Attention to Detail

KuruKinaar

Active member
Joined
Oct 23, 2023
Messages
61
Points
33
I am very much a person that loves attention to detail in my writing and whatever I am reading. I love to picture everything exactly in the book.
What is everyone's preference on detail orientation in writing/reading?
 
D

Deleted member 58005

Guest
As both a writer and a reader, I like somewhat of a balance between detail. I often get bored if the descriptions go on for longer than a paragraph or two. Naturally, I can also appreciate the value of a well-crafted description that manages to give a clear picture of what it is describing. As long as it is clear and concise enough that I can imagine what's happening without taking more than ten seconds to read it, it should be fine.
 

RepresentingDesire

Eye of Desire
Joined
Aug 9, 2023
Messages
1,346
Points
153
I like detail filled writing, the more detailed is what is happening the better it is, in other words it helps immersion in the fictional world and I love to immerse myself.
 

LilRora

Mostly formless
Joined
Mar 27, 2022
Messages
1,349
Points
153
I'm not sure how to put it properly in words, but I say you should not write any specific details that do not bring anything to the story, but as much as you can (within reason) kinda general details.

Don't know if that has an official name, but what I mean is, for example, someone wears a blue pleated dress reaching the middle of her calves hanging on one shoulder - that is a specific detail that generally means nothing to the reader. You could say it's a cute blue dress and realistically it wouldn't make a difference. It's just something you can specify, but that doesn't really change anything if you do - it's often very helpful if you do though, so do use those things, especially when it comes to romance, mystery, and other stories in that vein, because those are where details can and do matter.

The tentatively named general details though, those are things that have a real, even if very small, impact on the story. For example, you can write about a dirty, poorly lit back alley, but you can also write about a dark, damp alley scarcely lit up by the lanterns from the main street filled with decomposing leaves and trash. One could argue it's just as irrelevant as the previous example, but the thing is that this is a tiny, subtle piece of worldbuilding. It doesn't mean much by itself, but it helps immerse the reader in the story.

A trap I really try to avoid though is overdescribing things, particularly elements of appearance. I've said this more than once here on Scribble, but I believe than when writing, one should focus on impressions and emotions, not details, because the former is what people remember.
 

RepresentingDesire

Eye of Desire
Joined
Aug 9, 2023
Messages
1,346
Points
153
I'm not sure how to put it properly in words, but I say you should not write any specific details that do not bring anything to the story, but as much as you can (within reason) kinda general details.

Don't know if that has an official name, but what I mean is, for example, someone wears a blue pleated dress reaching the middle of her calves hanging on one shoulder - that is a specific detail that generally means nothing to the reader. You could say it's a cute blue dress and realistically it wouldn't make a difference. It's just something you can specify, but that doesn't really change anything if you do - it's often very helpful if you do though, so do use those things, especially when it comes to romance, mystery, and other stories in that vein, because those are where details can and do matter.

The tentatively named general details though, those are things that have a real, even if very small, impact on the story. For example, you can write about a dirty, poorly lit back alley, but you can also write about a dark, damp alley scarcely lit up by the lanterns from the main street filled with decomposing leaves and trash. One could argue it's just as irrelevant as the previous example, but the thing is that this is a tiny, subtle piece of worldbuilding. It doesn't mean much by itself, but it helps immerse the reader in the story.

A trap I really try to avoid though is overdescribing things, particularly elements of appearance. I've said this more than once here on Scribble, but I believe than when writing, one should focus on impressions and emotions, not details, because the former is what people remember.
Do you mean immersion?

And it isn't really important if people remember the details, at least in my opinion.
 

LilRora

Mostly formless
Joined
Mar 27, 2022
Messages
1,349
Points
153
Do you mean immersion?

And it isn't really important if people remember the details, at least in my opinion.
I meant impressions for the first, and for the second, yup, that's exactly the point. If people don't remember the details, why bore them with descriptions full of them? It's generally much better to write something short and concise, but memorable.
 
D

Deleted member 84247

Guest
It depends, but I usually won't like too much detail. If a character explanation is going on for longer than one paragraph, I am likely to skip it. I can't tell you how many times I have skipped character explanations, like their hair and boob size, for it not to matter anyways. So if you are writing 3 paragraph explanations of one character's looks, just know that Envy will probably skip it if it's not in the feedback thread.
 

