The Importance of Using Specificity and Concrete Language in Your Writing

If writing is like baking a cake, then specificity and concrete language are how you decorate the cake. While perhaps at first that may sound like a “throw-away” aspect of cake making — after all, you can have a pretty great tasting cake without any kind of decoration or design element — I insist that it isn’t so. In fact, the decorating part of the cake is what will visually attract customers to your cake shop. The design is what a bride-to-be will spend hours pouring over as she decides what aesthetic resonates with her that’ll best represent her on her big day.

And in writing it goes so much deeper than just surface-level aesthetics. The specificity and concrete language that you choose to use in your writing is essentially what creates your unique writer’s voice. The ways in which you use specific and concrete language will create that special connection that you’re hoping for with your reader. It’ll dictate the way that they see your world, not just as a mental vision, but it’s how they’ll experience the energy of your stories, that feeling you create that will be unique to reading stories written by you.

I’ve compiled some quick facts as to why specificity and concrete language matter below, as well as some tips for how to begin using these important elements in your writing.

Enhances imagery and sensory experience

Specific details paint vivid pictures

Using concrete language allows readers to visualize scenes, characters, and actions more clearly. For example, saying “The old oak tree’s leaves rustled in the autumn breeze” is more evocative than just “The tree moved.”

Engages the senses

By using sensory details (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch), you can immerse readers in the story. Describing the scent of rain-soaked earth or the taste of freshly baked bread makes scenes more relatable and engaging.

Creates stronger emotional connections

Relatability through specifics

Specific details help readers connect emotionally with the characters and their experiences. Describing a character’s nervous habit of tapping their foot can make their anxiety more relatable than simply stating they are nervous.

Personal and unique details

Using specific, unique details makes characters and settings feel more real and alive. For instance, describing a character’s worn-out suitcase with stickers from their travels adds depth and personality.

Makes scenes more memorable

Distinctive details stand out

Specific, concrete details are more memorable than vague descriptions. A description like “a yellow cat with a missing ear” is more likely to stick in a reader’s mind than “a cat” or even “a yellow cat.”

Helps in visualization

Readers can easily recall scenes and characters if they are vividly described. This visualization makes for a more impactful and memorable story.

Clarifies the author’s intent

Reduces ambiguity

Specific language eliminates confusion about what the author means. For example, “She felt a knot in her stomach as she approached the dilapidated house” is clearer than “She was nervous.”

Directs reader’s attention

Concrete details can guide readers to focus on important aspects of the story. Mentioning a character’s trembling hands can indicate fear or anxiety without explicitly stating it.

Tips for writing with specificity

Use vivid adjectives and nouns

Choose descriptive words that precisely convey what you mean. Instead of “flower,” use “rose” or “daisy.” Instead of “building,” use “skyscraper” or “cottage.”

Incorporate sensory details

Engage all five senses to create a full experience. Describe the color and texture of an object, the sound of footsteps echoing in an empty hallway, the smell of coffee brewing, the taste of a salty sea breeze, or the touch of a rough stone wall.

Show, don’t tell

Instead of telling the reader how a character feels, show it through their actions, dialogue, and physical reactions. For example, rather than saying “She was sad,” describe her “slumped shoulders, downcast eyes, and the single tear that traced a path down her cheek.”

Focus on unique, distinctive features

Highlight what makes a character or setting unique. Instead of generic descriptions, pinpoint specific features that stand out. For a character, it could be their “tattoo of a dragon curling around their forearm.” For a setting, it could be “the ancient clock tower that chimes at midnight, sending bats flying into the moonlit sky.”

Be selective with details

Not every detail needs to be included. Choose details that add to the story, develop the character, or enhance the mood. For example, mentioning the “rickety wooden stairs that creak with each step” can build suspense in a horror story.

Use metaphors and similes

Comparing one thing to another can add depth and clarity. For example, “Her smile was as bright as the morning sun” or “His voice was gravelly, like stones being ground together.”

Revise for specificity

During revision, look for vague or abstract words and replace them with more specific ones. Instead of “He walked into the room,” you could write “He shuffled into the dimly lit room, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor.”

Specificity and concrete language are closely tied to the way that you uniquely view the world. It’s essentially that thing that prods you to want to put your experience of life and of the world into words. The way snow can remind you of a blanket of powdered sugar over a Swiss roll, or the way winter air can feel crisp and tingling against your bare skin (yes, I’m writing this in the middle of winter.) Because writing fiction is so much more than just “telling someone about an imaginary event that happened.” Specificity and concrete language is how you paint a picture with words and transfer that image from the depths of your mind into that of others’.

And your mind is not like any one else’s. Like your fingerprint, it’s unique to only you. Specificity and concrete language help you to put your uniqueness on display through the art of writing.