How Detail and Context Work Together in Fiction Writing

We're currently stuck in the rain on a broken boat in eastern France, so whiled away an afternoon in Strasbourg. In the cathedral we spotted this mason's moment of madness, or sentimentality, or rebellion, or joie de vivre...

This little dog is tucked away at the back of the pulpit. The first picture I took just showed the animal, until it occurred to me that you need some of the surroundings in order to give a sense of perspective and proportion, to get an idea of just how sweet the little fellow is.

The same is true with writing: detail on its own doesn't really work - you need context as well, as this gives the reader the tools with which to interpret the detail you are describing. If you show a character performing an act of extraordinary kindness in isolation, it means less than if we have some yardstick to judge the action by. Perhaps your character is usually cruel and unfeeling, so this kindness has significance; perhaps they have never been show kindness themselves; perhaps the kindness is a means of achieving something in return.

Detail is important, but you can maximise the effect of it by showing it in a wider context.

Bow wow wow...