Write Better: Tips and tricks

How much description is too much?

A while back I got about pages worth of critique on a first chapter that was two pages long. This writer had heard along a grapevine somewhere that some users had taken a shine to my writing. So they wanted to check it out for themselves and see what all the fuss was about. 

What they wrote was the equivalent of a "0 STARS....WOULD GIVE NEGATIVE STARS IF I COULD" review.

And if you write anything, you'll find yourself getting these sorts of comments, too. Maybe not on Wattpad, which is a pretty uplifting community and not well-designed for critiques, but somewhere out there, you're going to encounter someone who wouldn't even use your book for toilet paper.

So what's the point in me telling you this?

Well, this particular writer who told me I didn't have the chops to make it in the industry got so wrapped up in themselves that they sort of forgot the story they were reading and started leaving crazy comments in the margins. Those comments inspired today's chapter.

I wrote a sentence like this (changed for brevity): Eve stood in the kitchen.

The writer highlighted my sentence and said: Where are we? A kitchen?

In the same paragraph I then wrote: She took a soda out of the fridge.

The writer wrote: What kind of a soda? What kind of fridge? Are we still in the kitchen?

And they continued to do this throughout the chapter, despite several references to the kitchen and even a description of the kitchen itself right at the very beginning. Apparently there wasn't enough 'kitchen' in the story, among my other heinous crimes to the great house of Literature.

For that particular tale, the most common comment I actually get is a variation of, "I really feel like I'm there!"

Still, I try to use what critiques I get, so I asked myself: Did I use enough description?

What I wanted to talk to you writers today is an interesting topic: how do you know when you have enough description? When is it too much? When is your editor, reviewer, etc, demanding too much?

Below are some questions that may help you figure it out how much is appropriate.

1. If you only said a word/phrase, would the average reader understand or be able to imagine what you're talking about?

Truth is, there's a difference between what the reader needs to know and what the reader should know.  

Tip: If the average person of your target audience knows what a "setting/noun/whatever" looks like, you often don't need as much detail to convey it. The more important or unique it is, the more you may need to set up your description.

For example: If I'm writing for young adults, most young adults know what a kitchen is. They've spent a lot of time standing in one while complaining about the lack of food in the house.

The average YA will imagine a sink, fridge, stove, counters, cabinets, maybe a kitchen table. They all might imagine a slightly different kitchen, but they've all got the idea down.

Now what if that kitchen is in a palace? Or a hut in a village on Mars? It's much less likely that your readers will come to a general consensus. 

Another example:

Cat. Almost everyone can picture a generic cat. However, if I was talking about a crag cat in Hunted, almost no one would be able to correctly picture it without description of its armored hide, club tail, etc.