Views From Your Muse WHO ARE YOU WRITNG FOR? By David Trottier
In an article from a previous edition of my newsletter, another
writer challenged my notion of writing lean description. The
example of lean description that I used was from the spec script
Rocky. It reads as follows: The gym looks like a garbage can
turned inside out. I like it because it says a lot with just a
few words plus a reader could easily visualize it. He preferred
the following version (below) because it would better help the
actors, the director, the set decorator, and the art director.
“After all,” he said, “that is who we are writing for.” It
contains more details, even though it is not as readable. The
gym was littered with food wrappers, leftover hot dogs and
tacos, gym clothes, and other debris. It looked like no one had
cleaned it in over a month. It was truly a mess. It’s important
to use concrete language and provide specific details, but
choose only those details that help the reader visualize the
action. The essence of spec w