I've never thought of myself as much for minimalism, but as a reader, I am so, so burnt out on overuse of stage directions and excessive details - especially when they start repeating and so the author reaches for new ways to say things, and they're awkward or unnatural and thus distracting. (No one consciously draws their brows together! We just frown!) It starts to feel like the author wants to micromanage the reader's experience, and so makes it hard for the reader to feel there's much space left for them.
I started asking the opposite question, which is why am I putting so much detail into this? I've found a middle ground, I think, just like you, but it does require some trial and error. Mood is often overlooked as a reason for more description. It can help cement the reader. However, as I progress I'm finding myself in the less is more camp.
Very helpful to see you agonizing the same way I do, analyzing why I think abundant detail is needed some places (nostalgia, where nostalgia is called for) vs. other places where it needlessly slows down the action. One of my beta readers recently complained about overwhelming details--then told me how much fun it was to walk through the neighborhoods of my childhood with me. So...there's that.
Setting is not my strength and I'm not a minimalist, but what I've found has been working lately is capturing those details within the voice of the narrator and, when it doesn't feel forced, within dialogue. Voice and dialogue are (I think) my strengths, so I try to use them to my advantage as much as possible.
Thanks for this "crafty" post. Good luck with your writing!
Hi Kate. A great read. I’m currently writing a novel on my Substack: rosygee.substack.com and, if you have time, would really appreciate your view on my writing style. You can dip your reading toe in and read as much or as little as you wish. Thanking you in advance for your kind attention. Rosy Gee
Kate, I can definitely empathize with you on the challenges with description, too much, too little, trying to be original. I feel like the hardest parting of writing a book is the first few chapters, primarily because trying to describe a character and bring them to life is so challenging.
What I've learned over time works for me is to free write a character description, stream-of-consciousness style. Just get the words and imagery and essentials on the page, and then whittle them down to what is essential for the reader to know--and that crystallizes the individual.
Here's one of my favorite openings on a character from my book Perfect Mile on Roger Bannister.
"Bannister was tall—six foot one—and slender of limb. He had a chest like an engine block and long arms that moved like pistons. He flowed over the track, the very picture of economy of motion. Some said he could have walked a tightrope as easily as a track, so balanced and even was his foot placement. There was no jarring shift of gears when he accelerated—as he did at the end of the three-quarter-mile time trial — only a quiet, even increase in tempo. Bannister loved that moment of acceleration at the end of a race when he drew upon the strength of leg, lung, and will to surge ahead. Yes, Bannister ran, but it was so much more than that."
Same for me. I'm still ADHD and want to get to it faster. I had to learn to slow it down and add a few more descriptions and let the reader get to know my characters a little more first. But when you only have ten pages you have to cram what you can in there to get a full request. Now I've sucked it up and have to settle that what I have in the ten is good enough.
Thanks, I've been struggling with this, too. I'm revising a manuscript and I find myself using the delete button a lot. But, one of my favorite authors is Erin Morgenstern and she is the Queen of exquisite descriptions so...
As a reader, too much description makes me want to put the book down. As a writer (small pond stuff), I find myself using the delete button when revising. In the end, it all comes down to what a reader enjoys.
Some love description (like my 11th grade English teacher who told me my writing wasn’t “flowery” enough), and some appreciate minimalism (my 12th grade no-nonsense English teacher who once scribbled on a paper, “I like your style!”). Write what you write. Ask for feedback, but when the day is done just be you.
Thanks Kate. I loved this entry. Over the summer, I took some time off to just read and be okay with that. It's hard. Accomplishment to me is getting words on the page and querying and time always goes so quickly and I wonder what can I do different to set my story world apart. I don't know, but you're right when you say read and write and don't get bogged down in the details. So, thank you again. Sincerely, a wannabe know-it-all.
I relate to this! I much prefer a more minimalist style of writing too, with clear sentences that don't get too bogged down in description, especially of characters. I also have gotten feedback that more details would be beneficial for making the fictional world feel real and lived-in. I like the idea of aiming for 12% more and seeing how that goes!
