Those are good guidelines for not going overboard on description. I don't know about the sunset being romantic though--sometimes they can be quite scary. :)
I will only add that description should not be a long grocery list or a catalogue. Bed, chair, blanket, pillow, pillowcase, dresser--that gets boring real quick.
And use all your senses (not just sight) to describe things. Does the air smell acrid? Is the ground grainy underneath your character's feet? Are there birds chirping in the forest or is that a chainsaw? If you can make your description vivid, the reader will be that much more immersed in your setting.
'Bout time somebody posted this. I like my settings to be familiar to the reader. You know, the Hole-in-the-wall pub, the corporate executive's office with the huge windows and lots of empty space, things like that. That way not only do they not require overboard description, but the reader will already have the places infused in their brain. Of course, adding your own style keeps it from getting cliched.
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I will only add that description should not be a long grocery list or a catalogue. Bed, chair, blanket, pillow, pillowcase, dresser--that gets boring real quick.
And use all your senses (not just sight) to describe things. Does the air smell acrid? Is the ground grainy underneath your character's feet? Are there birds chirping in the forest or is that a chainsaw? If you can make your description vivid, the reader will be that much more immersed in your setting.
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