- from Caspian's Queen, a Chronicles of Narnia fanfic by Francienyc

See what I mean? You don't need big words like "crystalline" or "cascading". Eyes don't have to be "orbs" and hair doesn't need to be a "curly mass of auriferous ringlets". Francie's writing has an element about it, a feeling. Her words form a very clear scene in your mind's eye, but it's not an overdone, fancy one. Notice the singular adjective she chose: softness. It evokes a very comely image - and it appeals to a sense other than sight: sound. Subtle bits of description are woven into the story with utter grace, so that while you're reading you barely notice it - but when the story is complete, you don't know what it looks like; you know how it is like. You're left with an understanding of character, not appearance. And that's the whole point of literature, right? That's why we buy the books and not the movies.

Good writing is about the whole picture. I wish more authors would remember that it's not only adjectives that form the description - nouns, verbs, adverbs, and prepositions all carry their own impression. Writing needs to balanced. It needs to flow smoothly. That last sentence may look run-on, but when you're reading it doesn't feel like it. That's because Francie has this incredible ability to speak in a way that makes you follow every word; it captures you, takes you to the end of the world and back in a blink, but it's not obvious or exaggerated. It just is. As they say, the things worth learning can't be taught - in writing, you need to be able to feel.