As you write, you want your readers to know and feel where a character is, how they look, what they feel like. When I was taking writing classes, my "teacher" was always saying I had too much descriptions, took too long on expressions, or put in too much background. I suppose that works for some genres, but I found that fantasy loves immersive descriptions. I might be wrong, but that is how I write. If you find long descriptions are necessary for a good story, here are a few ideas I'd like to share.
1) Make a description complete, but don't let it overwhelm the scene's import. What I mean is, yes, describe that grand dungeon the adventurers are entering, make the reader feel like they are there, but you don't have to describe the candelabras to the small carvings on the bases. Are the walls stone or wood? Are the rooms small or large? Are there decorations or scorch marks? Describing in such a manner might allow you not only to give the feeling of the room but enable you to sneak in a foreshadowing for the story line.
2) The reactions of a character are important. Spell them out with descriptive words. Do not say, "They look sad." This sort of style will bring your reader to understand your characters better in the long run.
3) Do not add in a long narrative about the history of the world. A little history is great, but some stories I've read not only have pages of backstory history, which sometimes are boring and dull, but some have even started off their stories this way. If I had allowed that to shape whether I would keep reading or not, I would never have continued with some books I picked up. I prefer to try and insert my history into the moment, with characters. Say they are talking about something and they come upon a statue and then they can talk about the history of that person, who is important to the story. Wrap in some commentary and back and forth between characters and it will not seem so monotonous.
Happy Writing!
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