Don’t Forget the Details in Your Setting
By Elaine Burroughs
There are various quotes about details that have been
modified over the years, but I think James McBride said it best: “As a journalist, the details always tell the story.”
How true. Details matter, whether you’re a writer trying to
incorporate senses (sight, smell, touch, sound) into your manuscript, or
whether you’re trying to tell a friend about a movie they should see. The
details are what make the subject come alive.
In many ways, details are the difference between telling and
showing. Consider the following examples and which ones offer more information
for your audience.
Telling: She was tired.
Showing: Kayla let out a long yawn before turning off the
light.
Don’t you “see” more in the showing sentence above?
Let’s try another one, just to get your taste buds going!
Telling: Lunch looks good.
Showing: Alex folded the rice into the mound of crawfish
etouffee on his plate, and the sizzling spices teased his nostrils.
With showing (or giving details) the reader can picture the
scene easier. It lets each person envision something specific, versus saying
“she was tired” which doesn’t offer much visual, audible, or sensory detail.
So remember that as you’re writing that manuscript or
describing a TV show, book, or movie to a friend…details count, so be sure to
use them!
Book Blurb:
EARTHBOUND, Book 3, Elemental Clan Series
Some say history repeats itself, but for Terran, an Earth
Elemental, history has returned and slapped him in the face. Along the
Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, the Acobi Fallen Angels have decided to
go underground–literally. They are resurrecting an old legend, shanghaiing
innocent people into slavery. Underage girls are trapped and kept in holding
cells, ready to be sold into the sex trade. Terran must stop the Acobi and keep
the public away from the Shanghai tunnels, all while keeping his supernatural
powers hidden.
Kelly Habersham, overachieving real estate developer, has finally convinced her father and brothers to give her the Portland condo project, which would require extensive construction near the tunnels. Determined to impress her father and make a name for herself in the family business, she is not about to let a Save-the-Earth guy get in her way.
Terran and Kelly must work together and come to a truce--or they may be the next shanghai victims.
Kelly Habersham, overachieving real estate developer, has finally convinced her father and brothers to give her the Portland condo project, which would require extensive construction near the tunnels. Determined to impress her father and make a name for herself in the family business, she is not about to let a Save-the-Earth guy get in her way.
Terran and Kelly must work together and come to a truce--or they may be the next shanghai victims.
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