Details, Details, Details...

God yes these are important! Details can either make or break a good character! As a good friend of mine said to me, so I say to you, " Use your pen as a paintbrush to paint a picture in the imagination".

Describe everything, plain and simple. From the clothes he or she is wearing down to the hole in her skirt at the fringe. Leave no detail behind! They are important, I can not stress this enough.

To make it clear, I will give you a example of good detailing, and bad detailing. First, the bad:

Master Darius shoves his hand into his pocket, and fumbles for his house keys as he leans on the doorpost at 2 o clock in the morning. Half falling over, he sticks the key into the lock, and opens the door, and falls inside, asleep from his nightime expedition.

Whats wrong with that you ask? Sure, you got then general idea, but 20 pages of that gets boring. Enlighten your reader with the details that make this scene intresting. Describe everything so as to make the reader wonder what darius was doing as to end up in that condition, to read further to find out. Now for the good example:

It is midnight, and the moon shines brightly in the sky, casting shadows on the earth under it. Master Darius slumps up to his doorway trying not to trip on his robe, and with a thump, leans on the aged wooden doorpost as a means to support his weakened frame . He moves his cloak over to reach into his pocket. Fumbling in the darkness, he manages to secure his keys in his hand, and slowly brings the key to the lock, hoping it will be the right one to open it. Sighing in relief as the key clicks into the lock, he turns the key, and nudges the door open with what energy he has left. Securing his keys in his hand once again, he closes the door behind him, and without another thought, falls lifeless into the chair next to the door, exausted from his evening escapades.

See how thats better? You can close your eyes and see this poor fellow wobbling over to the door, and trying to get in. We can all see it happen, becuase for some of our older members maybe, its happened to us so we can say we kow how it is and keep reading to see why.

Details are essential in character creation. From how a person looks, to how a person acts, SPARE NO DETAIL! I dont care if you say your pants are wrinkly! I wanna hear how they ripple in the wind so much that you have to keep your legs together as to keep them from pulling you!

Your imagination is a key part in all of this. When you are a fantasy writer, your imagination creates a world. For some, it's the world we all live in when we close our eyes in a day dream. This world is our own, created by us. The characters live in this world remember. They are created by you, and live in the world you created. While this can draw a god complex, right so, becuase that's what it is. This world is entirely under your control. But without details, this world is nothing, becuase it has no substance. Use your imagination to see everything, let it be your eyes in your fantasy world, and your video camera to remember the details.




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