In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, editor Joe Ponepinto offers advice that can help your story stand out in the slush pile.
Many experienced journal editors don’t need to read more than the first few lines of a story before they know that the manuscript isn’t right for them. This isn’t because they’re mean, but because writing weaknesses are often evident on page one. One of the biggest weaknesses according to Ponepinto is a lack of telling details in the description of a person or place.
“Too often the details offered are flat and generic, describing only superficial aspects. Kind of like reading a police report,” Ponepinto says. “This approach creates distance between the reader and the character because it offers no depth, no insight into the person described, and therefore it encourages the writer to adopt an explanatory tone, one that treats the reader as a passive listener who must be educated, lecture style, about the world of the story.”
Instead, Ponepinto says we should assume that the reader understands the basics of your scene. Most of us are familiar with the interior of a bar, airport, or hospital, so you don’t need to waste words describing every detail. Instead, you can focus on what’s important to your character.
“Human beings are evolved to notice what is out of the ordinary,” Ponepinto writes. “We tend to pay less attention to the things we see on a regular basis…The writer considers, ‘What would the character notice and why?'”
Go back to your bar, hospital, or airport setting and ask what is unusual or out of place. Consider your character’s state of mind and reason for being there, and ask what would be important to them.
“I like the term ‘telling detail’ because it reminds the writer that the details need to inform us not just about what the character saw, but why they mattered—why they are ‘telling,'” Ponepinto says. “And that leads to character depth, the kinds of characters that populate good fiction.”
