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How do I know if I put too much description?

6 years ago

I've been pondering this for awhile, and I wanted to ask experienced story creators.

How do you know if you put too much description or enough choices?

How do I know if I put too much description?

6 years ago
Trial and Error.

Description is great until you start repeating yourself or lose the reader (which surprisingly easy to do around here for some reason haha).

tldr; words r hard why u make read 2 much?

How do I know if I put too much description?

6 years ago
This belongs in the writing workshop, but it all depends on your story and what you're trying to do. You want to use just as much description as needed to communicate a scene and situation clearly, but not so much you're drowning the reader in text and making them wade through a thick grove of adjectives that add nothing to the story. It's a balancing act.

As for choices, again it depends on the size and scope of the story. Usually a choice between two options every one to three pages is what I see the most commonly. The more important thing than the number is if they're meaningful enough to change the story in some way. A bunch of 'do it my way or die' options forcing the player on a certain path aren't true choices.

If it's just general experience you feel you're lacking, the number one thing you can do to get more experienced at writing is to read more, and read specifically with an eye for why the author did what they did, how and when and why they're introducing characters, setting details and plot points, conflict and resolution etc. The structural aspects of a story are all very deliberate things and once you get a sense for them on a meta level you'll have a much easier time with your own work.

How do I know if I put too much description?

6 years ago

My advice would be 'it depends on the pace of your story.' Nothing happening? Want to set the mood? Lots of detail is suggested. Middle of combat? Fighting for your life? It doesn't matter how many trees are in the woods. 

How do I know if I put too much description?

6 years ago

What everyone said, with this addition:

If you have a lot of background description that you just really feel is important, make a separate choice link leading to a page with the excessive description and then have a loop choice back to the main story.

Focus the meat of the story on the regular pages and if the reader wants to they can always click the extra description choice.

As far as choices, try not to have too many linear single choice pages in a row. Really anything more than three in a row and you’re starting to push into regular non CYOA territory, unless there is a really good reason for doing it that way (Scripting or something).

Personally, I think you can get away with the two choice minimum as long as you’re writing everything well. I guess if you want to be safe, have three or four choices, but again that’s more pages you have to flesh out for each choice.