I totally hear you Kate! Can I add that having a writer's group to give me feedback on things like this specific issue has been really helpful. Being able to say, "Do you get it? Do you need more?" out loud and get an actual response from a live reader has helped me quell the voice in my head which says the same thing over an over without a response.
I relate so much to this. Like you, I tend toward minimalism, and when I'm reading I find tons of description distracting. But I'm trying to find a good balance in my own writing and...yeah...it's not easy!
I also have trouble with descriptions, but when I started writing non-fiction profiles, I knew I needed some. I find it much easier to go into detail when there is *action* not just when I'm describing an object that feels inert to me.
For an example of description-writing I enjoyed writing and felt good about, this is from a (CW: child loss) profile of Trappist monks who make coffins by hand and give them for free to parents who lose a child: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-trappists-coffins/
"When the monks build the floor of a coffin, nearly all of the planks can be cut with a jig to a set size, but the last few always need to be trimmed to fit. The bases (which will be covered by cloth) are often made of ash-beetle scarred wood that would be rejected for more decorative purposes. The wood is heat-treated to make sure any lurking beetles or eggs are dead.
But even though beetle is dead, wood is still living—a little breathing room is left between bottom planks for when humidity makes them swell. Otherwise, they’d force the top or foot panel out of true. The wood must be accommodated in its particularity, before it can receive a body. Each person laid to rest is similarly individual, even as they fill these standardized spaces."
As Marcia said, it IS helpful to see you agonizing over craft because the rest of us like knowing we are not alone. I used to think once I had a book out that the writing would get easier. HA ha ha ha. BUT maybe it's good that it gets harder because if it didn't, then maybe I wouldn't be challenging myself. I like to believe with each book my writing improves, and as my writing improves, my reach to write better also gets longer. My latest idea is to trust more in my characters, nudge them into the world they inhabit, and let go of my original plan for them. In short, writing is a marathon. Some days it's 100 degrees and humid and I have a blister on my left heel. Other days my stride feels perfect and I'm in the shade. I could go on ... I think it's great that you're a writer AND an agent because you must truly appreciate when you read something good. Looking forward to your next book!
I've never thought of myself as much for minimalism, but as a reader, I am so, so burnt out on overuse of stage directions and excessive details - especially when they start repeating and so the author reaches for new ways to say things, and they're awkward or unnatural and thus distracting. (No one consciously draws their brows together! We just frown!) It starts to feel like the author wants to micromanage the reader's experience, and so makes it hard for the reader to feel there's much space left for them.
I started asking the opposite question, which is why am I putting so much detail into this? I've found a middle ground, I think, just like you, but it does require some trial and error. Mood is often overlooked as a reason for more description. It can help cement the reader. However, as I progress I'm finding myself in the less is more camp.
Very helpful to see you agonizing the same way I do, analyzing why I think abundant detail is needed some places (nostalgia, where nostalgia is called for) vs. other places where it needlessly slows down the action. One of my beta readers recently complained about overwhelming details--then told me how much fun it was to walk through the neighborhoods of my childhood with me. So...there's that.
Setting is not my strength and I'm not a minimalist, but what I've found has been working lately is capturing those details within the voice of the narrator and, when it doesn't feel forced, within dialogue. Voice and dialogue are (I think) my strengths, so I try to use them to my advantage as much as possible.
Thanks for this "crafty" post. Good luck with your writing!
This was helpful! Thank you
Hi Kate. A great read. I’m currently writing a novel on my Substack: rosygee.substack.com and, if you have time, would really appreciate your view on my writing style. You can dip your reading toe in and read as much or as little as you wish. Thanking you in advance for your kind attention. Rosy Gee
Kate, I can definitely empathize with you on the challenges with description, too much, too little, trying to be original. I feel like the hardest parting of writing a book is the first few chapters, primarily because trying to describe a character and bring them to life is so challenging.
What I've learned over time works for me is to free write a character description, stream-of-consciousness style. Just get the words and imagery and essentials on the page, and then whittle them down to what is essential for the reader to know--and that crystallizes the individual.
Here's one of my favorite openings on a character from my book Perfect Mile on Roger Bannister.
