Keeping writing vague to improve the details.

Every now and then I like to share some of my conversations with writers because I think it can help beginning writers see things from a different point of view. While nothing stupendous, I thought I would share this comment I made. As I do think it helps.

His clipboard and pens are following him, because they’re locked in his telekinetic grip. I’ll make it more clear right now.

It might be easier to just say with his clipboard and pens. Let the readers imagination decide how he is carrying them.

Its easier for the writer to say "skirt and low cut top", than do the entire, "She wore..." Followed by her shoe type, her sock color, her bracelets, etc. Which a lot of people needlessly do here. "Skirt and top," It lets the reader determine the cloths, all you have to do is suggest a style. The hippy looking mare. The Goth looking stallion. (While you read that, you automatically visualized what a goth looking stallion looked liked, right down to the cloths.)

I learned this from an author here. He gave this great example of a conversation over tea. One example where the Author writes every step of making the tea, during the conversation, and another where he writes the characters sipping the tea during the conversation, with the occasional. "Setting down her spoon, she said...." or, "she said, placing the teapot down." Implying a refill. The point he was making is that by using only a framework, the heavy lifting on doing all the descriptions is done by the readers imagination.

This reminded be of something I saw Years ago on a sleight of hand show. The magician said that a detailed counterfeit is spotted far more quickly that a counterfeit that has key features but keeps most other things vague. People notice whats there, but their minds fill in whats supposed to be there, but isn't.

Comments

[hiroandre]

Using a few choice details, lightly spread through the text and not as the main focus, can also greatly help in building up the mental image, I read.

P.S.: Funny thing about the sleight of hand show part, I basicly read the exact same thing in "Going Postal" by Terry Pratchet. Made me take quite the double take.

[rikithemonk]

5640651
Exactly. One of the things that brings dread to my heart is when the story takes you to meet the main six....all at the same time, because a lot of novice writers will describe....all six...one after the other. You have to sit there and suffer through a solid 15 to 20 minutes of description. When, like you say, spreading the descriptions out, over the course of the conversation works so much better. Each character can be described, a little at a time throughout the chapter. The descriptions get completed in a more natural way without harming the flow.

[hiroandre]

5640779

One of the things that brings dread to my heart is when the story takes you to meet the main six....all at the same time, because a lot of novice writers will describe....all six...one after the other.

My condolences, that sounds like quite the slog.

When, like you say, spreading the descriptions out, over the course of the conversation works so much better.

Yes, exactly!

There is also the thing, that sometimes one doesn't even have to describe them at all. I mean, it's a fanfiction, we all know how the main six look like.
Excluding OC and changes in appearance, is there really a reason to describe them most of the time?

And even if there is, those one really have to describe everything? I mean, come on, the written mediums biggest advantage is the usage of the imagination of the reader.
One good mental 'image' is more than enough, hell, even a detail about them can be.