British short story supremo VS Pritchett once observed, "Details make stories human, and the more human a story can be, the better," advice we lesser mortals should ignore at our peril. The use of detail is one of the major tools we have for bringing characters to life. It can also be an antidote to cliche and stereotype. To describe a woman as having blonde hair and blue eyes tells your reader nothing of any use, but if you mention that her eyes are myopic and water when she is tired and that her golden hair is showing pewter at the roots, a more distinct picture starts to emerge.
Not only does detail help to bring characters to life, it adds drama to events. If you describe a man walking into an abandoned warehouse and finding a woman lying bound on a plastic sheet, it tells your reader some of what they need to know, but by no means enough. You need to show how the man enters: does he break in, does he wander in by accident, is he expecting to see the girl there? Are there people on the streets outside, or cars passing, or are they miles from anywhere? Is there evidence of violence? Can anything be heard? Does the smell of a recently struck match suggest the presence of someone else not very far away? You can see how these minutiae transform a situation into a living, breathing drama.
Think of detail as layers of paint which an artist might add to a canvas, then sit yourself down in front of a blank page, start with the briefest sketch of a situation – perhaps the one I've outlined above, if it interests you – and try to add colour and definition, stroke by stroke. I'm channelling grit on the floor, traces of washed blood, the sound of a chain, swinging... I might have a go at it myself!
Have a great weekend....
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