: Re: Level of description in a story I have often come across stories where the author has described a particular scene or action of a character in minute details. e.g. If a character has to open

@LarsenBagley300

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In a novel you should just write what comes naturally to you. Me, I like to read what others may consider excessive description, and that's the way that I naturally write. This becomes very challenging for short stories though; it is very difficult not to compromise on either plot or description, since description often does not materially advance the plot. For me this occurs when trying to write to a word limit of less than about 7K words, however most short story publishers are looking for more around the 4-5K range which is even tougher.

As a result, many short stories focus on the evolution of a character. By using description to unveil aspects of the character it also has the effect of advancing the plot. I guess what I'm saying is, not all stories can be told as short stories (depending on the length of "short") and forcing them usually results in a compromise. For the right story though, both description and plot can work together without either one suffering.

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