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I finally stopped over-explaining my characters after a workshop in Austin
About a year ago, I read a story out loud at a local writing group. Someone said, 'I don't need to know her shoe size to know she's sad.' It hit me hard because I'd spent a whole paragraph describing that character's closet. Now I try to give just one clear detail and let the reader fill in the rest. Has anyone else gotten a piece of advice that totally shifted how you write descriptions?
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anthony_fox1mo ago
That workshop comment about the shoe size is brutal in the best way. I used to describe every crack in a sidewalk if a character was walking. Now I might just say the concrete was warm, or that they stepped over a single dandelion. Letting that one detail do the work feels so much stronger.
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oliverw461mo ago
My first editor cut a page of description down to "the porch light was out.
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thompson.brian4d agoTop Commenter
A whole page just for a dead porch light? That's the kind of editing that would give me a heart attack. You must have been describing every single bug circling the bulb. It's wild how we can miss the simple fix when we're stuck in our own writing. Your editor did you a huge favor, even if it hurt at the time. That one line probably sets the mood better than all that extra stuff ever did.
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