Back in my student days, I
studied the works of the 17th/18th Century English writer
Jane Austen and recall one scholar praising the way she worked like a fine
artist painting on porcelain.
I know what he meant. I have
always believed that what differentiates good writing from less effective
writing is detail; a look here, a colour there, an observation, a vivid phrase,
they all lift the story of the page.
How do you do it? Well, for a
start:
* Create details about character. Ask questions about
your character. What does your character look like? How does he walk or talk?
Does she part her hair? What kind of clothes does he wear? What nasty habits
etc? And which facts are relevant? What matters, what does not?
* Create details about your
settings. What does your character's living room look like? Is it messy or is
it tidy? Are there paintings on the wall etc etc? Create details that bring the
settings to life. A story comes alive when the reader can see, smell, taste,
hear, and touch the world you’ve created. But if it does not matter that a
certain painting is on the wall, don’t mention it.
* Observe and recount - tell the reader what a character is doing,
what the weather is doing, if it’s getting dark.
Writing may have changed dramatically since Jane Austen’s day but
details made the story then and, used judiciously, they do now.
John Dean
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