It comes back to the question, whom are you writing for? Who are the readers you want? Who are the people you want to engage with the things that matter most to you? And for me, it's people who don't need it all spelled out because they know it, they understand it. That's why there's so much I can't read because I get so exasperated. Someone starts describing the character boarding the plane and pulling the seat back. And I just want to say, Babe, I have been downtown. I have been up in a plane. Give me some credit.
AMY HEMPEL
Quote from Advice for Writers: http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/?currentPage=2
I adore this quote because I so fully agree with it. I've had this discussion often - I'm not big on incredibly detailed scenery descriptions. Like if two characters are in an office, and the look of the office isn't particularly important to the scene, I neither need nor want to read a paragraph telling me what it looks like. I've been in plenty of offices, and I can fill in the blanks. That's the sort of thing I skim over. If two characters that have spent a whole book pining for each other get stuck in an elevator, I don't really care how the light is reflecting off of her hair, I just wanna know if she's gonna tell him how she feels or not.. There is such a a thing as too much detail. And personally, I'm a plot person. Weigh in. Is it just me?
