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How to Describe a Wolf: A Guide for Creative Writing Students

• April 25, 2023

In order to better prepare you for your writing assignments, both in and out of English class, we have put together some tips on how to write a perfect description for a wolf.

When it comes to writing a description for a wolf, you have to start by deciding whether you are going to paint a human-like character or a real-life animal. The answer will largely depend on your audience. If you are writing for a general audience, you might choose to use a human character. However, if you are aiming for a more scholarly audience, you might want to go for the more factual route and describe the wolf in all its splendor.

Make It Action-Packed

If you are deciding to write about a real-life animal instead of a human character, you need to do your research to make sure that you get the facts straight. When writing about a real wolf, you need to make sure that everything is correct, and the more you put in, the more you will get back. This means that you have to make sure that your description is as detailed and as eye-catching as possible. The more you put into it, the more you will get back. You want to make sure that your work is accurate and easy to understand.

Include Details On How It Lives

Even if you are describing a real-life animal, you still need to paint a bit of a picture of what it is like to live with one. Are they friendly? Does it howl at the moon or just during harsh winters? All these things should be included in your description for the sake of your readers. You want them to know as much as possible about what you are describing so that they can have a better understanding of it. The more you know about the creature you are writing about, the more you will be able to include in your description. If you can, go out and meet the animal in person so that you can include as much as possible in your writing.

Use Metaphors And Similes

If you are unable to describe the wolf in concrete terms, you can use metaphors and similes to help paint a picture in your reader’s mind. Metaphors are quite simply words or phrases that you use to compare one thing to another. For example, you could say that the wolf is a bit like a shark, in that it is a completely cold-blooded creature that preys on animals for survival. Or you could say that it is like an eagle, in that it can soar high into the sky and spot its prey from far away.

Using similes is almost the same as using metaphors, but with one important difference: With a simile, you are comparing two things that are actually of the same kind, such as night and day, hot and cold, or small and large. If you are writing about a majestic beast like a wolf, you might want to use similes comparing it to other animals or mythical creatures with which we are more familiar, such as an eagle or a lion. This will help your readers better understand your meaning, even if you are not a native English speaker, as most people are not very familiar with wolves, let alone what they look like or how they act. But don’t feel like you have to limit yourself to animals either. You can compare the wolf to anything that you can think of, as long as you have enough research to back it up.

The Parts Of A Wolf

If you are comparing the wolf to another creature, you need to make sure that you have described its essential parts accurately. This means that you need to include all of its limbs and organs (assuming that you are describing it as having limbs and organs). You also need to make sure that its tail is properly described, as this is what most people picture when they think of a wolf. Make sure that you have described the ears, the eyes, and the nose in enough detail, as these are the three things which most people look at first when they are presented with a wolf. If you have not painted a thorough enough picture in your mind, your readers might not be able to understand or identify with your work. Remember: you are writing to entertain as well as to educate!

One more thing to mention about wolves is the fact that they are usually depicted in black and white or in full color. If you are describing a wolf in color, make sure to include more than just its basic coloring, such as black or white fur and yellow or brown eyes. You should also include its natural environment as well as other animals that it might be interacting with. Be sure to describe the sounds that it makes and the things that it is doing, as these will provide your readers with a better sense of what is going on.

The Package

When it comes to a package for the perfect description of a wolf, you need to go for the classic brown paper sack. This is what all the cool kids are using these days. However, if you feel like your readers will have more of a scholarly or scientific background, you might want to go for the white paper bag. The choice is entirely up to you. You can also include some sort of outer wrapping, depending on the type of gift that it is. If you are writing for children, you might want to go for the white paper bag, as this will make the gift easier to identify. Overall, the essential elements of a perfect description for a wolf are:

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How to Write Wolf Fiction

Last Updated: May 5, 2023

This article was co-authored by Grant Faulkner, MA . Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story, a literary magazine. Grant has published two books on writing and has been published in The New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing, and has a M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University.  This article has been viewed 56,692 times.

Wolves are majestic creatures, and writing about them is fun and rewarding. But if you, like many, live in the city, then non-wolf fiction is harder than wolf fiction. Many are daunted by the prospect of writing novels, especially when it's their first time. You could also write poems or short stories, but either way, keep in mind that writing wolf fiction is easy, despite how difficult it may seem at first.

Doing Research

• Watch YouTube videos on wolves. There are a lot of great documentation videos on wolves on YouTube, ready to be watched any time. Look for videos on wolves in their natural habitat. One of the best things you learn from watching is that you get a lot of visual information. You can see all the small things wolves do and develop visual impressions that you can later use in descriptions in your wolf fiction.
• Read non-fiction. Read books and articles on wolves. Learn their habits and their biology. You certainly do not have to get into super-scientific details, but you should know of their family structures, most prominent instincts, normal hunting techniques – stuff like that.
• 2 Take notes. The mind is forgetful. Take notes of small things which may easily slip your mind or which simply caught your interest. Some examples may be the way cubs lick adults’ mouths for them to throw up food for the young ones to eat or the way a large submissive wolf will hunch over to seem smaller and less threatening. Or perhaps the way wolves whine when they gather for a hunt or some such.

