Describing things can be one of the most challenging things for a writer to tackle.  Sometimes you just can’t picture it or find the right words.  Still, it’s important to describe the world around your characters so the reader feels like they’re actually settled in real place, instead of just floating through events.  A well done and well placed description could set their feet firmly in the dust of your awesome imaginary world.  So the ‘secret’ to good descriptions is a well developed world.  If you can see it, the reader will too.  In the early stages of your writing, when you’re planning characters and plots, give some thought to setting.  What kind of place is it: forest, desert, plains, mountains, cold, warm, lots of river, oceans, etc?  What’s the history of this world?  How do the common people live?  How do they feel about different things, like nature, art, violence, or strangers?  What are their customs?  Don’t go overboard with this cultural planning, since it’ll grow as the rest of your story does.  You’ll likely come across the answers as your character interacts with other people and the world around them.

Then there’s the opposite problem: knowing it too well.  Sometimes you can see something or someone so clearly it’s like they’re right in front of you.  You just want to describe them perfectly.  One problem you may run into when you try to describe them is it’s just a bunch of big, confusing, and vague words that the reader just skims through.  Trying to describe dimensions and sizes can easily backfire.  You can get too particular about the description.  You may end up just repeating yourself and annoying your reader.

So where’s the balance?  Well, describe enough to give the reader the general sense of what you’re trying to get across, but leave enough for their imagination to play around in.  That is the fun part after all!  If you do all the work for them and set rigid rules, there’s no room for their minds to expand into your story and make it their own.