k - you may prefer to work on this in hard copy or on screen - that is personal preference. The thing to do next is to highlight all the things that are absolutely essential to the description for future reference.
You don't need to keep all these in the reduced first section - but - you will probably want to (discreetly) add them in as you progress. This is fine... The fun part is working out which bit applies in which way - and later - when to introduce them... But (unless you are like Adrian - you don't have to plan this precisely (ever) and you can, in fact, shuffle things around as you proceed - this is where keeping the original is so significant.
However! When looking for the "absolutely essential" things can look a bit impossible...
It may be simple to spot that four chairs are absolutely essential - but do you need to include their colour, or pattern? Do you need to include that one has a scar on part of the wood? You quite possibly cannot tell at an early stage - one solution is to highlight the chair and then circle (or otherwise mark) the colour or pattern to group the information - and then link the scar to the first circle with another (distinctive) circle.
So... 1,000 words is great! :-) It really is. Whether it will survive as a block of 1,ooo words or whether any of it will get used at all - do we need to know that now?
The important thing is that you have achieved that "piece of information" for your story... You might even find that you use it in a completely different story - or that you use it as a grounded landmark in a second book.
It is so much easier to have a good solid point of reference to help you maintain continuity rather than to have to keep thinking "what colour did I say that wall was painted" and going back to look/search for it. Having to hunt back to achieve good continuity really is a pain! (Guess how I know that!) It is beaten for screamingly annoying by discovering that I have changed a colour (or whatever) part way through and then having to go back and find where the change happened and adjust everything to correct the hiccup.
I hope this helps.
David
It's hard to know without seeing the thousand words.
The key to narration is, 'Show Don't Tell.' Use vivid, filmic descriptions that seem real to the reader.
To check the flow and pace read your description aloud. Overly long descriptions can slow the flow and the pace of the story.
Where possible I would have the characters use streams-of-thought and their sensory perceptions to describe their surroundings.
Three to five sentences for casual observations, more if you are describing an object that is vital to the plot and storyline. But a page if you are introducing a new setting. You can add more detail as your characters move within the setting. Do not start with a long exposition. To much detail and you are in danger of boring the reader to death.
You can also use a characters memories, or some dialogue if two people are viewing the same object.
If you want to describe things economically, I suggest you read the best authors of contemporary short stories. Anton Chekhov and Katherine Mansfield are excellent short story writers.
Anton Chekhov - 'Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.'
Henry James - 'In art, economy is beauty.'
I hope that helps.
Good luck.