jeffsoesbe (jeffsoesbe) wrote,
jeffsoesbe
jeffsoesbe

[writing] the importance of Real Details

One of the big points in the talks at the Lincoln City Workshop was the importance of using "real details". Nearly everyone at the workshop got hit with this point - your details are generic "fake details", not specific "real details". And it's the specific that pulls a reader farther into a story, shows the story through the narrator's eyes, and gives a sense of the character of the narrator.

It's the difference between "the rug" and "the frayed Middle Eastern rug with a faded black and red diamond patter"; it's the difference between "the tree" and "the tall pine, a hundred feet if not more, full of summer green".

Kristine Kathryn Rusch posted, on her blog, an essay she wrote about the difference between "real details" and "fake details" with examples (much better than my poor examples above). Highly recommended reading, available on her blog.
Tags: writing
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