Apr 8, 2014 / The Craft of Writing

Let the Reader’s Imagination Do the Heavy Lifting

Are you piquing readers’ interest just enough, or drowning them in detail?

This is the kind of flowery I can get behind. (Flowery Piano by Andreas (CC BY-SA 2.0)

This is the kind of flowery we can get behind. Flowery Piano by Andreas (CC BY-SA 2.0)

In storytelling, description and detail translate what’s in your imagination into scenes and images in the reader’s mind. Can bloated description detract from your work, fill your reader’s brain with too much information, and distract them from the story? The answer is yes. In today’s post we’ll look at how to know when enough is enough.

From Terse to Turgid

Every author has a distinct style they cultivate over years of writing, called a voice. For example, Ernest Hemingway was known for short, declarative sentences devoid of flowery description. One of his most famous stories is this seemingly simple six-word story:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

Immediately, your imagination takes over, filling in the backstory behind this sad tale.

On the other end of the spectrum, Charles Dickens used “profuse linguistic creativity” in his work. Consider this passage from The Old Curiosity Shop:

The town was glad with morning light; places that had shown ugly and distrustful all night long, now wore a smile; and sparkling sunbeams dancing on chamber windows, and twinkling through blind and curtain before sleepers’ eyes, shed light even into dreams, and chased away the shadows of the night. Birds in hot rooms, covered up close and dark, felt it was morning, and chafed and grew restless in their little cells; bright-eyed mice crept back to their tiny homes and nestled timidly together; the sleek house-cat, forgetful of her prey, sat winking at the rays of sun starting through keyhole and cranny in the door, and longed for her stealthy run and warm sleek bask outside.

That Hallowed Middle Ground

Which style you like best is a matter of personal preference, of course, though one might argue that Dickens’ description of the town is prescriptive — he leaves nothing to your imagination. Regardless of how you feel about either of those authors and their styles, there is something to be said for finding that hallowed middle ground: enough description to fertilize your reader’s mind so that the story thrives in their imagination.

When it comes to detail and description, Canadian author Lisa Moore advocates giving the reader control:

The strongest fiction, for me as a reader, is that which allows me to create it in my head and, as a writer, I like to give the reader as much control as possible — I think that’s where the real pleasure lies.

She suggests that stories shift their shape, morphing depending on the reader and their experiences:

Stories never belong to the author who happens to write them down, they are also the creation of each individual reader….I sometimes imagine stories and novels are like the transparent film of soap that coats a child’s bubble wand — and the breath that blows it into a bubble, is the breath of the reader. The reader’s imagination gives a story shape and substance. It is a private and secret bubble of experience belonging solely to the reader, lasting for as long as the reading of the book last, ending with the turn of the final page, when the bubble bursts, and the ‘real’ world becomes solid again.

Ideas to Consider

Despite the fact that developing a voice is a very personal matter, here are a few things you can do to strengthen your writing:

  • Beware of redundancies. Consider these redundancies: “a cacophony of sound,” “combine together,” and “commute back and forth.” Examine each word you use. Omit needless words.
  • Be choosy about verbs. Did someone throw you the ball or did they hurl, fling, or toss it? In a general sense, each verb conveys the fact that the ball traveled toward you, though hurl, fling, and toss connote the effort the thrower used, which adds depth and lends an emotional quality to the sentence that “throw” lacks.
  • Have a trusted friend read your work. Ask them which questions ran through their mind as they read your piece. Were they sure of the location? Were they certain which character was doing the talking? A trusted reader can offer invaluable feedback on where you need to bolster your descriptions to aid the reader’s comprehension and where you might prune wordy passages.

No matter your voice or your personal prose preferences, the next time you’re writing a new piece or editing something you’ve already written, consider whether or not you’re allowing the reader the freedom to create a vivid picture in their mind, or whether you’re doing their job for them — knowing that the best works are a collaboration between writer and reader.

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  1. Thanks for the thought-provoking post! That’s a great observation about how stories are created by the readers, as well as the author.

