: Re: Is there a description of location required in intense moments of the story like in a love story I am writing a short love story. There is a moment when the man and woman he loved meets

@YK4692630

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The key thing to keep in mind with writing fiction generally is: Does it add to the story? There's nothing wrong with describing a place, but how does that set the scene for what's about to happen? How does it set the mood? If you describe a place for the sake of describing things, that really drags down the pace and kills any tension you have at that point.

So when you're describing the house, think about:

What kinds of things the woman would notice, given her agitated state of mind in coming to visit the man. Would she notice that the place hadn't changed, that the furnishings hadn't changed (cue descriptions here)? Would she notice the vase she gave him for his birthday, back when they were still going out, or the candlestick she threw at him when she left him? If she's thinking about well-ventilated houses, how does that relate to their relationship in the past (given that this is meant to be the focus of your scene)?
Elements that you can use to represent their current situation/mental state. If the man feels withered/crumbling, you could set the mood by describing dying flowers in a vase, peeling paint, broken furniture, etc. You could show the gap that's grown between them by contrasting how things looked in the past with how they are now (presumably older, dustier, tarnished, etc.)

Obviously, you wouldn't use everything, as it would be description overload. Granted, if you were going for a 'literary' piece, that's another matter. :P
But generally, you'll need to pick and choose what you think would work best for the emotions and mood you want to get across, as well as the pace you want to set.

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