How Much Description

In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King says "Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's." (p. 174).

It was a relief to read that, as I am generally spare in my description - giving the reader elements of the environment that are key to the story or the character's experience and leaving the rest to the reader's personal experience.

However, I recently submitted a piece to a critique group that led to my introduction to the term "White Room Syndrome" - I had jumped straight into dialogue and gave no hint of the setting for the better part of a page. I knew where the characters were, but I had neglected to tell the reader!

Now I am re-reading King's 11/22/63 and he is not the least bit spare in his description. His character travels back in time and shares his full sensory experience of the era - lots of details, since the story is about the experience of living in a different time - but not every detail. Where a writer loses me is when there are paragraphs on end that give minute detail about the setting and costuming and little or nothing about the story. As King also says in On Writing, "it's not about the setting, anyway--it's about the story, and it's always about the story." (p. 176)

Writing Daily?

Are you serious about writing if you're not writing daily?

Many people insist you have to set a goal of so many pages, words, or hours every day. I admire those who have full time jobs and manage to get up before dawn and work a few hours every single day. The stamina of people who take years to finish a first draft a few pages at a time floors me.

I am a project-based worker. I can maintain a regular writing routine for a defined amount of time. For instance, the when I was writing the first draft of Tough Times (at that point called Michael Dolan McCarthy after the main character), I wanted the manuscript ready to submit to a particular contest. I stayed at a condo in Angel Camp for two weeks and set my goal at 10,000 words per day minimum to finish the first draft. My daily structure also included catching up by reading a stack of professional writing magazines and walking outside. The first draft was sent to beta readers and revisions were made in time for regular entry into the contest, where it made it to the quarter-finals. However, when I'm not working on a specific project with a specific deadline, I have many other interests and responsibilities that keep me busy - until I sit down to write. Then time disappears and I keep going until something is complete.

Imagine my relief when I read Stephen King saying"Once I start work on a project, I don't stop and I don't slow down unless I absolutely have to...And when I'm not working, I'm not working at all... For me, not working is the real work." (P. 153, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft). He's a project-based worker, too!

He does recommend having a daily goal when you sit down to write. Currently, I'm working with a group from WNBA (Women's National Book Association, not basketball) where we set goals and hold each other accountable. I'm working on revising a novel written several decades ago. I want it done by the end of March to swap beta reads with a fellow author. So, my goal is to write at least eight days and finish at least twenty pages each of those days. My first day, I polished the first twenty-seven pages. The second, I revised and tightened another twenty-two. Some pages are ready for critique by the local writers group; others are ready for my online group. I won't have a chance to lose myself in the writing for a few days - I have other obligations on three days and will try to do all the odds and ends of things those days, so when I hit another writing day, I'll be clear to do more than my minimum goal.

So while writing daily may be best for some, others may have different patterns that work as well. The key is setting goals and giving yourself time to meet them.

King's Toolbox

Let's look at King's Toolbox recommendations.

The tool used most often goes on top: Vocabulary. It is obviously essential. However: "One of the really bad things you can do to your writing is to dress up the vocabulary, looking for long words because you're maybe a little bit ashamed of your short ones. This is like dressing a household pet in evening clothes. The pet is embarrassed and the person who committed this act of pre-meditated cuteness should be even more embarrassed." (p.117)

Usually, the first word that comes to mind is the best one.

Vocabulary doesn't always have to come from the dictionary. You may sometimes create a word, particularly in dialogue. King quotes a great example of street language by another author on page 117. (Yes, I'm trying to entice you to read King's On Writing, A Memoir of the Craft - because you'll be a better writer for it.)

Next to Vocabulary, you'll want Grammar. King's main pet peeves are passive sentences and adverbs. He gives many examples of the difference between passive and active expressions. You want the subject of the sentence to be the active party. Adverbs should be used sparingly - if you've chosen the right verb, an adverb will weaken its impact. As for grammar overall, King was an English teacher, but he says "One either absorbs the grammatical principles of one's native language in conversation and in reading or one does not." (p. 118-119) This goes back to developing an ear for language.

As I've said before, reading is essential to develop that ear. If you grow up in a household that speaks something other than standard English, it's even more important. Online writing often strays far from correct English. Read classics, read today's good writers (including King, but you can ask a librarian or English teacher for recommendations). There are also style guides, textbooks, and classes (often at your library, high school, or community college) that offer rules, instructions, and practice.

So, Vocabulary and Grammar are the top layer of King's toolbox. Underneath you'll find Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. This is also where he discusses paragraphs at length because paragraphs are "the place where coherence begins and words stand a chance of becoming more than mere words." (p. 134)

It’s not reading until you understand the meaning of each paragraph; it’s not writing until you’ve created meaning with each paragraph.