How to Leave your Readers Cold, Hungry, and Afraid By R.A. Black Have you ever read a scene about a snowstorm and felt cold? Or looked up from a book and found yourself surprised you are in your bedroom and not in a majestic forest? Part of the power of a good book is to draw us into the world we are reading about and make us feel like we are there. It’s easy to get caught up with characters and plot when writing, but if your readers feel immersed in the world, they’ll find it harder to put the book down. So, here are some hints and tips to consider when considering what and how to describe things in your story. I’d recommend having a thesaurus on hand (I still use the one my granddad gave me when I was nine), but make sure you never use a word you don’t fully understand, or you can give your sentence an incorrect meaning. Work it in: Big blocks of description can slow down the pacing of a story, and often it’s better to weave details through the narrative. For example, yo...