• 4 Read about mythologies containing wolves. For example, there is the wolf Fenrir in Norse mythology. The legends say that when he breaks loose of his chains, he shall devour the great god Odin and Ragnarok – the end of the world – thus comes. The people of that culture struggled through cold and dark winters – winters which were hard for wolves, as well. And a hungry, desperate wolf may very well attack an unsuspecting human. It makes sense that the people would come to fear wolves and see them as evil predators of the dark.
• 5 Listen to opinions. Hear what the wolf-lovers have to say. Hear what the wolf-haters have to say. You certainly don’t have to agree with any of it, but try to see where each person is coming from and what motivates their opinion of wolves. This can inspire you by pointing out a wide range of traits wolves have, that you may not have thought of yourself.

• Read pieces of wolf fiction that vary as much as possible. Read Jack London’s classics White Fang and The Call of the Wild (technically the latter is a dog-centered book, but it is a great example of canine fiction). Read an innocent children’s story, read a piece of urban fiction with sexy werewolves for young adults… Try it all!

Early Planning of a Piece of Wolf Fiction

• Currently, wolves are scarce in most parts of the world and human hunters pose a major threat – something you can use in your story to create conflict and tragedy. Perhaps you will want to write the story of a wolf set on taking revenge on humans for what they have done to the wolf species.
• In a fantasy world, humans may have such powerful magical skills that they need not fear wolves in the dark winter night. Or the wolves are magical or perhaps even have wings. How might this impact the relationship between wolves and humans?
• If you're making an entirely new world, make sure that you're defining the rules and being consistent.

• If you are aiming for werewolf fiction – how does your werewolf character’s mind change when they transform? Are their minds the same, or does it change entirely? Is the mind of an un-shifted werewolf the same as that of a human?

Writing Stories

• Make subplots, such as two cubs playing tag during an event, that will add depth and originality to your story.

Writing Poetry

There once was a wolf that was fluffy Its fur was rather stuffy An example of a haiku would be – The wolf was howling it was singing in wolf talk howl, wolf, howl loudly

Expert Q&A

• Don't give up on getting it published, as the first publisher asked often rejects a work (especially from an unknown author). At the same time, check your manuscript thoroughly so you can catch anything that a publisher would disapprove of. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Take kindly to commentary (it guides you and your book) without taking it personally. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Remember wolves aren't furry humans, so don't make them cry or act humanlike, and make sure you watch wolf behavior so you can describe the ears, tail and make your character all-around wolflike. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1

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27 Writing Prompts about Wolves

Swift of foot paired with stealthy hunting skills, wolves have long been considered a dangerous predator.

They have been hunted for their warm fur. Ranchers have killed wolf packs to protect their cattle.

Many wolf species have been over-hunted and are now listed as endangered. They have been hunted until near extinction.

Recently, wolves have been recognized as an integral part in the precarious balance of nature found in the wild.

These fascinating creatures live in tightly formed, hierarchical packs that offer protection for the pack members and add to the longevity of individual wolves.

Today we’re going to write everything we can about these beautiful yet much maligned animals.

How To Use Writing Prompts

The prompts below can help get your wolf-focused writing started.

Select one prompt you like as a main topic and incorporate others as subtopics. The prompts can also be used as a practice challenge where you construct a paragraph about each wolf prompt.

No matter how you use these wolf topics, the key to writing a successful story is to write consistently. Your writing composition will improve with each successive story.

Get Started Writing About Wolves

• The Gray Wolf is the most common type of wolf. It lives in many places, but high concentrations of packs are found…
• The Arctic Wolf is known by their fur color and lives in only a few places around the globe…
• A Red Wolf’s coat is a shade of cinnamon which helps camouflage the wolf…
• The Indian Wolf is often mistaken for a fox because…
• The Himalayan Wolf can be found mostly in the country of…
• An Ethiopian Wolf is often mistaken for a jackal due to its…
• The Eastern Wolf is distinct from other wolf species because it…
• Wolves are carnivores, they mostly hunt in packs, and prefer to eat…
• Wolves howl and use facial expressions when they want to communicate…
• Wolves tip their head back when they howl, this allows them to easily…
• The alpha male is the wolf pack leader, he is in control of….
• The beta female of the wolf pack is…
• The omega wolf’s pack rank is…
• Wolves growl as a form of communication when they are….
• Some wolf species are endangered because they have been…
• The country where the greatest concentration of wolf packs live is….
• A wolf pup’s eyes are blue at birth, around eight months old, they can change color to…
• Wolves have five toes on their front feet and four toes on their back feet. They run on their toes, making it easier for them to protect their…
• At birth, a wolf pup cannot see or hear, and is very small, only weighing…
• A wolf has 42 specialized teeth that have particular uses like shredding, crushing, and puncturing. Their jaws are massively strong making hunting prey…
• Curiously, wolves have webbing between their toes making it easy for them to…
• Dire Wolves are extinct, they were prehistoric wolves that lived…
• A wolf is swift and runs about 20 miles an hour, its top running speed can be as fast as…
• Many Indian tribes did not hunt wolves, they believed the slain wolves’ brothers would return to…
• A wolf pack can vary in size, they are typically between…
• A wolf has two coats of fur, the undercoat layer protects…
• An adult male wolf is heavier than you think. Nose to tail it is 4.5 to 5 feet long and weighs between…

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