Including details in your writing makes your work more enjoyable to readers and provides them with the information they need to understand your plot and characters. But it is possible to include too many details and offer too much information, a concept often known as overwriting. Maintaining a balance between providing enough details to enrich your work while also limiting unnecessary information can help you create content that allows your readers to appreciate your writing without getting bogged down with too much detail.
What is overwriting?
Overwriting is providing more information than is necessary to explain or enrich your work. When you write a book, details are essential in describing your setting and characters, while also helping you develop your plot. If you’re writing non-fiction, including details provides your readers with more information and helps them better understand the subject you’re writing about. But too many details can be overwhelming.
How to avoid overwriting
Overwriting can come from feeling like you need to provide more explanation than necessary. Details enrich your work, but too many details distract your readers from the story. If you have a tendency to overwrite, slow down and take time to differentiate between necessary details and superfluous information. Have a friend or colleague look over your work to get some fresh eyes that can help you look at your work objectively to better understand how much is too much.
Overwriting can lead to content that simply has too much information. Readers need details, but too much can overwhelm and distract. Take time during the writing process to consider which details are pertinent to the story and which can be left out because they add no value. Seek feedback from an objective source to help you edit your work, so it’s detailed enough to be valuable to your readers but not so detailed that it distracts them from the purpose of your writing.
