When I was taking college English, the Professor asked us to break down our day. We could use a minute, an hour, a day, a week, or so on. But the idea was to break it down small and get those details in. He wanted us to first write a minute, then expand. Detail includes emotions, smells, sounds, color, and anything else to delight your senses.
It looks something like this:
It is morning time and I am going to make coffee in one minute or less.
1:01 I walk to the coffee pot
1:02 I open the lid on the back of the coffee maker
1:03 I pull out the coffee pot
1:04 I take the pot to the sink
1:05 I turn on the water
1:06 I put the pot under the running water
1:07 I fill the pot with water
1:08 I turn the water off
1:09 I take the pot to the maker
1:10 I pour the water in the back of the maker
1:11 I close the lid
1:12 I put the pot on the maker
1:13 I open the filler basket
1:14 I remove the basket
1:15 I take the basket to the sink
1:16 I rinse the basket
1:17 I take it back to the maker
1:18 I open the cupboard door while still holding the basket
1:19 I pull out the filters
1:20 I separate out a filter from the rest
1:21 I place it in the basket
1:22 I put the basket back in the filler
1:23 I pull the coffee out of the cupboard
1:24 I open the coffee and the smell from the grounds releases into the air putting a smile on my face
1:25 I grab the scoop
1:26 I fill it with coffee
1:27 I pour it into the basket
1:28 I scoop another from the coffee can
1:29 I pour it into the basket filter
1:30 I scoop another
1:31 I pour it in
1:32 I scoop another
1:33 I pour it in
1:34 I scoop another
1:35 I put it in
1:36 I scoop another scoop from the coffee can
1:37 I put it in the filter
1:38 I scoop the last scoop for the coffee pot
1:39 I put it in
1:40 I close the filler basket
1:41 I put the scoop back in the coffee can
1:42 I put the lid on the can
1:43 I push start on the coffee maker
1:44 I put the coffee can back in the cupboard
1:45 I put the filters back in the cupboard
1:46 I shut the cupboard door
1:47 I take a deep breath in smelling the aroma of the coffee
As you can see, you can get a lot more out of your stories by thinking about the details your character is going to be doing or facing step by step or second by second. Think of each step you take. Take time to listen to your heart beat as you take a step. If you can’t hear it, use a stethoscope.
Today, this is what I am working on for my stories. I am spending some time on the details. I want to make my stories pop and to do that, I have to remind myself that it is all in the detail. Now you can too!
