Communities

Writing
Writing
Codidact Meta
Codidact Meta
The Great Outdoors
The Great Outdoors
Photography & Video
Photography & Video
Scientific Speculation
Scientific Speculation
Cooking
Cooking
Electrical Engineering
Electrical Engineering
Judaism
Judaism
Languages & Linguistics
Languages & Linguistics
Software Development
Software Development
Mathematics
Mathematics
Christianity
Christianity
Code Golf
Code Golf
Music
Music
Physics
Physics
Linux Systems
Linux Systems
Power Users
Power Users
Tabletop RPGs
Tabletop RPGs
Community Proposals
Community Proposals
tag:snake search within a tag
answers:0 unanswered questions
user:xxxx search by author id
score:0.5 posts with 0.5+ score
"snake oil" exact phrase
votes:4 posts with 4+ votes
created:<1w created < 1 week ago
post_type:xxxx type of post
Search help
Notifications
Mark all as read See all your notifications »
Q&A

Post History

60%
+1 −0
Q&A How much description is too much?

A companion question for How much description is necessary, how much description is too much? I close my eyes, I can visualise my MC's bedroom (for example) in tiniest detail: the accent wallpaper...

1 answer  ·  posted 6y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41859
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:46:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/41859
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:46:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
A companion question for [How much description is necessary](https://writing.stackexchange.com/q/41813/14704), how much description is too much?

I close my eyes, I can visualise my MC's bedroom (for example) in tiniest detail: the accent wallpaper, the collection of spaceship models, the view out of his window...

Of course, a clutter of irrelevant details would quickly lose the reader. So every detail I mention ties to either who the character is, to a worldbuilding element, or to setting the particular scene.

There is also the pacing to consider: if the scene is meant to be a breathless chase, there's hardly time to observe the scenery. But since we've started with a bedroom example, let's say the scene is a lazy Saturday morning, so there's leisure to notice details, and in fact going slowly over the view fits with the general peacefulness.

Even so, how much description is just too much?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-02T12:22:56Z (almost 6 years ago)
Original score: 4