WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 27 -- Friday

[linaewen]

Here's a wee quote to start things off on a snowy Friday in December:

Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing.
It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting.
As a writer, words are your paint.
Use all the colors.
-- Rhys Alexander

1. How did you spend your writing time today?

• I'm writing!
• I'm researching!
• I'm editing!
• I'm taking a break!
• I'm wishing I had time to write, but I'm just too busy with other things...

2. For Discussion: If you are a writer who likes to include a lot of details, what kind of details do you favor? Scenery? Physical descriptions of your characters? Sounds, colors or expressions?  Do you feel that details are as important as this quote suggests they should be?

Comments

[linaewen]

I haven't managed any writing yet, but I'm hopeful that I'll get something accomplished today. I've been turning things over in my mind as I do other things, and I feel like I'll be able to get somewhere when I finally sit down with my document open and my fingers on the keyboard!

I like to include detail, though I don't do it all the time. I tend not to include physical descriptions of characters, unless it's expressions or tone of voice. I do like to include details of sound and vision, especially when I'm describing scenery. I think it's important to include enough detail that readers can visualize what the character is seeing or doing, but not so much that it gets tedious.

[merryghoul]

I took a break. I ended up cleaning a bit and going through the Yuletide collection, which I'm still not done with. I'm going through the earliest Elementary fics now as I type. But I think I've gotten over my personal holly_poly panic. Hopefully I can write some of it today.

In terms of details, I prefer describing certain steps to get out of a situation, like in some of my Burn Notice fics. I wouldn't suggest including a manual in a fanfic, but some details really do help illuminate a fic.

[lilly_c]

I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after having the last week taken up with family visiting. I jotted a few notes for my kidficstory big bang on my BlackBerry today while I was in Glasgow and I'll be using those when I next open that file, likely tomorrow as I am planning on staying at home so that I can get things done. I only hope that I can have the draft 5000 words ready before Thursday.

I find that it's all about getting the balance of details right as they can be important to a story but too much detail can spoil it. Of course, tt depends on what I'm working on, for the long fics I tend to use more descriptions of the locations, original characters (the occasional time that I use them) and sometimes expressions. For the shorter fics it all depends on what I need to include and what I can realistically exclude without losing anything.

When I wrote Twice Unjust I used quite a few of the Scottish words and phrases that I've picked up with living here for over four years, and I also used Glasgow and Aberdeen locations which is something I hadn't done before and it was more difficult writing the scenes set in Aberdeen, my hometown than the scenes set in Glasgow.