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I finally stopped over-explaining my characters after a workshop in Austin
About a year ago, I read a story out loud at a local writing group. Someone said, 'I don't need to know her shoe size to know she's sad.' It hit me hard because I'd spent a whole paragraph describing that character's closet. Now I try to give just one clear detail and let the reader fill in the rest. Has anyone else gotten a piece of advice that totally shifted how you write descriptions?
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anthony_fox29d ago
That workshop comment about the shoe size is brutal in the best way. I used to describe every crack in a sidewalk if a character was walking. Now I might just say the concrete was warm, or that they stepped over a single dandelion. Letting that one detail do the work feels so much stronger.
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oliverw4629d ago
My first editor cut a page of description down to "the porch light was out.
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