: Describing shapes and objects While I absolutely agree, that descriptions should be experienced through the narrator's / protagonist's eyes in terms of personal involvement, I oftentimes find myself

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I often close my eyes and imagine myself holding an object I've never seen before. How does it feel? Is it heavy and smooth or hollow with skin like an orange? I do this because sometimes my characters have no idea what they're looking at.

I find myself imagining what it smells like, too. And sometimes, if it's tech, I "listen for" the sounds it might produce. A low hum, perhaps?

I had to google "Babylon 5". (I had totally forgotten how it looked!)
My initial thought was it's a mechanical space whale. I do that a lot, comparing strange shapes with something in nature. If I want my characters to feel intimidated, I'll focus on details like sharp protruding edges or shadows.

I like words like "pyramids", "circles", "spheres" and "cylinders". They're easy to understand and I can go on with my story. Some words are universal and invisible. And sometimes, focusing on one or two details is enough.

Happy writing!

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What helps me describe something is feeling the shape out. In letting your emotions experience the object, as opposed to experiencing it from a retinal view, you provide a context for an individual experience, not a general one where the dodecagon, for example, is just a dodecagon. You’d see that something, although simple, is divine in the eye of the beholder.

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