QuercusMalus

A bad apple...
Joined
Jul 21, 2023
Messages
410
Points
108
Broad strokes unless details are required for clarity. I don't want to read a grocery list unless it's relevant to the story(if the character is a chef, it makes sense).
One of the stories on here starts when the MC is 16, and one of the commenters was getting pissy that the author wasn't telling you what subjects she studied at school, how she did in each, what her favorite was, ect. I remember thinking that I got bored just reading their list of what they thought needed to be spelled out when it had no relevance to the story.
 

TsumiHokiro

Just another chick in the universe
Joined
Nov 1, 2023
Messages
804
Points
93
I do like details, but there is a time for everything. Sometimes, I will go in details, but only when those details have purpose in my writing. Everything has to have purpose, after all. It is much more interesting to insinuate details to a reader, and let them imagine what it is like to them, than to fix in their mind what it is in the novel.
 
D

Deleted member 84247

Guest
Broad strokes unless details are required for clarity. I don't want to read a grocery list unless it's relevant to the story(if the character is a chef, it makes sense).
One of the stories on here starts when the MC is 16, and one of the commenters was getting pissy that the author wasn't telling you what subjects she studied at school, how she did in each, what her favorite was, ect. I remember thinking that I got bored just reading their list of what they thought needed to be spelled out when it had no relevance to the story.
That's such a mood.
 

wresch

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 6, 2023
Messages
84
Points
48
Here's a reference you won't expect - Roger Schank. Big in AI for a while (not sure what he is doing now). Anyway, he thought readers had expectations based on experience. His big book was Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding. His big example was a restaurant. As readers, there was much we didn't need to be told, because we knew there were tables and waiters, and food would come on plates. He said we had all developed scripts for such things. So in a typical restaurant we would just make assumptions. What did we need? Exceptions. Maybe the waiters were foreign or angry or old. Maybe the food arrived in bowls. You get the idea.

For those of you writing science fiction, you might have to describe lots of stuff. Those of us describing the normal world have it easier - but we also need to make it interesting. Somehow.
 

QuercusMalus

A bad apple...
Joined
Jul 21, 2023
Messages
410
Points
108
I just tried to find the exact comment but couldn't, because there were so many others who had commented since, with many complaining the author had too much info...... proof that you are never going to make all the readers happy.....
 

melchi

What is a custom title?
Joined
May 2, 2021
Messages
2,880
Points
153
It depends on how relevant the details are. Too much detail can turn into pages of exposition easily.

A good example IMO is conquer of a dying kingdom. In one of the afterwards (not the first book) the author stated how they wanted to write a story about how a less corrupt empire is wiping out a whole race slowly but surely. However, they wanted to set the stage before ending up there and I think it too maybe two books to get there? It is not a bad series but taking a whole book to 'set the stage' seemed excessive in hide sight.
 

RepresentingDesire

Eye of Desire
Joined
Aug 9, 2023
Messages
1,346
Points
153
It depends on how relevant the details are. Too much detail can turn into pages of exposition easily.

A good example IMO is conquer of a dying kingdom. In one of the afterwards (not the first book) the author stated how they wanted to write a story about how a less corrupt empire is wiping out a whole race slowly but surely. However, they wanted to set the stage before ending up there and I think it too maybe two books to get there? It is not a bad series but taking a whole book to 'set the stage' seemed excessive in hide sight.
I think it doesn't matter if something is excessive, it only matters if you can enjoy the book.
 

BouncyCactus

Wearer of Dozen Facades
Joined
Aug 11, 2020
Messages
301
Points
133
I like details more than the normal reader, but it matters where, and how the details fit in the narrative, more so than how many details there are. Do I need a play-by-play commentary and a movie breakdown of each action? Hell no.

What I like is the hidden details, the backstage to the show that is being shown. If, say, there is a war waging on, then I would like to see, or at least, feel the impact of it, or how the army is being fought, fed, and moved. How are troops mustered, who are being mustered, and how do they feel about it? Where is the army getting their food from? How are they being transported? The morales of the troops? The arms and armors? The state of readiness? Answering all of that will need a functioning backset, which can help tell the story. Is the nation well off? A navy superpower? Maybe the ruling powers are very loved by the population, and their army is professional. Or there has been a drought in recent years, or a myriad of other details can be added and explored. sometime, details don't need to be shown, but hinted at, and left to the reader to interpret.
 
Last edited:
Top