"Bannister was tall—six foot one—and slender of limb. He had a chest like an engine block and long arms that moved like pistons. He flowed over the track, the very picture of economy of motion. Some said he could have walked a tightrope as easily as a track, so balanced and even was his foot placement. There was no jarring shift of gears when he accelerated—as he did at the end of the three-quarter-mile time trial — only a quiet, even increase in tempo. Bannister loved that moment of acceleration at the end of a race when he drew upon the strength of leg, lung, and will to surge ahead. Yes, Bannister ran, but it was so much more than that."
Same for me. I'm still ADHD and want to get to it faster. I had to learn to slow it down and add a few more descriptions and let the reader get to know my characters a little more first. But when you only have ten pages you have to cram what you can in there to get a full request. Now I've sucked it up and have to settle that what I have in the ten is good enough.
Thanks, I've been struggling with this, too. I'm revising a manuscript and I find myself using the delete button a lot. But, one of my favorite authors is Erin Morgenstern and she is the Queen of exquisite descriptions so...
As a reader, too much description makes me want to put the book down. As a writer (small pond stuff), I find myself using the delete button when revising. In the end, it all comes down to what a reader enjoys.
Some love description (like my 11th grade English teacher who told me my writing wasn’t “flowery” enough), and some appreciate minimalism (my 12th grade no-nonsense English teacher who once scribbled on a paper, “I like your style!”). Write what you write. Ask for feedback, but when the day is done just be you.
Thanks Kate. I loved this entry. Over the summer, I took some time off to just read and be okay with that. It's hard. Accomplishment to me is getting words on the page and querying and time always goes so quickly and I wonder what can I do different to set my story world apart. I don't know, but you're right when you say read and write and don't get bogged down in the details. So, thank you again. Sincerely, a wannabe know-it-all.
I relate to this! I much prefer a more minimalist style of writing too, with clear sentences that don't get too bogged down in description, especially of characters. I also have gotten feedback that more details would be beneficial for making the fictional world feel real and lived-in. I like the idea of aiming for 12% more and seeing how that goes!
I totally hear you Kate! Can I add that having a writer's group to give me feedback on things like this specific issue has been really helpful. Being able to say, "Do you get it? Do you need more?" out loud and get an actual response from a live reader has helped me quell the voice in my head which says the same thing over an over without a response.
I relate so much to this. Like you, I tend toward minimalism, and when I'm reading I find tons of description distracting. But I'm trying to find a good balance in my own writing and...yeah...it's not easy!
I also have trouble with descriptions, but when I started writing non-fiction profiles, I knew I needed some. I find it much easier to go into detail when there is *action* not just when I'm describing an object that feels inert to me.
For an example of description-writing I enjoyed writing and felt good about, this is from a (CW: child loss) profile of Trappist monks who make coffins by hand and give them for free to parents who lose a child: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-trappists-coffins/
"When the monks build the floor of a coffin, nearly all of the planks can be cut with a jig to a set size, but the last few always need to be trimmed to fit. The bases (which will be covered by cloth) are often made of ash-beetle scarred wood that would be rejected for more decorative purposes. The wood is heat-treated to make sure any lurking beetles or eggs are dead.
But even though beetle is dead, wood is still living—a little breathing room is left between bottom planks for when humidity makes them swell. Otherwise, they’d force the top or foot panel out of true. The wood must be accommodated in its particularity, before it can receive a body. Each person laid to rest is similarly individual, even as they fill these standardized spaces."
As Marcia said, it IS helpful to see you agonizing over craft because the rest of us like knowing we are not alone. I used to think once I had a book out that the writing would get easier. HA ha ha ha. BUT maybe it's good that it gets harder because if it didn't, then maybe I wouldn't be challenging myself. I like to believe with each book my writing improves, and as my writing improves, my reach to write better also gets longer. My latest idea is to trust more in my characters, nudge them into the world they inhabit, and let go of my original plan for them. In short, writing is a marathon. Some days it's 100 degrees and humid and I have a blister on my left heel. Other days my stride feels perfect and I'm in the shade. I could go on ... I think it's great that you're a writer AND an agent because you must truly appreciate when you read something good. Looking forward to your next book!