Author: Lo Rin
Date:   06-30-05 02:45

how do I get my characters there?

How into detail do I have to go about a walk from the front door down a hallway to the kitchen?

How descriptive do I have to be about the hallway, or the kitchen?

Do I have to describe them at all?

I ask because to me, describing the color of the hallway, or the kitchen (where the refrigerator is, what the counter tops looks like) brings to much focus to something thats really not all that important.

At the same time I can't have my characters at the front door and then suddenly in the kitchen.

I know I'm probably making this way harder than it has to be(it's a flaw I'm well aware I have) but I just have to know.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Author: Weed Eater
Date:   06-30-05 07:38

Have your character walk into the kitchen. Change the verb as you see fit. Superman may fly into the kitchen. A cockroach may skitter.

Author: L Bea
Date:   06-30-05 07:47

Not necessary to show every detail. Mundaneness is part of life, but reader's don't want to be reminded of it - they want a good story that will take them away from it. But you want to put just enough "regular" stuff in so people can relate to it - picture themselves in it.

Here's an example:

Jane threw her keys into the dish on the entrance table and kicked off her suede pumps. The cool tiles felt soothing to her swollen feet. She threw her jacket on the banister and headed to the kitchen to see about dinner.

Dusk was casting shades of gold through the large window over the stainless steel sink. She pushed the play button on her voicemail and padded over to the refrirator.

"Jane, it's mom. Where have you been, dear? I haven't heard from you in days. I'm worried. Call me."

~ Bea

Author: Harper
Date:   06-30-05 09:45

Don't describe it if it isn't important.

I like Bea's example.

Author: Jeanne Gassman
Date:   06-30-05 10:06

Your goal is to move the character into the scene as quickly as possible, not describe the journey getting there. Bea's example is fine, but I would be tempted to pare it down even more:

Jane threw her keys into the dish on the entrance table, kicked off her suede pumps, and headed into the kitchen to see about dinner.

Dusk was casting shades of gold through the window over the kitchen sink as she pushed the play button on her voice mail.
"Jane," her mother's voice said, "where have you been, dear? I haven't heard from you in days. I'm worried. Call me."

The focal point of this scene is the recorded message on the phone, not the trip from the front door to the kitchen. You need just enough detail to move your character into the scene, nothing more. The reader is usually already familiar with this type of setting and will fill in the details of movement on his own.

Author: Bart Scrivener
Date:   06-30-05 13:25

I like the examples, but I agree with Harper. Don't describe it unless there's a reason to describe it. Readers are smart. They don't need to be told that people walk from the hall to the kitchen. They'll get it.

In the hallway, Jane found a letter. By the time she made it to the kitchen, she was on her cellphone with Alex.

Jane and Alex stood in the hallway, quarrelling. Jane stormed off to the kitchen for the biggest knife she could find, and Alex followed her, screaming.

You get the idea. You don't have to spell everything out.

People know what kitchens look like. Describe it only if there's something about character or setting that is relevant. An avocado green stove tells a story. So does a stainless steel Sub-Zero.

Author: MR Ross
Date:   06-30-05 14:23

Joe put the box down in the doorway then went to the kitchen.

Author: pundit
Date:   06-30-05 15:52

Read some books. See how the authors you like handle such things.

-p

Author: jill smith
Date:   06-30-05 16:47

I like to describe the journey if it helps you to get to know the character better. If it gets to be mundane and really doesn't add to the character or the plot, keep it simple. Was there a reason the reader needed to know the character's travel plans from point A(front door) to point B? (Kitchen)

In this case, I can't see a reason. Has she been away from home or does she just have a very protective or a busybody mother trying to control her daughter's life? The reader doesn't want to be bogged down with boring or mundane.

I guess I have said enough.

Jill Smith

Author: Mya Bell
Date:   06-30-05 17:44

I try to limit description to those things that further the story or help convey a character's personality.

In other words, if the environment is unique in some way that tells something about the occupant, I like to include it. If it doesn't, I refer to it in the most general way, saying just enough to let the reader know where the character is and what s/he is doing.

--- Mya Bell

Author: Stephanie glen
Date:   06-30-05 18:56

I agree with Harper. I only include description if it's vital to create mood (i.e. a dingy hallway that might be used for a later scary chase) or character (her grandmother's cluttered hallway screamed kleptomania).

Author: Jo Swain
Date:   06-30-05 19:28

Every time someone asks questions like this I go through my ms to see how I handled it. It seems I only mention the actual trip to one room from another is when there is another character with them and they are talking. Otherwise, it's kind of like this:

Jo closed her laptop and turned off the light in the dining room. In her cluttered bedroom, she stretched with a yawn just as the phone rang.

or something like that.

Author: Just Me
Date:   07-01-05 20:58

Don't get caught up in the blow-by-blow trap: She opened her purse, took out her keys, closed her purse, found the door key, put it into the lock, turned it counterclockwise, depressed the handle, opened the door...

I've seen this kind of thing, and it ain't pretty. It could be pages before your character even makes it in the door, never mind to the kitchen.

Focus on what she's focusing on. Does she notice something about the hallway - a funny smell, an unfamiliar coat on the coat-rack? Is she rushing through it to tell someone some news? Is she so tired she feels like she can barely make it to the kitchen?

And don't be scared of 'She went into the kitchen.' A lot of authors are; they tangle themselves up like contortionists to avoid just SAYING IT.

Author: Robert Raven
Date:   07-02-05 14:33

Jo is exactly correct. Go act out what you propose to describe in writing, and even take notes as you do. BUT, before you do that, the first question you need to ask yourself is, Why am I describing this? Everything you write needs to have a purpose that drives your story forward. Unless something happens between the front door and the kitchen that is of importance to the rest of your story, forget it. If your protagonist comes home from work, lays her keys on the kitchen counter and begins to sort through her mail, to discover the letter from her long-ago abusive ex-boyfriend, just back in town and wanting to get in touch, the reader can sensibly assume she entered the house through the front door. You don't need to describe the trip from there to the kitchen.

RR