The Lie is in the Details

Do you guys watch The Big Bang Theory? 

Have you seen the episode, titled The Loobenfeld Decay? I tried to find a cc licensed clip but had no luck, so you guys are stuck with my brief summery. In short, Leonard makes up a lie to get out of watching a play Penny is performing in. The lie is pretty simple. Sheldon decides it's a bad lie and makes up a huge story about a cousin named Leo (made up) who needs a drug intervention. He even hires someone to be Leo and the lie just gets more and more convoluted. 

Sheldon's main reason for this, as he tells Leonard, is that "details make the lie."

Why am I mentioning this? Because writing  is much like creating a believable lie. No matter how much truth is in the book, the author must set the scene, must bring it to life. That requires details.

Let's say you are writing about a girl sitting in a cafe. She's crying. Your character notices her.  show us the details. Make-up smeared across the face is a pretty common (and true) characterization for crying women. Go deeper. Are her eyelashes clumped together from sticky mascara? Do the tears change the color of her eyes? Does her foundation get wet and stick together, forming little clumps? I'm sure you've seen someone having a full blown crying meltdown. It isn't pretty, is it? There's snot and sweat and tears. Show that to us. Dig for those details that bring the scene and the character into existence.

Details can be great characterization, and can sometimes even show the readers when something might be "off".  You have a character who portrays himself one way, but maybe his bitten nails indicate the presentation may not be entirely accurate.

It's also up to you to decide the details you are including. I know that for me, I don't want to write or read five pages about the design of the tables in the coffee shops. I also tend to forget about some details like clothes, unless it is pertinent to the character. As Bailey once said, my characters are always naked in my first drafts. Not really, but I never think about clothes. I will say it makes some of the scenes pretty amusing picturing them all naked.

How and when you include details will vary. I've heard some authors say that they have to focus on certain details during certain revisions, and other's state they get too bogged down in details in their first drafts. Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Just make sure you write a believable lie, as Sheldon would say, and capture your readers in the details.

Readers, do you have any consistent details you notice? Anything you wish authors would include, or any pesky details that drive you crazy? Please feel free to share!


THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK INTEREST IN THE NA ALLEY POSITIONS AND WHO APPLIED! We have so many wonderful applicants. We have some tough decisions ahead of us! Seriously. Keep and eye on the blog and on your email as we will let you know who will be the newest members of our Alley team. We really appreciate everyone who took the time to apply. We're so happy that New Adult has such a fantastic and growing fan base, and that so many of you awesome people want to help the category. Thank you!

And don't forget to check out Juliana's recent post and vote for which novel to be discussed in the next NA Alley reads!