Too much detail

[Private_Peterson]

is there ever a time when there is just too much detail? like an action scene or a flashback that makes the reader put down the book because they get bored with too much detail? Or should i just put in as much detail as possibly because more = better?

[IdiotsRUs]

Ha well that depends - on the reader's taste and all that. BUT, one solid thing you can say is that if you describe everything, plop in description for the sake of it, most people will shout 'Get on with it!' at some point.

The trick is telling, relevant detail. If there's a dead body on teh carpet, you probably don't need to describe the colour of the herione's knickers. In a sex scene knicker colour becomes relevant.

Pick a few details that are telling, then describe those. For the dead body it might be the way his face looks all scrunched up like a discarded piece of paper, the way the air feels deader than him when your protag breathes it in, or the shape of the blood patch that looks just like South America.

A few, unique details will do as much for colour / tone / atmostphere etc than half a page of everything all thrown in( which will drown the good bits in a wash of 'so?') - and won't ruin your pace.

[Libbie]

Yes, there is definitely such a thing as too much detail. Have you ever read Robert Jordan? Is it really necessary to know what every single character in the scene is wearing, and where the fabric for their clothing came from? No. Not really.

More is not always better.

On the other hand, "less is more" is not always true, as the revision notes from my agent attest. ;) I have a lot of detail to add, apparently! At least that's fun.

[CaroGirl]

The amount of detail in a scene can affect the pace, and that's why you would limit detail in an action scene. Not because the reader would get "bored" per se. Less detail generally makes for a faster pace.

[Chris P]

There is definitely such a thing as too much detail. I tend to go slight on physical descriptions of characters, since as a reader I like to imagine the characters in my own way. When the writer describes the character in too much detail and it goes against my mental image, it's distracting. Too much detail in action slows the pace, as others have said.

[blacbird]

is there ever a time when there is just too much detail?

Yes.

like an action scene or a flashback that makes the reader put down the book because they get bored with too much detail?

Yes.

Or should i just put in as much detail as possibly because more = better?

No.

caw

[fadeaccompli]

It can be helpful to think of detail as a dial you can turn up and down to control pacing. If a particular scene is supposed to be fast-paced, dial down your detail to the bare, vivid essentials. If it's time for a breather and some slower, more contemplative scenes, dial the detail back up to pull back on the pace.

[NeuroFizz]

This is going to be writing-style dependent and scene dependent for the most part, but overwhelming the reader with detail will tend to hold the reader at arm's length at times. Sometimes it's best to find a way to give enough detail to spur on the reader's imagination so he/she can better climb into the story by filling in the details himself/herself. A good writer can even spin those details to lead the reader in a specific direction without coming right out and laying that direction down for the reader with all details. Readers are going to form their own mental pictures of characters, settings, scenes, and events, so if the details are important (e.g. they have some significance for the progression of the story), give them. It they are just there to satisfy the writer's desire to fill in all of the blanks, realize that such an approach may take away (or prevent development of) full reader involvement--by preventing formation of the reader's own mental and emotional imprint on the story.

[Jamesaritchie]

This is a case of go copy the writers you love reading. There's a reason you love them, so do a sthey do. It's also a case of don't try to do something like this in a given way because you think you should, or because someone tells you to. If you like it, you've done teh best you can do.

[Jamesaritchie]

Yes, there is definitely such a thing as too much detail. Have you ever read Robert Jordan? Is it really necessary to know what every single character in the scene is wearing, and where the fabric for their clothing came from? No. Not really.

More is not always better.

On the other hand, "less is more" is not always true, as the revision notes from my agent attest. ;) I have a lot of detail to add, apparently! At least that's fun.


There are about a bazillion Robert Jordan fans who would disagree.

You allow your agent to suggest revisions?

[wilhem spihntingle]

The amount of detail in a scene can affect the pace, and that's why you would limit detail in an action scene. Not because the reader would get "bored" per se. Less detail generally makes for a faster pace.

Looked at our your avatar and cringed because I'm stuck at work and not boarding there..Favorite place in the east!

[crazynance]

Sometimes it works to add very little time at the moment of action, but on reflection, the character recalls many details. Perhaps they don't add up, or maybe they do! Or maybe you drop little clues in the crime scene that later become relevant. Why was there pink lipstick on the glass when Sherry only wears dark red?

[WildScribe]

Yes, there is definitely such a thing as too much detail. Have you ever read Robert Jordan? Is it really necessary to know what every single character in the scene is wearing, and where the fabric for their clothing came from? No. Not really.

You exaggerate. And I LOVE those books.

But yes, you CAN have too much detail.

[ishtar'sgate]

is there ever a time when there is just too much detail? like an action scene or a flashback that makes the reader put down the book because they get bored with too much detail? Or should i just put in as much detail as possibly because more = better?
Nope, more isn't better. It's okay for detail to slow down a story. We all need a bit of breathing room. But if the story grinds to a halt with paragraphs of detail then you have a problem. Detail must serve a purpose for the story you're telling. If it doesn't and it's really a 'look what I've learned' kind of thing then leave it out. It can take a bit more time to learn to include sufficient details succinctly but it can be done. It's always harder to use less words than more words but it's worth the effort.