    I’ve always wondered about the necessary level of description in writing and I like to ask my friends and acquaintances what they prefer; and I’ve found that it really varies by person. Some people have really vivid imaginations; they tell me they see what they’re reading as clearly in their mind as if they were watching a movie, and so they like fairly detailed descriptions because it fills in the picture for them. Other people, like me, do not see clear details while we’re reading – I have more a sense of atmosphere than a clear-cut picture – so it can be pointless to read lengthy descriptions.

    My favorite author, Jane Austen, rarely describes anything or anyone and when she does, it is brief. However, I know many people who tell me that The Lord of the Rings would not be as rich if it didn’t have all the description that some people find tedious.

    I guess, in some ways, how we write reflects how we experience books. I don’t describe in great detail because I don’t see in great detail.

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    1. I guess, in some ways, how we write reflects how we experience books.

      I love this idea and hadn’t considered it from this perspective. Poor old Dickens takes a bit of a beating in this post (a gentle beating, but still) though when you say that and you mention LOTR — I recall how much I delighted in Tolkien’s wordy passages describing Bilbo’s hobbit hole. Thanks for commenting — you’ve got me thinking!

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  2. Reblogged this on Novel Metropolis and commented:
    Wow, this The Daily Post article is exactly what I’ve been struggling with for the last month as I edit my own novel. When I’m reading, I prefer a more descriptive style but when I’m writing I find it so hard to do it myself.

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  7. I love that Moore likens stories and their characters to bubble solution on a bubble wand, waiting for the reader’s imagination to blow it into a bubble! Whenever I read a really good book I always picture myself as a close friend to the character(s), imagining what adventures would happen between us off-the-page or when the story ends. As a kid I used to actually imagine myself as a character in the storyline of all my favorite books and TV shows.

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  8. This has been really useful. Though short, it is in no way lacking. You have really given me an insight into omission and choosiness, both of which help deal with verbosity. Thanks!

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  9. Thanks for the interesting post. I prefer a simple style to read as well as write. But withhold too much and the writing becomes obscure – it puts most readers off. Telling too much has the same effect. The trick is in finding the balance, as you say, but finding it is not necessarily straightforward. Is it a genre thing? Do fantasy and dystopian novels include more description than say thrillers or even literary novels?

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    1. Well said… I am wondering in what category can I put Dan Brown’s style. only thing I can say is it keeps me involved till the end of novel.

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  10. Normally I would describe my characters’ appearances in my stories, but I have recently written a collection of flash fiction pieces (first draft) in which I did not visually describe any character in any way whatsoever.. Any thoughts on whether or not this would work? The scenes are described vividly, down to the sounds and smells, but not the characters.

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  14. Food for thought. Once a story captures my attention, I usually become immersed in that word. So being able to create the characters and the situations in my mind is vital to how I read, and to how I hope my writing can be read.
    Thanks for these great points.

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  15. Important considerations that I think will prevent me from saying too much. Part of my writing process involves getting down every detail, but I can divert too far from the story with unnecessary background information. Reading this will help me edit down to only the most important details to keep my stories focused. Thanks!

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  17. I find the “show, don’t tell” part of writing the most difficult to achieve and it usually takes several rewrites before I’m satisfied. I trend to write very clinically the first time and then I have to relax the writing a lot.

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    1. I do the same thing, very heady and rational, then I go back, take it easy and show more, tell less. I’m okay with that though because I want to get it right first, then play with the concepts and language.

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  18. interesting idea. Sometimes we tend to try to hard explaining and leaves nothing to reader’s imagination…

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  20. Very interesting article.
    In a nutshell, “KISS”. A phrase used in advertising but can, and should, be applied to other creative fields. Keep It Simple Stupid.

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  26. wow! for a fairly short blog, it’s packed with useful content. i guess that’s the idea. thanks for sharing!

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  28. I realize I’m never popular for stating that I am not a Hemingway fan. In my formative years, I was forced to read The Old Man and the Sea. I loathed it. I enjoy the meaningless drivel on a tube of lotion more than Hemingway. However, a couple of years ago, I read his short story Hills Like White Elephants, and I loved it. It proved to me one work alone doesn’t make or break an author. I agree that a story, once I’ve “sent it out there” into the print universe, becomes the reader’s art of his own imagination. While I love detail, I like that I’ve filled in gaps with my own imagination and perspective.

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