Setting the Scene: Nothing up Your Sleeve or Pulling a Rabbit Out of Your Head and On to the Page

I think the best way to approach description is to remember that it is part of the story.  Giving the reader a sense of place is a part of your job as a writer of fiction.  Description is not the story.

Description should serve the story, not the other way around.

I'm not discounting the power of description or its place in fiction.  I'm just saying that you should not get too hung up about writing long descriptive paragraphs (unless you want to, and it serves your story-- all elements of fiction serve story).

We live in an incredibly visual age. Digital photography is everywhere. Old texts (books, novels, short stories from say, 1950 and back) tend to be loaded (over-burdened, top-heavy) with description.  Just ask many of my former students, who bemoaned having to read Great Expectations.  (As a matter of fact, I love Dickens in general and Great Expectations is a great novel).

David Morrell, the author that invented Rambo in First Blood, has a PhD in American Literature.  He taught for many years in addition to writing popular novels.  Bottom line:  He knows his stuff.

Morrell's advice is great.  He points out that visual description is the weakest, and should always be paired up with the other senses.  The 5 senses are key to understanding what draws the audience into the environment of your story.  He favors a kind of triangulation of sensory detail using three of the five senses.  He'll change it up, sometimes 2, sometimes one-- and if he has to cut one or two-- he'll try to cut the visual.

Scene description and character development go hand in hand.  Why?  Because people see, smell, hear, taste and feel. The impact on how a character perceives the world in the way you tell the story is obvious if you are using the first-person point of view.  Most popular fiction uses third-person limited to one or more characters, usually separated by chapter breaks.

Out of necessity, I'm going to keep it short, knowing that I will come back to the subject in future posts.  Frankly, this subject could easily be a class all by itself.  I don't claim any special expertise either.

In the meantime-- pick up a favorite book-- any work of fiction you like.  Any work of fiction that is the type of book/story you want to write would work just fine.

Pick a scene from that book.  Any scene could work, but pick one that you like AND has description.  Take some time to copy that scene by hand or just type it.  Watch how the pro got that scene into your head.

Next, take a scene when a new character is being introduced-- a major character preferably-- this time anyway.  Do the same thing.  Notice what details he/she used to get that character across.  Please note, I'm NOT suggesting that you plagiarize-- this is called practice.  It is one thing to read that passage in the moment when you are into the story.  It is something else to have to type it or write it out long hand.  Don't be overwhelmed by the idea.  You won't believe how useful it will be. You will notice how the pro gives you the answer to your questions about "how to"-- and this is something you should do whenever you feel like putting in "practice."  That is what it is.  Just like a ball player or a ballerina.  The practice gets you ready for "showtime."

Try it.

Have fun!  It should be fun.  Keep writing your own stuff, apply what you have learned about scene writing, characterization, description from the same writers you like to read. You are going to notice the stuff that makes fiction tick.  I know it sounds like a chore.

Trust me,  I wish I had done this thirty years ago.  (Yes, THIRTY freaking years ago).

Good Luck and Keep Writing!

Great Writing Advice: 4 Links and 4 Books

Here's a short roundup of great writing advice I've compiled over the years.  This stuff works for me, and might work for you too. This is not even close to being a comprehensive list, but these are a handful of my favorite go-to articles when I feel stuck and need to get going again.

• Laymon's Rules of Writing, Horror Writers Association

I know of the late Richard Laymon's work from the above essay and reading one of his short stories, Hammerhead, found in a collection called The Museum of Horrors.  Very creepy. His advice is sound. His fiction is scary.

• Reid's Interview With Joe R Lansdale

My guess is that if you know about Joe R. Lansdale you most likely discovered him via the novella, Bubba-Ho-Tep, which was made into a movie starring B-movie actor Bruce Campbell (If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor) as the late Elvis, King of Rock n' Roll and intrepid Mummy hunter.  Reid's interview with Lansdale is first rate-- and perfect for those getting started and unsure of how to get going.

• Time to Write Interview: Novelist Dennis Lehane on How to be a Writer

Dennis Lehane's work is everywhere.  Read it.  My favorite Lehane book is Mystic River, with Shutter Island a close second. Oh, they were made into pretty good movies, too.

• Great advice from Joe Hill

Author Joe Hill is author Stephen King's son, so it is a safe bet he is getting some good advice from his old man.  Joe's short story collection is wonderful.  It's called 20th Century Ghosts.  Find it and read it.  I also enjoyed his breakout first novel Heart-Shaped Box.  Frightened at the prospect of writing a novel?  Joe's advice is right on time.

In addition to the above links, I'm going to add 4 of my favorite books on the subject:

• The first, and my long-time favorite, is by the late, great Ray Bradbury:  Zen and the Art of Writing.  The man was exploding with passion and enthusiasm for his work.  I can't recommend ZATAOW enough. My favorite Bradbury novel (he's mostly known for short stories) is Something Wicked this Way Comes. 

• The second is literally related to Joe Hill, above.  Stephen King's On Writing is not only a favorite of many who would want to know how fiction works (at least King's fiction) but I suspect it is also an example of a father trying to give the best possible advice to his son on how to break into the family business.  Truly, Uncle Stevie is the fellow you want by your side when the voice of the quitties is shouting you down and making you feel like you just canna do it.  (Bonus Book: If you are interested in horror in particular and fantasy/science fiction in general please consider reading King's other nonfiction masterpiece Danse Macabre for a second helping from the master).

• The third is Bird by Bird by Ann Lamotte.  This is a truly inspirational book.  Writing is a lonely business, and the voice of Ann Lamotte is a whisper and shout of kindness and encouragement.

• Fourth is a book by mystery writer Lawrence Block.  If you want straight talk from a seasoned professional novelist, the tough guy in the room-- read Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print.  My favorite part is his chapter on what to do when you get stuck. I have to add that I consider this hard to find book the most practical of the bunch.  Not the best necessarily, but the most practical for the do-it-yourself-er. 

Best of luck and keep writing!