[Inky]

When I want to create fast-paced, I pull out my stack of Dean Koontz and skip around until I find the really scary parts. Before I realize it, I'm on edge and reading really fast.
I have to backtrack and study how he did it.
To me, if you want to create an intense battle scene or thriller scene, use mostly verbs and keep your sentences extremely short...some of 'em no more than three words.

Anyhoo, pull down some of your books that have battle scenes and study how they conveyed the imagry without over kill on backdrop.

[backslashbaby]

I think sometimes in an effort to write vividly, and Show Not Tell, there can be a tendency to lose the main thrust of a passage by describing everything.

Choose a focus. Guide the readers with your words. Even when using descriptions in a slower passage, use it to make the reader take a look around (or a breather) along with your character. Readers should feel the POV's focus pretty clearly, imho. Otherwise, it may be boring, and in any case it's not really the same story.

[Sheila Muirenn]

I think everyone has covered the point of having too much descriptive detail very well. But there is another instance where there is too much detail. This has to do with actual directions and character movements.

For example, describing in detail a character's movements from standing outside to their appearance in their home's living room: He straightened, turned, and winced slightly when the sun from the west hit his eyes. He walked forward to the front door. Opened it, and picked up each foot as he crossed the threshold and propelled himself over. He continued down the hallway and passed three rooms on his right before he stood in front of the living room. This was the last door on the left. He walked through and noticed a red plaid sofa, an ottoman....

Okay, I just made myself tired writing that.

Notice what there is too much of. Physical directions of the type you get from a gas station when you are lost: right, left, turn, continue, from the west. Physical positions of body movements: turned, straightened; winced. Prepositions: on, through, over, down. Unnecessary adverbial phrases of purpose: to the front door.

I think of this as description with too many moving parts:)

A better sentence? He went inside to the living room.

More on adverbial phrases: http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/StudyZone/410/grammar/advphr.htm

[Sheila Muirenn]

To me, if you want to create an intense battle scene or thriller scene, use mostly verbs and keep your sentences extremely short...some of 'em no more than three words.


Exactly!

[RedScylla]

Plus keep in mind that what details you choose reflect on your narrator's personality. This is why every woman who walks into a scene in my book gets her cleavage described--that's what my narrator looks at first. Eye color, hair color, that's secondary. ;)

[Sheila Muirenn]

This is why every woman who walks into a scene in my book gets her cleavage described--that's what my narrator looks at first. ;)

Oi Vey!!

[Birol]

Oh, you can definitely put in too much detail. If you waste too much time describing whatever, you'll end up having pages and pages that do not move the story forward. You have to strike a balance between having your readers be able to visualize your world and not boring them. You do not want to overwhelm your prose with minutiae.

[Inky]

Eons ago, the above mentioned from Birol is what turned me off of The Hobbit. I'd have to backtrack several pages just to remember what the bloody 'ell I'd been reading.
A forest can only be described to a certain extent before one either wants to hire a slew of lumberjacks...or throw the book across the room.

[Birol]

There are about a bazillion Robert Jordan fans who would disagree.

You allow your agent to suggest revisions?

There are also a bazillion Robert Jordan fans who would agree. What initially drew fans to Jordan's world -- the richness and the depth of descriptions -- are what also caused many of them to stop reading the series when those descriptions crossed an invisible line.

[Hip-Hop-a-potamus]

This is what killed Simon Winchester's stuff for me. I tried to read his book about Krakatoa and wanted to gouge my eyes out.

I understand that it's very important to discuss a little bit of the earth's composition for a book on a massive volcano, but after pages and pages and pages of the igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic properties of the island, I was like GET TO THE FARKING EXPLOSION ALREADY!!!!!!!

I have not picked up another of his books since.

[jodiodi]

I like enough details to give a general idea of the setting and maybe enough to give me an idea of what the character looks like.

When I was in high school and read The Last of the Mohicans, I was 20 or so pages into it and Cooper was still describing scenery .. I may be exagerating a little, but only the tiniest bit.

So yeah. Too much detail is a very bad thing.

[jinkang]

I think it's more like YMMV (Your mileage may vary)

I agree with the posts above; find what you like and write. Those who like long descriptions will like it that way; others won't.

Right now, I'm leaning towards 'go with the flow, but don't start with too much.'

I'll reel in the readers...and once they are totally hooked, I'll choke them with details.

[Idkwiaowiw]

In my opinion, don't worry about detail when you are writing. Just write it. Never edit yourself during first, second, or third drafts. Once you're heavily into the revision stage, then it's time to go back and see what needs to be changed. All detail should be meaningful. If it isn't, why have it in the book? I'm more on the stranger side, but I hate it when authors write about what the characters look like or talk like. I read books to imagine and to think. If an author has given me a perfect portrait of someone, what is there to think about? But that's just me.