It's All In The Details

James Joyce said, "A writer should know the amount of change in his character's pocket." He was talking about details, and how details are what makes good writing...good. Details are what people remember; details are what last after the reading is done. One of my writing professors in college called them "specifics," and he'd always say things like, "Good specifics, Grooms," or "More specifics, Grooms," or "Specifics, specifics, specifics, GROOMS!"

Details, or specifics, when used correctly, can make even an ordinary thing seem extraordinary, or at the very least, more real.

Take for instance, this list:

Five Things that I Love:

1. Ephram on Everwood

2. Listening to the radio while I drive

3. Going to dinner

4. Small children

5. Talking on the phone

Ok, so that's not a bad list...I guess. But, look at how much better this one is:

Five Things that I Love:

1. On the show Everwood, I love the way Ephram looks when he is surprised.

2. I love when I'm driving down the road and I hear a song on the radio that's a few years old, but I still remember all of the words.

3. I love when I'm at work, and it's the end of the day, and I know that I'm going to go to dinner.

4. I love small children who are sort of overweight.

5. I love getting unexpected phone calls from people that I've been missing.

See, the second one is better, much better. It paints a more vivid picture. And the difference is all in the details. In my second list, I was more specific, because I wanted you to really understand what it was that made me love those things.

For this post, I want you to make your own "Five Things That I Love" list, and be specific.