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...

Writing With All Five Senses

When you are working on a story, you tend to rely on two of your five senses: sight predominately, as you seek to create visual impressions of the people and locations you are describing, but also sound -- you will have an ear out for your own narrative voice (but don't listen to hard or you will become too self-conscious) and the voices of your characters.

However, in order to fire on all literary cylinders, don't neglect the other three senses: touch, taste and smell, as each of them can be incredibly evocative in conjuring atmosphere or bringing familiar places and faces to mind. You might like to try a brief exercise to help you focus on them more strongly. 

Spend a few moments taking stock of where you are now.  Write a description of what you are looking out at -- both the  near and the middle distance - and what effect the view has upon your mood.  Next, describe what you can hear.  Are the sounds sharp or muffled, intermittent or continuous, irritating or delightful? What are your physical feelings at the moment?  What is your body in contact with (hard or soft surfaces?) Are you comfortable, or tense? What scents are wafting round your room?  Are they indoor smells or have you got a whiff of the great out doors? Are they long established smells, or fresh ones? What can you taste?  Anything?  Remnants of lunch?  The last cup of tea? Medicine, perhaps? Or strong whisky (same thing, ed)?

You get the picture; the full on, sensual, in-the-round picture.  Try and keep it in your head, and the next time you are working on a scene, recall some of these details and observations and see how they might apply to your characters, because if they are in touch with their senses, they will come more easily to life.