I can’t remember which writer I originally heard this from, but I do remember that I had a bit of a eureka moment when I did.
Once upon a time when I was a young and inexperienced writer, I was like any other green pen monkey and wanted to tell my reader ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING.
That just ended up in me having a ton of info-dumping in my writing.
“I love reading large info-dumps.”
—said no reader ever
But now I know that info-dumps are just a sign of a green writer (that loves their own writing more than anyone else and don’t know or admit it).
When starting your story you want to give your reader enough context to understand who the characters are, what the stakes are and why they should care to read further.
But you don’t want to back up a huge dump-truck and bury your reader in chapter upon chapter or information about the world, names and histories of characters that they have no understanding of why they should care about.
When I’m helping someone edit their manuscript, especially in the first chapter (and the first paragraph) I’m constantly asking writers to immediately give me a reason to care.
If I care, I’ll keep reading.
If I don’t care, I’ll keep reading with a frown, and when that frown grows too deep, I’ll DNF it.
Because nobody wants to spend their life reading boring books.
That’s not what reading for pleasure is about.
You don’t want your own writing to get in the way of telling the story.
Besides, in the name of efficiency and not doing extra, unnecessary work as a writer, I love the idea of giving the reader just enough to make their imagination do the heavy lifting for me.
Because it doesn’t matter how detailed a description of yours is, every reader is going to have a slightly different image in their head of what it looks like.
So, writing long, super detailed descriptions is really a waste of your time as well as you reader’s.
All you need to do, is give them that seed, and let them grow the tree.
When you do that, you free yourself from a burden.
Let the reader have their interpretive freedom; it’s that ownership of the story (where they imagine things their way) that makes them invested in it as they feel like a co-creator.
And your book is just a box of words until a reader opens it.
So make space for your reader.
The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.
—Ursula K. Le Guin
(That’s why you, dear reader, are an essential part of my adventure as a writer. Thank you for being a reader, my stories would not be complete without you❤️)
TL;DR
- Engagement and ownership: When you give your reader space to visualise characters, settings, and events in their own way, they become more emotionally invested in the story. They feel a sense of ownership or participation, as their imagination fills in the gaps, creating a unique experience tailored to each individual reader.
- Pacing benefits: Overly detailed descriptions slow down the pacing of a story, sometimes to its detriment. By giving only the essential details, the narrative maintains its momentum while still creating an immersive world. This keeps readers engaged and interested, turning pages to find out what happens next.
- Unlimited creative scope: No matter how descriptive an author is, the human imagination is boundless and can often conjure images, emotions, and interpretations that exceed the limitations of words on a page. Minimal description allows the reader’s imagination to explore possibilities that the author may not have even considered.
- Give just enough: Minimalist descriptions can make a story more universally relatable. The less specific the descriptors, the easier it is for a diverse readership to see themselves in the story or interpret it in a way that is meaningful to them. This can extend the story’s appeal to a wider audience. You want to give just enough, plant that seed.
- Building in interpretive freedom: When you as the author leave room for interpretation, it opens up avenues for discussion and analysis. This can enrich the reader’s engagement with the text and promote deeper thinking about its themes, character motivations, and settings.
What a minimalist description looks like is relative.
It depends on your story and how you’re telling it, the setting you’re describing and whether action/dialogue or description needs to take the lion’s share of the text at any given moment in the story.
It can feel daunting to cut out large descriptions at first.
You may feel like you’re leaving the reader without any context – this is a valid concern.
But the best thing to remember is that nobody cares more than you.
And they certainly don’t care about the story or characters at the start.
Make them care first.
Once you’ve done that, you can take space to fill in more of the story for them.
Make sure that every word you put down counts, and cut everything else.
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