How to Write Descriptively

Sometimes reading something with no description feels like a chore, what's going on you wonder, where is everything, what's the feel, the look of the place. This is one of my greatest pet peeves; I hate common words, dull words that have been used so much that they hold no meaning anymore.
So here are a few tips I think may help you make your writing a little more descriptive.

Step One: Know what you are writing about.

If you're writing about a fight scene go study fighting, google it, wikipedia it, you tube videos and watch how it plays out the way they move the way the other person is affected. If you are describing a building, a style of architecture or a way the room feels.

DO YOUR RESEARCH! Go find old buildings, maybe creep around some condemned houses or go for a walk in a rich community. Get a feel for the things around you.

Step Two: What does your character look like, who are they?

When you talk about a character you want to give them an identity, what does their hair look like in certain lighting, their skin, their smile, what does their laugh sounds like, make you feel. What does their touch do to your other characters, their presence? Are they shy, reserved, angry, ambitious you want to go all out and paint a picture with your words. You don't want to read a story where your character is like an empty shell. Blue eyes are nice but how are they blue are they streaked speckled, deep, pale bright, dull, and clouded? Brown hair is okay but is it the color of chocolate or mud, coffee or dark honey, does it shine, glow, flow or glisten. Does it feel like corn silk or brittle and delicate? You need to add life to your people, make them seem real to yourself and they'll come alive to other people.

Step Three: Abandon common words.

Nice, pretty, big, little, like, go/went, got/get, a lot, very, really... you get the picture. These words drag on and never end when you could turn the little grey cat into "the petite storm cloud grey cat" and already you have a picture in your head, you can change "I like your eyes" To "I admire/adore/ am jealous of your eyes" Expand your vocabulary, read a few words from the dictionary or use a thesaurus (one of my best friends) when you feel you've used a word too often just find it in your thesaurus and find a word like it, you can find thousands of unique beautiful words which suit your characters perfectly, much better than big, small, fat and thin.

Step Four: Make room for mistakes.

Do not try to make your writing perfect the first time through. Just write, maybe a certain song inspires you for the topic or scene you are writing, maybe a picture of a place you want to describe but do not stop. When you finish you can always add and replace words and change things around. But if you keep stopping then it almost become painful to keep writing. Make it something you enjoy and others will enjoy it to.