: Re: Are more or less details better for details that do not play a role in the story but describe where part of the story takes place? I'm testreading a novel for somebody I know. It's an adventure

@Courtney562

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In short:

There's a balance.

Whether your friend needs more description or not, it's hard to say. I'd say your friend needs more data points to determine if readers feel deprived or jolted out of the flow in that scene.

When it comes to description (or writing in general), I like to remember the mantra:

Tell the truth.

To explain what I mean, I need to answer another question first, one that speaks directly to your friend leaving out description:

Why explain things that don't play a vital role in the story?

Ah, but they do. Think of literally any movie (except, obviously, The Phantom Menace). In EVERY SHOT, there are things that don't play a role in the story. Shots of New York streets? The newspaper stand on the corner doesn't matter. A camera pan throughout a bar, only to rest on the protagonist's face? Doesn't matter to the story. The closing scene where a bird tweeting on a tree branch is the last thing we see? Useless at advancing the plot, if you ask me!

Ok, I think I've made my point. We wouldn't call those things useless because they help paint a complete picture, not because they play a role in the story.

This brings me back to my answer: "Tell the truth."

Truth is what is real to the character(s). How much do they see? How can I tell?

The most practical way for me to measure how much description I need is to put myself into the POV "camera". It's like I'm watching a movie in my head (lots of helicopter shots--it gets expensive). What is my eye drawn to on the landscape? Am I close to the object of focus or far away? What features stand out to me? Those are the important things. These are the building blocks of description; they create a sturdy environment for your readers to enter and fill in the gaps.

It's still a tricky business, description. Just remember that there's always a balance between backdrop (the things that don't play a direct role in your story) and focus (the things that play a direct role in your story). You need both.

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