Ella Forsyth asked Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee:

How do you remember to keep everything so descriptive? In the stories I write, I get so caught up with the story line and my characters that I forget to describe the setting sometimes. Do you have any tips?

Jessilyn Stewart Peaslee Hello Ella (What a beautiful name. :)) You are so sweet! I think you are on the right track with focusing on story line and characters. Those are the foundation of the story and are critical. Those are what I focus on first, making sure my characters are real and that the story line is compelling. I add descriptions later to make the story come alive. :) I try to immerse myself in the scene--what is the character seeing, feeling, hearing, etc.? When have I been in a similar situation and what did I see, hear, and feel? When I ask myself questions like that, I can hopefully convey those things on the page and hopefully the reader feels them too. A lot of the time, the descriptive phrases come to my mind when I'm not writing, just living life, which is when we really feel things anyway. Pay attention to those moments and write down those phrases and words that come to mind while you're really experiencing life, then fit them into your story. The more you experience, the more you can describe. I hope that answered your question. It was great to hear from you!

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