Making the Reader NOT Work Too Hard is Hard Work

After reading a lot of fiction drafts, I know a common problem for writers, myself included, is trying to write a novel or short story that gives "just" the right amount of details to your readers so they

1. Understand what is going on in the story.
2. Aren't bogged down or bored by details.
3. Root for your protagonist.
4. Know where they are in the world (or "other worlds")--and when, too.

The number one thing you should never, ever do as a fiction writer is purposefully keep your reader guessing so many details that they become frustrated and feel disoriented in the story. Don't try to be clever.

Let's take for example a who-dunnit mystery. The detail that you don't want readers to know is the criminal, but you still have to give readers setting and character details, including enough description of the criminal that eventually the protagonist, and maybe a careful reader, can figure out which suspect is to blame.

Your job as the writer and creator of the story is to orient your readers in the story. If you're purposefully being vague because you're worried you're giving too much away, you probably aren't giving enough away. Remember, you know your entire plot (most likely--even pantsers have some idea of how the book or story is going to end...), and this is why you think everything you write is so obvious that your reader will be bored or have the entire story figured out in the first paragraph.

How do the best mystery writers do it? How do fiction writers keep you turning pages? How do those authors who are good at putting twists at the end of their books and movies build scenes and orient readers and still surprise at the end? Study these books and figure that out. As always, the best way to learn how much detail and description to put into your novel is to read in your genre and pay attention to what published authors are doing.

The other thing you absolutely should do is let someone else read your writing. If you don't live by any other writers for an in-person critique group, then you can find an online one. Ask Facebook friends to be beta readers and if there were any points where they were confused at your plot, characters, or setting. Enter a contest and pay for a critique (from a trusted sponsor--like WOW!). Hire an editor who has worked with another writer you know. There are a lot of ways to find someone to read your work, but it's a must. You just can't critique your own writing.

One of the biggest pieces of feedback that I've been giving lately is what I've been talking about here...orienting your reader. So remember: every time you start a scene in a new place, every time you introduce a new character, and every time an important plot event takes place, you have to give your reader enough details to know what's going on!

Margo L. Dill is a novelist, writing coach and teacher, and WOW!'s managing editor. To find out more about the classes Margo teaches for WOW!, including the novel class that starts the first Friday of every month, go to our classroom here. To find out more about Margo and her books, go here. 

Compass photo above by Jurgen Appelo on www.flickr.com 

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1 comment character description, Margo L. Dill, novel writing, orient the reader, setting, too little description

Dialogue Isn't Everything (How to Keep Your Characters Busy)

Actors setting the scene in a local production of "Deathtrap."

They say everything happens for a reason. I’m starting to think I was meant to work for a theatre company so I could be exposed to a different type of writing. And while I haven’t attempted to write any plays yet, I’ve discovered ways I can take what I see in scripts and performed on the stage and translate them to my own creative pursuits.

When you watch a musical, it’s obvious that the characters are kept busy. Most of them are part of company or individual dance numbers, or ready to break out into song at any minute, complete with hand gestures. With straight plays, the characters can’t just stand (or sit) around talking because there’s not much for the audience to engage in visually. When our company produced the beloved play “Steel Magnolias” this past summer, I made an effort to watch what the characters who weren’t speaking were doing. While Shelby and Truvy were chatting it up in one corner of the “salon,” Clairee was rifling through a recipe box on a sofa. Annelle was across the “salon” shampooing and setting M’Lynn’s hair. Ouiser was swaggering around the stage, scowling at everyone. These were subtle actions, but they all blended to make one cohesive scene.

In our most recent production, the murder mystery “Deathtrap,” characters often strolled across the stage to pour themselves “brandy,” and the wife, Myra, fidgeted in the corner, working on a needlepoint, trying to ignore the fact that her husband the playwright was cooking up a murderous plot twist. The psychic in the production, Helga Ten Dorp, would not have provided the comic relief she did if she had not sauntered all across the stage touching the weapons that hung on the walls and pressing her palms to her forehead dramatically.

I started looking at the way my own characters were behaving in my creative writing. In my short story about a summer camp murder, I tried to build tension when introducing the children at the beginning of the story.

Nine-year-old Tammy Morgan bent over her notepad, pencil scratching across the lined paper, occasionally stopping to tug at the ends of her shiny blonde pigtails and chewing on the end of her eraser.

In “Amelia,” I worked on a description of a female cult leader hospitalized for dementia, trying to show the reader how much her appearance still meant to her.

Amelia stared for a long moment at the closed door, and then removed the glasses from her face. With gnarled fingers covered in sparkling rings she slowly picked up the ornate-handled mirror from the table that sat beside her, using two fingers to pull back the already-tightened skin around her eyes. She pursed her plumped lips in the mirror, and then set it back down.

I’m now looking at my work with a more critical eye. So the characters are sitting around and talking. What else can they be doing? How can they convey that they are nervous, worried, or angry without actually saying the words? How can these actions help carry the story along?

What are some ways you’ve used actions to help describe a character’s demeanor? Is it something you notice when you’re reading a book by a favorite author or is it done so seamlessly you don’t notice it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Renee Roberson is a marketing director for a nonprofit theatre company as well as an award-winning writer. She enjoys writing stories for young adults, but has recently become more interested in writing suspense/thriller stories. She blames her addiction to true crime podcasts for that. Visit her website at FinishedPages.com

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6 comments character description, keeping characters busy, Renee Roberson, setting the scene in creative writing, writing advice