Take Your Novel to the Next Level with Specifics

Carrie fidgeted with the cardboard sleeve on her black dark roast. It wasn't easy meeting new people, but she was pushing herself to interact with other writers. Laura, an urban fantasy writer, sat across from her, nursing a grande caramel frappuccino. Did she know how many calories were in that thing?

Their get-to-know-you coffee was going well. Laura finished her lengthy oration about how she got involved in writing and took a breath before asking, "how many brothers and sisters do you have?" Carrie wrapped her hands around the hot paper cup and squeezed. Why that question? "Um."Carrie's heart sped and her mouth went dry. "That's a damned personal question for our first coffee."

One of my favorite books on writing is Wired for Story by Lisa Cron. I'd read it a couple years ago and a particular chapter really stood out to me--chapter six, The Story is in the Specifics.

Last week, during my writers' group, this chapter came to mind as I listened to one of our members, Gabriele Goldstone, a historical fiction writer, read from her work-in-progress. If you haven't read one of Gabriele's books, you should. She's mastered this technique of bringing in specifics without bogging down her story.

The specifics can mean the difference between the reader just reading a story and living a story. Cron quotes neuroscientist V.S. Ramahandran,"Humans excel at visual imagery. Our brains evolved this ability to create an internal mental picture or model of the world in which we can rehearse forthcoming actions, without the risks or penalties of doing them in the real world."

Cron goes on to write, "Yet writers often tell entire stories in general, as if concepts alone are captivating or worse, because they've fallen prey the misconceived notion that it's the reader's job to fill in the specifics."

In the above example, Carrie didn't just fidget with her coffee cup, but with a specific type of coffee cup with a specific type of coffee. Laura is not just a writer, but a specific type of writer. What has the reader learned about these characters? By getting into the specifics, I've been able to convey information that creates a strong visual image for the reader, but also gives insight into the personality of the characters. We now know that Carrie is an uptight, controlled, and reserved person with a past. Laura, on the other hand, is more outgoing, light, and open. I've shown the reader those characteristics, without telling them.

While the specifics can make a story shine, they can also bog it down. Cron tells writers, "Your job is to filter out the details that don't matter a whit so you have plenty of space left for the ones that do." The writer must choose which items to get specific about and which to gloss over. How do you do that? Ask yourself if the specific description serves a purpose. Does it move the story forward? Does it tell us something important about the setting or characters? Does it engage one of the five senses to bring the story to life? Is the pacing in the scene conducive to providing details?

Take a look at one of your scenes. Are there places where you can tuck in brief details that will bring your story to life?

Any questions? Please post them in the comments.

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Melinda Marshall Friesen writes speculative fiction for teens and adults. Her YA dystopian novel, Enslavement, has been nominated for multiple awards. She works as marketing director and aquisitions editor at Rebelight Publishing Inc. Learn more about her and her books at www.melindafriesen.com. 

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'Tis the Season

While the setting may seem like a simple part of the story, it can actually have a huge impact on what is going on. Some stories have more pronounced settings than others. In some books, the setting is more of a subtle background, the stage on which the actors play, while in others, the setting is almost a character in and of itself. Either way, the setting is a very important part of a story.

The events detailed in The Scarlet Letter, for instance, either wouldn't have happened or would have happened in a very different way with a very different outcome if the story had been set someplace like the farthest frontier outpost or a Native American village or in the southern states...even during the same time period. The setting of a story, not just the physical location but everything about it (time of day, season, outside (forest or beach) or inside (and what type of building if inside)) can greatly impact the success of a story.

This is something that I've been paying particular attention to recently because of my current WIP. It's a road trip romance that I had initially set in during the winter. But, my editor and I got to talking the other day. This book will release in the summer - and we just weren't sure if people would be interested in reading a book set in the winter when they were laying on a beach somewhere or finally reveling in a little warmth after a long, cold winter.

So, I am currently in the process of changing winter into summer (just wish it was this easy in real life) ;-) And I've been a bit surprised by how many tiny little details I sprinkled throughout the story that have to deal with the weather. From my character's clothing to descriptions about the sky and landscape to whether or not my characters can see their breath when they speak - even details about how the react and interact with each other. Bundled in snow suits they can only speculate what the other may look like with less layers. Stripping down to the bare minimum because of the heat leaves little to the imagination.

In the long run, I think we've made the right decision. I'm really enjoying the different scenarios I've been able to pen because of the season change. And I actually need to get back at it because this book is due in two weeks and there is still a lot of work to do ;)

I am curious though - how do you feel about reading books set in a different season than what is going on in real life? Would you want to read a winter set book in the middle of summer?

I hadn't thought about it before this, but honestly...I think I do tend to gravitate toward seasonally parallel books. I don't generally pick up a book with a snow-covered picture on the cover in the middle of summer. I never realized that before :)

It's All in the Details

Photo by Sylvia Duckworth (cc)

A spiders web begins with a frame. It works, creating the structure as it goes along, but it knows what will strengthen it is the detail.

It travels round and round. Spinning it's thread into the image it needs, but knowing the truth can't be seen until the end.

But it still works. Detail after detail. If it falters it doesn't give up. It rests and returns to work.

We spin our story in the knowledge that it could fall apart at any moment, but we work. We push on with the fine thread of our plot, layering it with the detail we need. Until the day we step back and, hopefully, reveal something beautiful.

The structure holds it together, but it's all in the details that catch the reader in our story webs.