  Short Stories
This week: Building Up Details Edited by: Jay's debut novel is out now!  
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| This Short Stories Newsletter is dedicated to readers and writers of short fiction and to those who want to know more about the art of telling big stories in small spaces. |
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Recently I read a conversation during a critique, between some other writers about the use of details to build up the world in a given story. There was no real consensus drawn on the topic, but there was a divide on the subject of detail. Some felt the author had included too much, at the risk of overwhelming the reader with too much information and not enough of it story-relevant. Others felt the details were necessary but needed to be presented in a different way.
As a general rule, I fall into the latter camp. Most of my story method involves drawing out the bones-- as I've discussed in previous letters, I am a reformed "seat of pants" writer who has come to love the magic of outlining-- and one of the things I do at times struggle with is figuring out where to fit the details that give a story its mojo.
There isn't any cut and dried answer to this, other than individual writers' philosophy, but I spent a lot of time thinking about the quandary of how to present information in a story. Where does important and relevant information end and background fluff begin? I'm outlining for some stories in one of my "main" universes and I have reams of Silmarillion and Lost Tales-esque notation of "the way things are" in this place. I've found that adding a description or observation within the setting is a good, subtle place to start. I try to avoid overuse of unfamiliar or overly-specific jargon if I can help it; I'm a sci-fi writer, but I also do a lot of technical writing at my day-job, and both of these things require a certain amount of precision, but both can become overloaded if there's too much information that isn't given any context.
Plot details should be seamless-- there should be no reason to see them un-tucked from the story content. Settings should have enough detail to give the reader a substantial sense of place without being too boring or too vague. Stories that open with a flowery description of places the reader's been a million times before will have that reader clicking away after a single paragraph.
With characters, the kinds of details that generally don't matter begin with looks. The majority of your audience isn't reading about your lead character because of the color of her eyes or hair. It's a relevant detail, yes, but it's best when it's able to be included as a part of a whole scene.
In general, character details should be allowed to unfurl for the reader so that they can feel attached and get to know them-- it makes the reader feel just as at home with your protagonists as you do. One recent example of this I can think of is in A&E's TV adaptation of the Walt Longmire novels; Longmire is presented as a character who, at face value, looks like a straight-up, tough-talking, dyed-in-the-wool Wyoming sheriff, but as things progress, the layers of this character become apparent. I won't spoil anything, but I will say: one of the things which makes this character enjoyable is that the audience discovers things about him which contradict your original impressions, and does so in a natural and unobtrusive way.
I'm off to go flesh out an outline or two-- what kinds of details are you going to build this month?
Until next month,
Take care and Write on!
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Feedback from last month's Newsletter: "Reviewing as a Writing Exercise"
Doug Rainbow  writes:
Yogi Berra said it: You can observe a lot just by watching.
True enough!
Zeke writes:
I absolutely agree that our characters have to be unique. I review others exactly for the reason you stated. It provides new ideas.
Zeke
Reading is a critical skill for writers, and I maintain that reviewing indicates a level of understanding of what that reader is taking in.
JACE  writes:
Great newsletter, J. Though I've been on a writing and reviewing hiatus of late, I still believe in the power and rewards of reviewing. I'm saving this NL for a bit more digesting later. Keep up the good work, my friend.
Thanks, Jace!
ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams writes:
Thank you for featuring my story A Conversation in your awesome WDC Newsletter of July 25, 2012.
My pleasure, Christina!
mykel writes:
Thank you for your work on this newsletter. I'm new to WDC.
Here you've mentioned on writing reviews, "Some ideas of things to look for when you're reading other authors' work:
(on Writing.Com and in general-- GoodReads and Amazon book reviews are other worthy exercises, and you can use the Book Review item type here on Writing.Com as well...)"
What is the Book Review item type and where does one access it on the WDC site?
Thanks again for your contribution.
Hi mykel! Book Reviews are now called Product Reviews, so my apologies for any confusion here. To add a review for an existing book or other media content, start here: http://www.writing.com/main/product_reviews?action=add |
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Short Stories: August 22, 2012 Issue [#5226]
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