Details are the lifeblood of your story. And writing is all about the selection of those details. But how do you decide which details matter? How do you avoid dumping too much onto your reader?
Well, selecting details is easier than you think.
Because you already know how to do this. You do it moment by moment, every day. Whether you’re conscious of it or not.
In this episode, we’ll explore what you already know about selecting details, and how you can bring that instinct directly to your fiction or memoir.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Episode at a glance:
[3:38] The Filtering Instinct
When it comes to choosing significant details, we do it every day. Moment by moment, we choose what demands our attention and what can fade into the background. We choose what to notice, and what to ignore. And your writing demands the very same selection.
[5:15] What Detail Selection Has To Do With Narrative Viewpoint
Your point of view character’s perspective depends in large part on what he or she chooses to see, and how he or she sees it. It’s what your character chooses to ignore. It’s what your character can’t help noticing.
[7:32] The Inner Life of Objects
Often, the most powerful way to reveal our character’s feelings is not by describing how they feel, as in, Marsha felt lonely, but by using objects and details as repositories for those emotions. Loneliness can be captured in the smallest detail.
[10:23] Life Presents Us With Metaphors
If we’re truly aware, life presents us with metaphors. Details that are emotionally significant. Details that have an emotional charge. These are the details that represent a larger and more complex emotional truth.