History Main / LeftFieldDescription

* ''Webcomic/TheWinxClubPlaysDungeonsAndDragons'': When [[CharacterCustomization picking the appearance and abilities]] of her player character, Aisha chooses a Genasi monk whose dreadlocks sport an ombre look in the same tones as the ocean. This implies that her Genasi character has water elemental powers and also highlights that Aisha's home world is oceanic. Her exact wording is "ombre dreadlocks like the ocean."

* ''Webcomic/TheWinxClubPlaysDungeonsAndDragons'': When [[CharacterCustomization picking the appearance and abilities]] of her player character, Aisha chooses a Genasi monk whose dreadlocks sport an ombre look in the same tones as the ocean. Her exact wording is "ombre dreadlocks like the ocean."

* This trope is part of the SignatureStyle of Creator/DouglasAdams.

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': In [[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS5E11LastCigaretteEver "Last Cigarete Ever"]], Ted's kids --and the audience-- are flummoxed to learn that some of the adults used to smoke. The reason is that said characters had rarely been shown smoking up until this episode. Unless you count [[NarrativeProfanityFilter "eating sandwiches]] and cigars").

* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'': In [[Recap/HowIMetYourMotherS5E11LastCigarreteEver "Last Cigarrete Ever"]], Ted's kids --and the audience-- are flummoxed to learn that some of the adults used to smoke. The reason is that said characters had rarely been shown smoking up until this episode. Unless you count [[NarrativeProfanityFilter "eating sandwiches]] and cigars").

Compare NarrativeFiligree, when the narration is full of details that are interesting, but not necessary for the plot.

* ''Literature/GreyGriffins'': The series has some strange writing flaws, but only a handful of stuff that really jumps out like this. For example, "The dawnless morning". How can there be a morning without a dawn?

** This gem from ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' also counts: "Long ago, someone had made [the carpet] by carefully knotting long bits of brightly colored rag into a sacking base, giving it the look of a deflated Rastafarian hedgehog."

* ''Podcast/WritingExcuses'': {{Discussed}} in the sixth season's eleventh episode [[[[http://www.writingexcuses.com/2011/08/14/writing-excuses-6-11-making-your-descriptions-do-more-than-one-thing/ "Making Your Descriptions Do More Than One Thing"]].

* ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'': It is filled with this sort of thing. Examples include "Movement flickered through it, like the swish of a bird across a clouded moon" and "Slippers flashing beneath her dress, like mice darting from a hole."

* ''AudioPlay/StrayAmi'': Blank, the narrator, describes an unpleasant old lady as smelling like when you bite into a chocolate chip cookie and find it full of raisins.

* ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'': Creator/PeterSBeagle novel has a lot of these.

* ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}'': The opening line is "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."

* ''Literature/SpecialTopicsInCalamityPhysics'': Blue van Meer, the narrator and protagonist of Marisha Pessl's book, gives intense visual descriptions of her surroundings and other characters, frequently referring to movies and books, complete with author name and year of release/publication.

* Music/MCFrontalot: In "You Got Asperger's", this trope is used very deliberately to try to illustrate the difficulties of Asperger syndrome. The POV character is painfully aware of how easily he is distracted by details that are irrelevant to the situation at hand, and he struggles to stay focused enough to have a proper conversation with a girl he likes, rather than fixating on her hair ribbons.

* ''VideoGame/MaxBlasterAndDorisDeLightningAgainstTheParrotCreaturesOfVenus'': The IF game goes for this sort of description in an AffectionateParody of old pulp serials PurpleProse tendencies:

* ''Literature/GreyGriffins'': The series has some strange writing flaws, but only a handful of stuff that really jumps out like this.
** ''The dawnless morning. . .'' - How can there be morning without dawn?
* There are a couple of instances in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of items 'flying through the air, like a partridge', as well as this gem from ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'':
--> Long ago, someone had made [the carpet] by carefully knotting long bits of brightly colored rag into a sacking base, giving it the look of a deflated Rastafarian hedgehog.
* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' features this now and then. The LemonyNarrator will sprinkle details about someone or something's appearance throughout a scene (possibly meant to imply that the Baudelaires are just noticing them).
* ''The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.'' - The first line of William Gibson's ''Literature/{{Neuromancer}}''.
** Robert J. Sawyer's ''Wake'' (2009) features the above quote with a TechnologyMarchesOn twist: “The sky above the island was the colour of television, tuned to a dead channel — which is to say it was a bright, cheery blue.”
** ''[[http://www.project-apollo.net/headroom/index.html The sky over the port was the color of a television set tuned to PBS.]]''
* Creator/PGWodehouse loves doing this. One character has the look of "a pterodactyl with a secret sorrow".

* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': George Orwell's iconic dystopia starts off letting you know that something's not right with this quote "It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen".

In this scene, Max (age 11) is talking to a girl on whom he has a crush about something of great importance, in the girl's house. While they talk, she runs her foot along the rug, and wow, what a beautiful foot. You can tell Brooke is a classy girl with those glittering flowers.

Anyway, there's a description straight out of left field. It does highlight that Brooke is attractive to Max, but not in the way you'd expect.

If done well, it's punchy and interesting, and allows the reader to see what might be a somewhat tired or over-familiar concept from a refreshing new angle. If done poorly, then it can be clumsy and nonsensical, and may lead to a case of {{Metaphorgotten}}.

Examples should contain at least one passage from the book if possible

* ''Literature/GreyGriffins'' was the example used above in the article. The series has some strange writing flaws, but only a handful of stuff that really jumps out like this.
* The ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' is '''filled''' with this sort of thing.
** ''Movement flickered through it, like the swish of a bird across a clouded moon.''
** ''Slippers flashing beneath her dress, like mice darting from a hole.''

* ''It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.'' - George Orwell's ''[[Literature/NineteenEightyFour 1984]]'' starts off letting you know that something's not right.
* Creator/NeilGaiman does this particularly well in ''Literature/AnansiBoys'': ''If on seeing Graham Coats you immediately thought of an albino ferret in an expensive suit, you wouldn't be the first.''
* Creator/PGWodehouse ''loves'' doing this. One character has the look of "a pterodactyl with a secret sorrow".
* In Creator/ChuckPalahniuk's ''Literature/{{Lullaby}}'', the protagonist is a journalist who is always noting details.
-->Her suit is light blue, but it's not a regular robin's-egg blue. It's the blue of a robin's egg you might find and then worry that it won't hatch because it's dead inside.

* Creator/PeterSBeagle's ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'' has a lot of these.
* Music/MCFrontalot's "You Got Asperger's" is a musical example where the trope is used very deliberately to try to illustrate the difficulties of Asperger syndrome. The POV character is painfully aware how easily he is distracted by details that are irrelevant to the situation at hand, and he struggles to stay focused enough to have a proper conversation with a girl he likes, rather than fixating on her hair ribbons.
* Blank, the narrator of ''AudioPlay/StrayAmi'' describes an unpleasant old lady as smelling like when you bite into a chocolate chip cookie and find it full of raisins.
* The IF game ''VideoGame/MaxBlasterAndDorisDeLightningAgainstTheParrotCreaturesOfVenus'' goes for this sort of description in an AffectionateParody of old pulp serials PurpleProse tendencies:
--> Making your way through the Venusian jungle is a bit like working security in the front rows of a rock concert mobbed by giant broccoli.
* Blue van Meer, the narrator and protagonist of Marisha Pessl's ''Literature/SpecialTopicsInCalamityPhysics'', gives intense visual descriptions of her surroundings and other characters, frequently referring to movies and books, complete with author name and year of release/publication.
* Creator/RayBradbury put a few of these in ''The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa'', like:

Same is true with aspects of a character's everyday life. If someone's daily routine is described in great detail, then it's usually to demonstrate some character quirk (such as being a CreatureOfHabit, having SuperOCD, or having odd interests or behaviors), or show how that character feels at that point in time (if they've just been through something you'd expect to fundamentally affect them but [[AngstWhatAngst aren't thinking about it]], it could suggest a HeroicBSOD).

--->Her suit is light blue, but it's not a regular robin's-egg blue. It's the blue of a robin's egg you might find and then worry that it won't hatch because it's dead inside.

--->The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't.

* There are a couple of instances in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of items 'flying through the air, like a partridge'.

Some authors either don't understand this, or [[TheyPlottedAPerfectlyGoodWaste choose to deliberately]] [[SubvertedTrope subvert it]]. They may describe every little unimportant thing in tremendous detail, which is known as PurpleProse. Or they may describe the important elements of a story in ways that you wouldn't normally think of, using bizarre metaphors or describing things unconventionally in their attempt to make a detail illustrate something of importance.