Describe a Setting in Words - Contest

Describe a setting in words. Use all five senses and make your reader experience the setting as if he or she were there.

*Contest Round entries may be any rating. Submit your ITEM or ENTRY number by 1200 noon WDC time on Sunday to compete. WDC time is New York City time and can be found at the top of the IM Console. If you miss this deadline or choose not to compete, you must still log the assignment complete (without linking your work) for the grand prize, per the standard Prep guidelines.




As you enter the Wild Woods or Icoshire, the atmosphere around you becomes intense with the scent of young saplings dripping new, green, sticky sap down their twig-like trunk and the decay of fallen trees in the last throes of any semblance of their past glory.


Past the saplings, you see trees fifty to sixty spans in height. Soaring at their heights are the great birds of the forest, looking for food for their young in hidden nests. Higher still, gliding on unseen winds, the Rocs are the most giant birds created. Large enough to raze a village with its claws, strong enough to best a medium-sized drake.


Further in the forest, the heavy scents fade and become lighter and more alluring. There, you find many trees with fruits of different varieties and tastes. The brighter the color, the sweeter the nectar. Here is where the workers come to gather their wares.


As you draw near, one tree has the sweetest, delectable, sugary smell. The scent brings water to your mouth because it is so enticing that the urge to eat is overwhelming. Run. Run away. This tree is called the Killing Tree. One bite of the fruit, and you die instantly. Tree roots will come out of the ground, entwine your corpse, pull you under, and slowly feed upon you for months.


Within hearing distance, the wings beating against the bright golden-red plumage shimmering underneath inflated thorax thrumming-thrumming-thrumming to gain a suitable mate's attention or steal one from a less talented one. Numerous competitors are sending out calls from several directions. One female answered with a high shrill qwee-waa-qwee-waa-qwee-waa. The males all respond fervently, increasing the volume of their beatings THRUMMING-THRUMMING-THRUMMING.


An elder, who didn't increase his thrumming, began to jump around his nesting site. Up, down, left, left, back, left, right, throw a small twig, right, thrumming-thrumming-thrumming.
This intrigued the young female as much as they were soon doing the bonding ritual.


Filtered light is sporadic, allowing shade to those who prefer the dark to the ones who revel in the light. The opening also allows rain to fall, reaching the ground, filling the basins, and giving birth to slow-moving brooks. As the water flows downstream, it winds more profoundly into the forest where light cannot follow. The Witch of the Woods tells all who wish to enter the woods: To venture into the darkness is to venture into folly.