“Cut like crazy. Less is more. I've often read manuscripts - including my own - where I've got to the beginning of, say, chapter two and have thought: “This is where the novel should actually start.” A huge amount of information about character and backstory can be conveyed through small detail. The emotional attachment you feel to a scene or a chapter will fade as you move on to other stories. Be business-like about it.” FeelsShouldTwoCharacterStoriesMovingMy OwnNovelCuttingCrazyInformationEmotionalHugeAmountSceneIncludingDetailsAttachmentFadesChaptersManuscriptsLess Is MoreSmall Details Author:Sarah Waters
“The artist should fear to become the slave of detail.” ShouldArtistFearSlaveDetailsStorm Clouds Author:Albert Pinkham Ryder
“The motif must always be set down in a simple way, easily grasped and understood by the beholder. By the elimination of superfluous detail, the spectator should be led along the road that the artist indicates to him, and from the first be made to notice what the artist has felt.” WayShouldFirstsMadeArtistFeltSimpleUnderstoodSimplicityDetailsSpectatorsSuperfluousEliminationBeholderMotifsSimple Ways Author:Alfred Sisley
“Even one word, or certainly one sentence, should be able to describe the basic characteristic that the scene has, or the character has, or the story has. And then you begin to detail that one spine, and you have offshoots from that spine, and it becomes more and more complex, but all of it stems from that one-word, one-line theme, which can give the character, the scene, or the play its uniqueness.” GivingShouldPlayCharacterStoriesAbleLinesSceneComplexesDetailsSentencesCharacteristicsThemeUniquenessStemOne WordSpineOne LineOne Sentence Author:William Shatner
“The best artists know what to leave out. They know how much of the support should show through as the pigment is applied, what details aren't necessary.” KnowsShouldShowsArtistSupportKnow HowDetailsPigmentBest Artist Author:Charles de Lint
“I should say that, in addition to my tree-love (it was originally called The Tree), it arose from my own pre-occupation with the Lord of the Rings, the knowledge that it would be finished in great detail or not at all, and the fear (near certainty) that it would be 'not at all'. The war had arisen to darken all horizons. But no such analyses are a complete explanation even of a short story.” ShouldWarStoriesWould BeMy OwnLordTreeDetailsFinishedRingsCertaintyAnalysisExplanationHorizonOccupationShort Story Author:J. R. R. Tolkien