Do descriptive DETAILS matter to you? (Read 792 times)

[slyn11]

Do the details matter? How important are they for you as a writer or reader?

In a recent update I added a detail that one of my characters liked Barry Manilow. I received a question from a reader wondering when that was revealed on the show. It wasn't. I made it up, like I do with so many elements in my story. That led to the next question - Why do I add those things in, when the story could go much faster without them?

So that left me pondering do details detract or enhance the experience for readers?

Do readers care that Philip's hair is cropped short, styled into spiky clumps with the aid of some European hair product? Does it matter that Philip learned Greek at a young age? Do we want to know what life was like for Chloe at the orphanage or how Melanie survived her years of abuse at the hands of sick old men? Is it important that there is a pile of teddy bears in the corner of Parker's nursery? And so on?

As a writer do you find yourself concerned with all the little things, or do you prefer to focus on plot or dialogue?

[Minako98]

YES!! Details matter because it helps to imagine the scene.

[mae00]

As a reader - it really depends on the details being described, but most of the time I want to be taken to that moment. I want to be able to feel like I'm the looking at the person that's being described. There's a big difference between "a man 5'8" with brown hair and green eyes and dimples" and "a man who stood about 3 inches taller than me with short, soft brown hair that could use a trim, eyes so green you think thier piercing right thru you - eyes that contain just a hint of mischeviousness lurking about within. A smile that brightens his entire face and makes his eyes appear greener, and those irresitable dimples......."

If there are emotions, I want to be able to feel them. I dont' want to just read "He looked longingly at her and had to have her" I want to know his thoughts - how he's so captivated by her that he can't take his eyes off her, how his heart reacts to the sight of her and when she speaks.

Now, with all of that being said, I don't need to know down to the size of his/her undewear, if he has a beer gut, etc. I like for some imagination to be left up to me. Some guidance into the direction that the writer is trying to portray is not a bad thing but if one whole chapter is dedicated to describing 1 room in a 10 bedroom house, I'm gonna lose interest quickly.

[slyn11]

Dec 6, 2012 15:45:12 GMT -5 mae00 said:

Some guidance into the direction that the writer is trying to portray is not a bad thing but if one whole chapter is dedicated to describing 1 room in a 10 bedroom house, I'm gonna lose interest quickly.

LOL I wish I had known this before I went on (and on) about Parker's nursery. ;D

[mae00]

LOL! But there was a lot to describe about Parker's nursery. I could picture the mural in my mind. You gave enough detail for us to picture the mural for a little boy and still left some of it up to our imagination. The detail that you gave served a purpose. The details I were referring to were details of a room that had no real bearing on the story being told. Parker's nursery has a purpose in your story. You didn't devote a whole chapter to the foyer in the Kirakis mansion - that's a room that I don't see a reason for extreme detail on (and I've read books that have done that for only a "open the door & say hey" moment) A brief description would suffice on this small area, but unless they fall to the floor right there going at it and breaking vases or something, I don't need to know how many windows are in the door for someone to look thru.

[slyn11]

For me I do a lot of details in my mind..it helps me write the scenes and characters, but I don't always share all the details with the readers. I have to hold back, because yes I do know how many windows are in the door that leads to the foyer. LOL

I also have limitations because of my lack of knowledge. In my mind, Victor speaks a lot of Greek around the house, so naturally Philip would understand and speak it too. (Why else would Melanie have been reading up on Greek myths and how to be a Greek wife on the show?) I think their culture is a big part of the Kiriakis family. I'm trying to convey that in my story without knowing much Greek, which is a challenge.

But yeah...a detail like that...I wonder if it is only important to me and readers could care less.

[MrsM]

I agree with Mae. I like the details that help to set the scene. I definitely want to know how Philip's hair is cut

[fluffysmom]

Details such as those about Chloe's and Melanie's childhoods give us insight into their character. I think that's important. Some less important details probably appeal to some readers but not all of them....such as the windows you mentioned.

[angelatil]

I like to think I am a little bit of both. I guess I am a little more dialogue in some aspects but I have to put details in the dialogue like how they look, the way they are dressed, how they look at each other and their intake of breath and emotions in the eyes. But I do like to give detail of the scene too and how the person looks so you can visualize the scene and see what the other character is seeing.

And I do believe in back story. Whether the back story will come into play in the plot or story being detailed, it may not come into direct play, but may be important as to why or how the character reacts to something. And to me, just gives a "behind the scenes" look of that character.

So I am all over the place really....I think certain scenes warrant it while others may not and also depends on the type of writer writing the story and what their vision of the story that is to be told.

[jwsel]

I'm with angelatil, It all depends on context. At times, the details are completely necessary. Dialogue without details can fall completely flat. But too much detail can be a distraction at times.

[fluffysmom]

I don't want so much detail that it takes away from the focus on the scene itself.

[slyn11]

I never really answered my own question. LOL

As a reader, I like details. They help me get immersed in the story. When a story doesn't have that element I am always making them up in my head anyway. I often find myself wondering what such and such character was like as a child, or what did the heroine have for breakfast, does she sleep in socks...random stuff...but that is what makes a character real to me...all the random little details piled together to create a whole.

As a writer, well, obviously I am into details. I try to use details to illustrate points in my writing. For example, the Barry Manilow reference in my OP was simply a flashback to a birthday past in a chapter about a birthday, but I chose to use that particular reference because it illustrated a point about my character - Melanie can read Philip. That is an important fact for things to come. So I used a detail to alert readers to that point, instead of just having my character say or think "I know how to read him."

I guess essentially it is a style choice.

[blueyed358]

I like details. I like to "see" it. I do not give a lot of details about the rooms or things like that but I do like to give details about the characters. I feel it gives them more depth, like Sara and JJ love waffles or her favorite thing to eat is cocktail franks or how she and her son go ice skating every Christmas at Rockefeller Center by the tree. I like knowing that Jack eats his frosting off his cake first and he likes to juggle. My details always seem to focus on the way they look or their facial expressions, how they sigh at the sight of each other. " The feel of her skin under his hands. The smell of her perfume filled the room making his heart skip a beat." stuff like that.