: Re: What are the limits to description in story writing? How do I know if I have crossed them? Time and time again, I have been told that my unfounded focus on description distracts from the

@Angela458

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There are three questions I see in this post:

How do I discipline myself to write more considerately?
What are the limits to description in fiction writing?
How do I know if I've crossed those limits?

I'll start with question 2, move to 3, and then back to question 1.

So, to question 2: First, there really are no "limits" in writing fiction. That is to say, as soon as you hear a "rule" about fiction writing, you'll find someone who breaks that rule and makes it work. But there are two take-aways from this comment. One is, the writer in this situation usually knows they are breaking a common "rule" and are doing so on purpose, and two, they have probably worked within the "rule" (whatever it may be) enough to fully understand why it exists. All of this being said, probably the most common rule in writing fiction is "show; don't tell." This rule exists for a reason. Fiction where the author tells us what a character does as opposed to showing us what the character is doing, distances us from the character and we can't identify. As the author James Hynes of the Great Course "Writing Great Fiction" says, we need to "build fictional worlds through evocation." That is, we need to provide specific details in a situation so that the reader can see and hear what the character does, but leave enough room for our own imagination to fill in the other half of the details. Too much description doesn't allow for this and the reader is not as engaged with the story. To know you've crossed the limits of over description in your own writing it is probably helpful for you to know why one might want to limit description (as in, because it helps your reader engage with the character/story).

To question 3, how to know if you've crossed the limit of "over description," I'd recommend two things--one, have a trusted writer friend provide feedback on your work, asking them to specifically respond to the level of description in your writing. Two, given the example above, you might consider trying an exercise. When you find yourself describing a character's expression, such as "A haunted look marred Sabrina's face perpetually," ask yourself what image you see in your head when you read this. How would you describe Sabrina's facial features without using the word "haunted?" i.e. What are her eyes, mouth, facial muscles doing that indicate "haunted?" What is her posture? What does she see or smell at this exact moment? This kind of description may help your reader engage more with the character than telling us her expression is haunted. You may also want to consider watching out for repetition, such as "crow-black hair" and "slick, stick-straight hair" within two sentences next to each other.

And as to question 1, how should you discipline yourself to write with consideration--I guess that depends on your goals as a writer. If you want to continue writing stories with lots of description and that is your main goal because you enjoy doing that kind of writing, then let that guide you. If your goal is to write fiction that has description that engages the reader and makes them want to keep reading further, you might use that as motivation to better understand description and its purpose in fiction by reading books such as John Gardner's "The Art of Fiction" as well as many other sources and guides. Understanding the details of what makes great fiction work may provide you with that motivation.

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