Making a scene

I've been beta-reading fan fiction for a couple of months now. I've noticed that writers tend to forget about scene and setting elements, and that includes details about characters' clothing and appearance. Scene/setting/clothing snippets can really bring out the personalities of your characters and move the plot forward.
For instance, I beta-read a piece that took place in Padme's apartment. What do the things in her home say about her personality? In the movie, there were many glass objets d'art, and they seemed fragile. A writer could get a reader to believe that these items were symbolic of her character. At the same time, a writer could say that she had a few wrought-iron pieces in her home, suggesting strength of character. This is totally up to the writer. And that's the beauty of it.
Now, on to Anakin. His clothing is much darker in color than that of the other Jedi. Again, this could be used to foreshadow his behavior later in the movie. He also had the most glorious head of hair of any man in the movie. Did he use product? Was he vain? Did Padme tell him how beautiful his hair was? If a writer decided to make it so, he could contrast those things against Obi-Wan, Anakin's foil.
I'm currently beta-reading a piece that deals with New Republic pilots. In the OT, the Alliance had second-rate equipment compared to that of the Imperial Navy and Veers' Army. As a reader, I would like to know how NR materiel stacks up to that of the former Imperial Navy. Is the clothing as well-made as what the Navy or Army would have? Do they eat food or do they eat pre-packaged rations? Again, the possibilities are endless, and such details can really move the characters and plot along.


Locking and redirecting, see last post.

 

The problem with description is that you can get bogged down in it way too much. I usually try to minimalise it, give description in relation to action.

Or provide pictures.

 

This is definitely something that I am trying to improve on. Using too much of it clogs everything up, but too little and the piece feels shallow.

When I put it in setting descriptions, I often think of it as a camera wide shot that can either zoom in (hard, and usually not done in movies - cept Firefly. Yet another reason I can't write Joss Whedon fanfic) or cut to the more personal stuff. The wide shots don't normally last for very long, and it gives me a pace to work with.

Another, slightly weirder way to look at it is to compare it to musical introductions - all marches have a four measure set-up, Battle of the Heroes has that viola arpeggio thing goin on - and both are undertones for the entire musical piece. Its a good way to set tone and setting.

 

I have never encoutered (as far as I know) the sort of reader that Lori_of_Cincinnati claims to be.

Perhaps you are an admirer of pieces of art in real life?

When I watch Padme in one of her suites on the silver screen, I get that there is a lot of light streaming in through the windows, and that there is furniture. I think I can put my hand on my heart and say that that is the mainstay of my room descriptions.

I would have to have watched Attack of the Clones or whatever several times to even notice objets d'art, unless someone used a piece to knock out a character, or mention was made of it on the dvd commentary, eg. the 'Alice in Wonderland' paperweight in Resident Evil.

I tend to write enough detail to set the scene, and what main characters are wearing is mentioned when they are introduced, and not re-iterated every time they enter a room.

I definitely have a weakness in describing people. I can handle colour of hair, colour of skin, and basic outer clothing.
Doing an overview, I can see that that is one aspect of my writing that has not improved since Day One.

Well, frag. That has turned the tables somewhat.

 

I write descriptive scenes like that a lot. It tends to slow down the plot, sometimes a great deal, but it can be used to set the mood. Also, when describing clothing, it can also give information about the character, their choices (since clothing is usually a very personal thing, even with the Jedi), their station in life, etc. With clothing, though, I tend to give little snippets rather than a long description all bunched up together.

That being said, I find that most readers just want to get on with the story and don't really like a whole lot of description. But there are enough readers out there that either don't mind or else love description. You just need to go with your own style.

As for the SW movies, I always look at the scenery and sets. I love Padme's apartment with its art deco feel and Palpatine's office suite. Gorgeous.

 

I think in writing using description is walking a fine line. You certainly don't want too much description because then people get tired of it and just want real plot. For example in my case, the only book I've ever read that I can honestly say bogged me down in details was Tolkien. I could literally skip at least three pages and still be in the same setting. I would then get frustrated and start just flipping pages and then I'd get to far ahead and have to backtrack.

On the other hand if you don't have enough details the whole thing just falls flat and doesn't involve the reader.

 

We have a thread with some wonderful thoughts on description here.