FANTASY AUTHOR KATHRYN FOGLEMAN
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How Specific Is Your Story?

12/5/2022

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How Specific Is Your Story @KathrynFogleman
We don’t think in the abstract. If we can’t visualize it, we can’t feel it. Readers love to experience vicariously, and that is achieved with specifics. Every particular MUST pertain to the story. It not only has to tell us something we don’t know, but something we need to know right now.
A universal theme or emotion is only accessible through a very specific story that focuses on how it specifically affects one person.
Some specifics that you can and should include are:
  • Motivation. The specific reason a character does something. We care about WHY they do it.
  • Metaphor. The specific thing the metaphor is meant to illuminate.
  • Memories. A memory that a specific event provokes in the protagonist.
  • Reaction. the specific reaction a character has to a significant event.
  • Thought Process. The specific possibilities that run through a character’s mind as they try to figure something out.
  • Change of mind. The specific reason a character changes their mind.
Specifics must be relevant to the story, including sensory details: text, sight, smell, sound, taste.
The reader already knows what THE world looks like. What they are dying for is a glimpse of YOUR world. How do they get that glimpse?
  1. Have you translated generics into specifics? You want to make sure that everything on the page is so specific, that as far as the reader is concerned, it’s virtual reality. I'm not talking about the exact color of the stained glass in the random window that your character is walking by, but about the mustache twitch of the lying merchant they are haggling with, and the smell of wine on his breath.
  2. Will the reader know what your protagonist’s specific reactions are? They aren’t simply interested in knowing what happens, but how what happens is affecting your protagonist. Does seeing that mustache twitch make your character feel excited, nervous, or suspicious?
  3. Do all the sensory details have an actual story reason to be there? Details must be strategically placed to give the reader insight into your characters, story, and perhaps even theme. The reader assumes that everything you tell them is on a strictly need to know basis, and not overloading them with things that don’t matter. The mustache twitching merchant with wine on his breath needs to have a good reason to be there, to be driving the story forward and pushing the character closer to their main goal, or the merchant needs go away completely so that he's not just irritating fluff that the reader has to slog through.

What is your next step?

Is this overwhelming? Does the idea of being specific, but not TOO specific make your head explode? Do you want to be the author of the next best seller, but fear you won't meet your goals and expectations? 
I'm hear to help.
You can subscribe HERE and receive access to free PDF books that will walk you through the steps of writing a compelling story with dynamic characters.
If you feel like you need more than free resources, my coaching programs can take you from overwhelmed and uncertain, to confident and published!

Recommended books!

The images below are Amazon Affiliate links. So, when you purchase a book with those links, I get a small commission, and the author does too!
If you want a BAD EXAMPLE of too much detail in the wrong places, read Eragon. Christopher Paolini wrote Eragon when he was a very young writer, and it shows. He puts more detail into a building than he does into how his character is feeling, more often than not. HOWEVER, that didn't stop him from becoming a best selling author! And, the story is still a lot of fun, in spite of the bits of immaturity. 
If you want a GOOD EXAMPLE of just the right amount of detail in the right places, then Christopher Paolini's second book, Eldest, is amazing. It's my favorite in the Inheritance Cycle. We, the readers, are given more insight into the characters, their goals, their feelings, and whether those things are being met or disappointed. The author matured a LOT between this book and the first one.
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    The beasts of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls. - Isaiah 43:20

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    Kathryn White

    Self-published author of the fantasy series, Tales of the Wovlen, Kathryn spends a great deal of time in the world of her imagination, having tea with fire breathing dragons, writing books on flying space ships, and practicing her mad scientist laugh with gusto. However, on occasion, she returns to this world just to play with her dog, blog about her fun, and coach people through writing self-doubt.


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  • Welcome
  • My Blog
  • Bookish Help!
    • Social Media Management
    • Writing Coaching
    • People That Help You
    • My Podcast
    • Writing Prompts
  • Here Be Books
    • All the Books!
    • Tales of the Wovlen
    • The World
    • The Characters
    • Legends and Lore
    • Pronunciation Guide
  • Connect