Details Matter In Your Story
Details matter in your story, and details ensure that immersion isn’t broken so that the audience’s experience is the best it can be, and improve the overall quality of the work.
In my opinion, the best philosophy (quote) on details regarding narrative is Chekhov’s Gun.
*Pro Tip: Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright and author in the late 1800s who is most known for his quote Chekhov’s Gun:
In short, Chekhov’s gun is the principle that any detail in your story should have a purpose in the overall narrative.
It’s important that you keep notes on key details required in your stories and that you follow them.
- If a character walks with a limp then you can’t have them do a running chase.
- If a character has an allergy or a phobia be sure to have a scene where it comes into play.
But, details have another meaning when it comes to the finished product. Because too few details could mean a frustrating experience for the audience, and too many details could mean a boring one.
Not managing the details in your story causes another important problem for the audience, it breaks the immersion experience.
Have you ever read a book, watched a movie, or read a comic book and said “Wait a minute… that’s not right!” or “That’s a mistake!”
This is what happens when the immersion is lost.
It’s the scriptwriter’s job to ensure that the details in your story are aligned, and by allowing editors and other people to review your script, you will be able to find issues in the plot/character/and other key details in your story.
The Editing Process — Part 1: Self-Editing
The first part of the editing process is the internal editing, or as Stephen King put it: “Kill your darlings…”
This is where you use AI grammar and spelling programs to ensure your script is free of errors, and you read through your script to ensure the story flows and the plot points are all there.
*Pro Tip: When you edit your work, read it backward from the last paragraph to the first, this way your brain isn’t forming the sentences as you go and you can spot more errors.
The Editing Process — Part 2: Editor
After you Self-edit your script, the next step is to give it to a professional editor, as they will be able to spot things you’ve missed and provide detailed solutions and feedback to strengthen your story.
An editor’s job isn’t to “steal” your story or “take over” the writing, it is their job to enhance and improve your story.
They are there to spot mistakes in writing, grammar, spelling, and other details in your story you have missed.
Maybe you are too vague with your clues on who the killer is, or a few clues can be left out to add more suspense. Perhaps that sentence is a run-on one, or that paragraph describing the backstory of the painting in the living room isn’t needed.
The editing process is all about details, and a good editor will ensure your story is free of mistakes and that all your details matter.
I will give some examples of where details and the editing process weren’t done and the immersion was lost.
Details Matter in Children’s Books:
Here are some examples of details from the children’s book I wrote called THE LITTLE CLOUD.
Take this excerpt from the script:
“While drifting on the wind, the little cloud happened to look down and noticed a father and son flying a kite in a field. So, he said to the other clouds: “Let’s change our shapes into various objects and see if the father and son can guess what we are.”
So that is what they did.”
It was my job to go over the preliminary sketch art from the artist Julie F.F. and determine if there were any detail issues in the art.
Take this image below based on the above-excerpted text:
On the first viewing, I looked at the text to ensure it matched the edited script, and I noticed a few lines had missing punctuation.
Next, I focused on the images, and at first glance, it looked like a cute picture of a Cloud Family on the left side of the page, and a little cloud on the right floating above a father and son flying a kite.
But, I noticed a few issues with the art:
- Firstly, I have to visualize the folded page crease.
- The Little Cloud was on the Right Side of the art, so he was distant from his cloud family.
So, the Little Cloud (circled) would have to be brought over to the even-numbered page (the left side). But, by moving the Little Cloud to the left side, the Cloud family would have to move back to create more room for him.
I also noticed something strange about the father and son with the kite. They were running away from the cloud family, so the humans couldn’t see the clouds or the shapes they were about to shape into.
So, the father and son should be stationary and looking up at the kite to see the Cloud Family, as opposed to the original sketch of them running away in the opposite direction.
The results of the detailed notes lead to the finished image (below), where the Little Cloud is with his Cloud Family, and the father and son playing with the kite are already looking up and see the clouds when they change their shapes.
Without my taking the time and providing detailed notes, this image wouldn’t be as powerful as it is, and the overall story wouldn’t make as much sense.
Details Matter.
Details Matter in Movies:
Watch this clip from the movie UNCHARTED and see if you spot anything that jumps out to you in the scene (while remembering that details matter).
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyjZnsyWOtA
Did you spot them? If not watch it again.
Answer below:
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These errors shouldn’t occur in a huge Hollywood film, and these details are easily solved by a person on the scene ensuring that the wine glass has the same volume of liquid between takes and that the actor holds the wine glass the same way for every take.
Details Matter.
Details Matter in Comic Books:
Firstly, I must point out that SCOUT’S HONOR is a brilliant comic book series, and like all comic books published by Aftershock Comics, the quality is very well done.
But, there are a couple of scriptwriting mistakes that were made which broke the immersion of the story for me.
These mistakes should’ve been avoided, and the simplest and easiest way would’ve been if the writer David Pepose left notes in the script to remind the artist Luca Casalanguida that Scout Eddie’s face should reflect the damage taken on Page 5, or if showing Scout Eddie’s face was necessary then the damage inflicted by the wild boar be to his chest on Page 5 and not his face.
Same with the mistake on Page 10 with the Boar. This mistake could’ve been avoided if the script had the wild boar being roasted on a bamboo spit and the head was removed.
Details Matter.
Summary
Always remember that details matter in your story, and it’s the writer’s job to ensure that their story's details are aligned so that immersion isn’t broken, that the audience’s experience is the best it can be, and to improve the overall quality of the work.
