How much is too little?

Haha sounds good then.

I think its something you'll get the hang of as you become more experienced as well. I'm still a very new writer, so in a lot of places I'm still feeling my way.

There are events that are required to happen for the plot to advance, but they're not that important. I don't want to spend too much time on these parts, as its not that important, but I don't really feel like adding drama to it just for the sake of it either? I usually just try and throw in some character development, but it still feels quite thin and like I'm rushing through it. These are the parts where I often suffer from the too much/ too little debate (usually ok/ too little for me tbh, but I always have been a minimalist).

Really its down to who are you writing for. Launching into a long description of, say, woodlands - rotting bark smell, squirrels leaping, sunlight on the brook - should take about as long as that sentence just did, or you will be insulting some readers who can visualize a woodland scene wuite nicely thank you... Actually, long sentences work very well for description if they are logical. There is no need to break the continuity of something so basic. It's needed for the story, but it is not the story, nor is it interesting - then get it over with as efficiently as possible... So, use long sensible sentences to deal with that. See - the rules can bend any way you need them to. )

I'm glad this post has generated such a great and varied response.

I'm personally in the "if it's irrelevant to the plot, then leave it out" camp.

What I've seen others do (Stephen King comes to mind) is get lost in detailed description of everything and my interest quickly wanes.

What I prefer is a great action packed unputdownable thrill ride from start to finish.

Useless filler bugs me and so I try to keep my stories; and by consequence, my chapters short sharp and to the point.

The amount of description should reflect how important it is to the POV (or how much they notice).

Zebra Wizard said:

The amount of description should reflect how important it is to the POV (or how much they notice).

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I think this is a very good way to do it. It can be used for emphasis.

VKALFIERI said:

So, to explain what I mean, I have a story I'm writing, and it doesn't spend a lot of time on long boring descriptive passages and such.

So, I'm wondering how much description is too little description and how much of it is considered essential?

Is there a hard and fast rule or does it come down to style and preference?

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No rules, just preferences, really.

But you need enough description so the reader isn't confused.

A good rule of thumb is: if it's important, put it in; if the POV character wouldn't see it or know the detail, leave it out.

But what if it's important but the POV character wouldn't see it or know the detail? Cheat. It's more important that the reader isn't confused.

As said, what's long and boring is pure preference.

To me, anything more than the bare essentials is long and boring. So about three elements in a given chunk. Maybe a few chunks at the start of a scene. Maybe as little as a sentence stating the character walked into an elevator. It just depends.

Anya's question of what kind of forest or woods, for example. Unless it actually matters to the story, then it doesn't matter to the story and therefore should be left out. In my opinion. But you need enough detail and description to evoke the reader's sense of place. But again, that's a preference.

A consummate urbanite won't be as familiar with what the woods really looks, smells, and feels like. Likewise, someone who's lived their entire life in the country or rural settings wouldn't be as familiar with what a city block looks, smells, and feels like. That's why POV is important. Know what your character would notice and ignore. You can't really go wrong with that.

If your POV character is from the country she'll notice the stench of urine, bum dung, and car exhaust in New York City. Someone born and raised in NYC won't notice it as they've lived with it all their life.

VKALFIERI said:

I'm glad this post has generated such a great and varied response.

I'm personally in the "if it's irrelevant to the plot, then leave it out" camp.

What I've seen others do (Stephen King comes to mind) is get lost in detailed description of everything and my interest quickly wanes.

What I prefer is a great action packed unputdownable thrill ride from start to finish.

Useless filler bugs me and so I try to keep my stories; and by consequence, my chapters short sharp and to the point.

Click to expand...

You see this a lot in mystery novels. The writers have to give the reader actual clues without the reader knowing that detail is important. It's a balancing act.