“She sat on a sofa,” is not nearly as picturesque as, say, “She lounged on a sofa,” which in turn gives way to something like, “She lounged languidly on the worn-out, green leather chesterfield in the corner of the salon.” You have to read the last one with that exasperated drawl of the 1920s, don’t you.
Style lies not in your choice of words or a clever turn of phrase, but in your selection of details that you present to your readers.
Unless trained, our brains are not very good at picking up on subtleties of language, but they’re excellent when it comes to noticing sensory details.
Green worn-out leather. The corner of a salon. A woman lounging.
That’s all your brain needs for immersion. The rest is merely flourish.
