Description

This is a new section and a new page, and lots to write. For now I share this:

Something I see a LOT when I critique writers' work. It's where the writer goes on up to a page without letting the reader know where the characters are located. This is very disconcerting for the reader as they can't visualise what's going on - it's just an abyss for them.

An example:

"Did John call you yet?" Georgia asked.
"No," I replied, "Not yet."
"Hmm ... it's been over a week."
"Not THAT long," I protested, "It won't be a week till tomorrow."
There was silence as we both contemplated the blatant truth that that minor detail didn't detract from Georgia's basic point.
"I'm sure he'll call soon," I said bravely.
"Hmm ..." she said again.

Okay, do you see that while you're 'listening' to the dialogue, and you might even be getting a pale glimpse of the characters, they're floating in some formless ether?

You really, really need, in the first sentence or two, to anchor the characters in a location. It can be a very immediate location: kitchen, cafe, beach. You don't have to give a geographic location such as a city or country yet; you do have time to do that.

But you need to locate them in a specific place. It can be done subtly, through action. In my novel More Than Friends my first sentence was It’s a truth universally acknowledged,” I pronounced glumly, idly whirling my spoon around in the Café-Café signature royal-blue mug, “that a woman in possession of a loudly ticking biological clock must be in search of a husband. (We know they're in a café.)

The locator in Looking Good was more subtle: "Dr Bourke told me, with compassion on her plain face, “You have another six months.” (We can assume they're in a doctor's surgery.)

You can give the location through action, as I did for the More Than Friends example. So, our sample text above could be something Like:

"Did John call you yet?" Georgia asked, pausing in her typing. (We know they're in an office of some sort.)

You don't have to give all the information at first. It would be too much info-dumping to say, "Did John call you yet?" Georgia asked, pausing in her typing at Janet Birch's Solicitors where we both worked.

But at least give a little bit of a clue where they are.