tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post8261048769615819696..comments2023-10-31T10:59:03.023-04:00Comments on INKSPOT Crime Fiction Blog | A Place for Mystery, Mayhem, Writing and Life: The Telling DetailLinda O. Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01512430135042480450noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-26242253810990247622012-02-23T23:33:18.224-05:002012-02-23T23:33:18.224-05:00I believe voice is in the details one chooses to u...I believe voice is in the details one chooses to use.Inkpothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15746216636930418956noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-61331414970282837282012-02-23T21:10:38.228-05:002012-02-23T21:10:38.228-05:00I love this concept, and your examples. I have to ...I love this concept, and your examples. I have to think of how it presents itself in what I write.jenny milchmanhttp://suspenseyourdisbelief.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-56776925381787250892012-02-23T19:54:02.175-05:002012-02-23T19:54:02.175-05:00Thanks, Sheila, Susan, Gloria, Lois, Lori, Kathlee...Thanks, Sheila, Susan, Gloria, Lois, Lori, Kathleen, and Robin!<br /><br />I'll hae to read that short story by Flannery O'connor, Susan. There's nothing I enjoy better than a well-crafted short story. Brokeback Mountain just blew me away!<br /><br />Lois, I agree that less is often more when it comes to descriptions. It's often better to let the reader fill in the holes from their own imagination.<br /><br />Lori, not only is what the characters feel with their skin important, but also what they feel with their gut and autonomic nervous system.<br /><br />Robin, I really wish I had time for five full run-throughs of this manuscript before I turn it in. I know it would be better than the three or four that I think I'll get in. Maybe while acquisition editor Terri Bischoff is looking at it, I'll do the fifth run-through on my own and merge those changes with the ones she requests.Beth Groundwaterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13999372882748655834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-43243686205924288172012-02-23T14:25:28.612-05:002012-02-23T14:25:28.612-05:00Great post, just in time for the fifth full run-th...Great post, just in time for the fifth full run-through of my book.Robin Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16373722202559066388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-25832060145415483042012-02-23T14:23:47.644-05:002012-02-23T14:23:47.644-05:00Good luck with the revision, Beth! I always think...Good luck with the revision, Beth! I always think this phase is fun...taking a draft and working to make it better. Nice post.Kathleen Ernsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07009876100214388898noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-47749524316577779452012-02-23T12:20:24.525-05:002012-02-23T12:20:24.525-05:00I enjoyed the post, Beth. I also agree with Lois t...I enjoyed the post, Beth. I also agree with Lois that many authors, sometimes first authors, other times the much-published, insert too many details that end up slowing the plot and making that "Telling Detail" hard to find. As I edit my own work, I often need to delete some description, while adding something elsewhere. Too many of us describe what the characters see, hear, and smell -- but what the can feel (with their fingers, that is) can be just as important in creating a scene. And in some scenes, that "feeling" sense may be the telling detail.<br /><br />Thank you, Beth, for a great read.<br />Lori OrserKimiko&Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06417528992603977310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-54024663391182600322012-02-23T10:10:53.027-05:002012-02-23T10:10:53.027-05:00Great post, Beth! I especially like where you said...Great post, Beth! I especially like where you said, "In the next few weeks, I'll be whittling away at my descriptions, trying to hone them into the evocative shapes that I need." <br /><br />One of the biggest mistakes too many authors make is bogging down their prose with too much detail and description to the point where they wind up with paragraph after paragraph of filler. Most of the time, less is more when it comes to details. One well-chosen word or phrase can be so much more evocative than a dozen sentences of description.Lois Winstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01866423986250423199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-5583206358573582232012-02-23T09:55:08.998-05:002012-02-23T09:55:08.998-05:00Something for all writers to think about, Beth. I ...Something for all writers to think about, Beth. I like to think I add those telling details, too, but maybe I need to go back and see if I add enough of them.Gloria Aldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13581719606924364447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-58806077684092012412012-02-23T09:39:47.427-05:002012-02-23T09:39:47.427-05:00Great blog, Beth! I've always thought Flannery...Great blog, Beth! I've always thought Flannery O'Connor an expert in just this type of description. I could try to paraphrase specific examples, but I'd botch them badly. Her short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is full of them. I wish I had it in front of me. <br /><br />I'll echo Shelia--thanks for the reminder! :)Susan M. Boyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10549813433043863815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3529128955266044151.post-65004455166423636962012-02-23T09:08:40.143-05:002012-02-23T09:08:40.143-05:00Excellent piece, Beth. The devil really is in the ...Excellent piece, Beth. The devil really is in the details, and judging by your passages, you have have him under control! Thanks for the reminder.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07535695542961577318noreply@blogger.com