Before we begin, please allow me to announce that Jane Kennedy Sutton has won the first annual…

Galen Kindley Award for Enduring Admiration.

 

Jane correctly decoded the message in yesterday’s post.  Congratulations, Jane!   Your award is posted on my website at this link.  Right click on it, “Save Picture As…,” and it’s yours.  I encourage others to take just a second to look at this prestigious award.  You may have a chance to win one with the next contest!  Now, to our regular appointment.

 

This is a test.  How do painters know when they’ve applied enough paint? 

Answer:  When they no longer see the color over which they are painting. Like Goldilocks, they’ve hit upon the amount of paint that’s, “just right.”

 

 

It’s not that easy for writers—of course. When I write, I wonder how much expository paint to use on my digital canvas.  How much is, “just right?”  You know, how much detail to use to evoke a reader’s-eye picture of…oh, say a Columbo-like car, for example. (Fun link there by the way.)

 

Let’s say I want to describe some battered old clunker.  I have choices.  I could say…

• It was an old car.
• It was a 1956 car.
• It was a green, 1956 car.
• It was a green, 1956 Chevy.
• It was a green, 1956 Chevy Impala with a convertible top.
• It was a green, 1956 Chevy Impala with a battered convertible top.
• It was a green, 1956 Chevy Impala with a beige, but battered, convertible top.
• It was a green,1956 Chevy Impala with a beige, but battered, convertible top, and worn seat covers.
• It was a green, 1956 Chevy Impala with a beige, but battered, convertible top, and worn, purple seat covers.
• It was a dirty, green, 1956 Chevy Impala with a beige, but battered, convertible top, worn,  purple front seat covers, and a dented fender.
• And on and on.

 

Now, tack a second “descriptive” car sentence behind this one, and stack another behind it, and, well, you  see the problem.  The writer quickly reaches a point of expository and descriptive diminishing returns.  At that point, useful information becomes too much information.  like the photo, says,“The more I think (or the author tells me) the more confused I get.”

 

This descriptive conundrum is one of the writing gray areas Elizabeth Spann Craig is so good at pinpointing.  Like all imponderables, there is no final or correct answer.  Additionally, reader tastes complicate the matter.  Some readers like lots of detail.  Other readers want the minimum. The reader’s detail taste and tolerance are unknowable.  So, trying to write for your reader won’t work.

 

What’s a girl to do??  My technique is to evaluate the importance of the the object to be described.  The more important to the story, scene, or action, the more detail it merits–up to  a  point.   It’s  a  gut-feel kind of thing.  Does my technique work?  Haven’t a clue.  I hope so.

 

But wait, there’s more.  While we’re mucking about this terrain, there’s an associated problem we may as well tackle.  Beyond the depth and breadth of the description dilemma, “how” you describe an object can also be problematic. Huh?  Yeah, that’s confusing.  Let’s try this…Telling the reader, “The room was big,” isn’t too helpful, is it?  Nope.  And, (not to start a sentence with a conjunction) as you probably feared, I have another handy dandy technique to share.  No, I’m not sure this works either.  So what is it already???

 

I try to relate the object to something recognizable, something common to us all.  So, in this case, I might say.…”The room was about the size of a tennis court and half again as tall.”  There are more elegant ways to say it; but you see the point.  A comparison with a known object is generally helpful.

 

So, there you have it.  Two areas that bug me and how I handle them.  We’d all appreciate it if you’d share any special techniques you have to deal with these issues.  If you have none, then, don’t hesitate to add some gratuitous comment like, “Gee, Galen, you’re a pretty brilliant guy…with good looks…and great insight…and you’re my favorite author.”  If it’s too repugnant to type those words, then, cut and paste works.  Just trying to be helpful.  Thanks for visiting!