"Details make stories human, and the more human a story can be, the better."
-V.S. Pritchett
-V.S. Pritchett
Detail should be plentiful without being flowery or overdone. Writers find well-selected details--evidence, sensory images, or support. Powerful detail illuminates without overwhelming, explains without boring to death. Somewhere between enough and too much is a necessary and concrete place...because without the right detail, your writing falls flat as the air hisses out of it.
-Jeff Anderson
Activity One: Show and Tell with Factory Girl
- Read the excerpt in red below together.
She needed a job. A lot. She was hungry. She was poor. She went in a candy store to get a job. - Discuss:
What do you think?
What is missing?
How could the story be enhanced?
In what ways do you have more questions than answers? - Now read the excerpt to the right together.
- Discuss:
What do you notice? - Make a "T" chart.
Label one said "Show," and the other, "Tell."
In groups, pull textual evidence from each excerpt and
fill out your chart. Be prepared to discuss. - Share your charts.
How can detail empower your writing?
Activity Two: Where Am I?
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