I’m hacking my way through a first draft. I get frustrated with the first round of writing. Everything sounds corny, the same-ole-same-ole, and I either under write or over write.
The scenes usually skim the surface of what’s really going on. I write things like, “she walked through a crowd of her friends, greeting them, air kissing their cheeks.”
It’s because I don’t really know what’s going on yet. I don’t know how much detail I need in the scene. Sometimes it’s perfectly valid and needed to skim past a detail of friend’s names. Sometimes we don’t need the color of every dress, the table cloths and velvet curtains.
But yea, sometimes we do. Most of the time we do.
Susie was reading to me from the Pioneer Woman’s book about how she met the Marlboro Man.
Here’s a line from Ree Drummond’s book: “…but he was a vision, this Marlboro Man-esque, rugged character across the room. After a few minutes of staring, I inhaled deeply, then stood up. I needed to see his hands.”
What a brilliant transition. “I needed to see his hands.”
This is the detail that makes a character, a story, a line stand out.
What do we know about this woman who loves the sight of a Marlboro man? That she wants to see a detail not “on the surface.”
Wanting to see his hands speaks to something about her heart, about what she’s looking for. Kind, strong hands. It means something to her.
Another woman might want to hear him speak.
One might want to know how he talks about his mother or sisters.
When your protagonist walks into a room of people, give the reader of glimpse of who’s there. Who is he or she looking at?
Mom, Dad, his brother Dan and sister Beka. His best friend, Rick, who wouldn’t be here unless Dad invited him.
Ah, now we see there’s an issue. The best friend isn’t such a good best friend.
Spend more time on people details than room details unless the room is a character.
Some times when a scene feels slow or stuck to me, it’s usually because I’m honing it out and I’ve not gone into enough detail.
On the rewrite, I burrow down and figure out those rich details that make the scene pop.
Details are good. Be as detailed as possible without slowing down the scene, without boring the reader.
Happy Writing.
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Book Therapist, Rachel Hauck
Best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She excels in seeing the deeper layers of a story. With a love for teaching and mentoring, Rachel comes alongside writers to help them craft their novel. A worship leader, board member of ACFW and popular writing teacher, Rachel is the author of over 15 novels. She lives in Florida with her husband and her dog, Lola. Contact her at: Rachel@mybooktherapy.com.