If plot is the fabric of a story, then
details are what stitch it together.
***
Yes, I admit it:
I’m one of those readers who skips over lengthy paragraphs of establishing
detail so I can get to the action, particularly if the story is set in a
familiar environment. I don’t need tons of descriptive detail in order to fully
enjoy the long-awaited love scene, or the shocking discovery of the murder
victim, or whatever it is I’m anticipating.
So how do you keep
your readers engaged between dialogue exchanges and bursts of action? Reward
your reader’s patience by including details that enrich and inform.
A common mistake
newer writers make is including too much detail. The writer sees the story so
clearly in their mind’s eye they wish for a reader to visualize it exactly the
same way. What they often don’t realize is that readers don’t want to be
passive participants in the reading experience. Readers want to employ their
own imaginations, to have the ability to fill in the blanks of a scene or a
setting. It’s one of the reasons people often say, “The book was better than
the movie,” because the film is somebody else’s interpretation of a character
or setting.
When I’m drafting
a new scene, there are several elements I address when considering how much setting
and character detail to include: blocking; familiarity of the environment; specificity
of objects; and the stage of each character’s development.
Blocking: Anyone who’s ever been on a
stage is familiar with this term, which refers to the geographical location of
the characters in the scene. Sometimes blocking can reveal character and/or
further the plot, such as: “Jessie and Nicholas squared off on opposite sides
of the small office.” Already we know there’s conflict between these two characters.
Conversely, it can
slow pacing and even be misleading: “Nash sat down at the table. Erica sat down
on his right side while Olivia chose the seat on his left.” Unless seat
selection reveals character or is part of the plot, get your characters to the
table (“They gathered around their mother’s dining room table, the lingering
fear of her stinging tongue still palpable after all these years.”) and get on
with the show.
Familiarity of environment: The more
familiar the location to your readers, the less detail required. And of those
details, focus on the ones your characters will interact with. For example,
your MC walks into a classroom, a setting most of your readers have personally
experienced. Instead of describing the room in detail, pick out the one or two
details that will advance your story:
“Rows of small
tables filled the classroom, each seating two students. I found an empty spot
next to one of the prettiest guys I’d ever seen.”
Specificity of objects: This is a
detail that can be used to reveal your characters. For example, in my current
WIP, a character working as a bodyguard picks up a copy of The Wall Street Journal while on guard at a library. She could have
just picked up a magazine or stood filing her nails, but this character is
aware her profession has a limited shelf life and is concerned about investing
for the future. This action by itself does not a character make, but subtle
layering of details throughout the book will give readers a deeper understanding
of, and an emotion connection to, your character.
The Stage of a Character’s Development:
When we first meet a character important to the story, your reader will want a
physical snapshot. The details you initially share should reveal character as
well as physical traits. For example:
“He was a big man
in every way; from still-powerful shoulders straining at the seams of his
monogrammed dress shirt, to his beefy hands, crisscrossed with ancient scars.
His thinning hair was quite grey, almost white, and razed into bristles. His
eyes, shielded by a large pair of silver-rimmed glasses, were steely, and
despite being diminished by folds of aging skin, they were clear and piercing.”
Hopefully, I’ve
revealed the essence of this man’s character along with his physical
appearance. The next time we meet him, his character will be enhanced not with
further physical description, but through details such as specificity of
objects (“his sandpaper voice made rougher by the single malt scotch”).
If you have favorite
techniques for deciding what details to include in your writing, I’d love to
hear from you on Twitter @kestrester or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kestresterauthor.
Kes
Very good!
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