“After standing there a little while, he resolutely opened the first door that met his eyes and walked into an absolutely dark room. Straight in front could be seen the crack in the doorway through which there was a gleam of vivid light; from the other side of the door came the muffled sound of a melancholy mazurka. Here, too, as in the drawing-room, the windows were wide open and there was a smell of poplars, lilac and roses. . . .
Ryabovitch stood still in hesitation. . . . At that moment, to his surprise, he heard hurried footsteps and the rustling of a dress, a breathless feminine voice whispered “At last!” And two soft, fragrant, unmistakably feminine arms were clasped about his neck; a warm cheek was pressed to his cheek, and simultaneously there was the sound of a kiss. But at once the bestower of the kiss uttered a faint shriek and skipped back from him, as it seemed to Ryabovitch, with aversion. He, too, almost shrieked and rushed towards the gleam of light at the door. . . .”
— “The Kiss” by Anton Chekhov
Technique
In “The Kiss,” Anton Chekhov approaches a scene description with the senses, covering sight, smell, touch, and hear to give life to an important moment in the story.
The above passage should be celebrated for its conciseness, liveliness, and fluidity because it moves the story forward in a key scene by inverting the senses and creating a natural outcome with elements of the physical room. In the first paragraph, the first and second sentences focus on Ryabovitch’s sight. The room is dark, but the crack in the doorway gives an inviting light, leading him to open the door and starting the action. Suddenly he hears the mazurka’s “melancholy” song and smells the flowers. He’s intrigued …
In the second paragraph, he stops moving and hears footsteps. At once he feels the woman’s touch around his neck and on his cheek. Then the woman shrieks and steps back, and the same inviting light from the previous paragraph—that started the scene—ends the scene when it becomes his exit route.
Use
- The key to great storytelling is relatability, so writing about common patterns of behavior or actions by people can create a connection with the reader. James Joyce famously did this in “Ulysses.”
- Another application of the technique above is writing concise descriptions. Excessive description can stall a story and disengage the reader. Description must move the story forward by either setting the scene or spurring action like Chekhov does with the light in the doorway, which doubles as an entrance and exit to the scene.
The Periplous 