Tonight, I got into a discussion with another mystery writer.  (Dave)  We both got on a tear about writing too much description.  You know the saying, “if you show a shotgun in the first scene then you need to use it somewhere in the story.”  I want to believe that my readers have a brain.  I want to believe they don’t need a description of every item in a room and so does Dave.

     Do you want to bore your readers to tears?  You don’t need to tell them that the rug was seven by ten, had a paisley swirl pattern in green and maroon, with a tan border all the way around, and purple fringe at the two ends.  That is unless, of course, the rug is a major character in your story. 

     Don’t tell them (or me) the entire back story of a minor character in twelve paragraphs.  Is it important that Harry played with Penny when they were toddlers thirty years ago?  Or, can you leave that detail out, because it doesn’t have anything to do with the plot? 

     Do you absolutely need to tell the entire history of the trolls in your world if they appear but once in the entire book?

     Today’s readers want tight plots, fast action, less description, and more involvement in the story.  Not an easy thing to deliver I grant you.  However, it is something to keep in mind when you are laboring over a description, putting in tiny details that aren’t important to anyone but you.