I’m looking at my media files and WOW there’s a lot. I could add extra books of the day, just by recycling those old book covers. And that’s only the books I’m confident fit the criteria!

As I’m writing this, in advance, there’s nothing on my calendar. I might be settling in for a day of writing, but I’m definitely doing my accounting, since we sold books yesterday at the end of the panel discussion. Not gonna lie, I always wish I’d sold more, convinced more readers to give my books a try. Hopefully more will take advantage of Hoopla and Libby and do just that!

On to the catch-up list of Books of the Day!

Ali Hazelwood, Love, Theoretically

AJ Sass, Ana on the Edge

Walter Dean Myers, Street Love

Regina Sage, Ocean’s Embrace

Mariah Ankenman, Perfect Imperfections

There you go! There’s the next five!

Go forth and read! Remember that libraries are treasures that need to be used in order to keep their luster. There’s zero shame in not buying books and borrowing them instead — in fact, it’s good for you, it’s good for your library’s circulation numbers, and it’s good for your community.

Let’s just get right to this one. What the heck is microdetail anyway, and is it good or bad?

It’s bad.

We’ll say that up front.

Here’s why.

Microdetail is that stuff that is basically fluff. It’s sometimes called play-by-play, or filler… but does that really give you an idea of what it is?

Didn’t think so. Buckle up, because here we go.

He stood from his seat and began to walk across the room, stepping over the wrinkled edge of the rug, staring up at the ceiling to look for cracks in the thatching, then circled a wooden stool that sat in a corner between the fireplace and the front door. He circled it twice before sitting, hooking his bootheels in the top rung and smiling as he felt the caked-on mud crumble loose at the contact, and then said, “The king’s men are waiting for your answer and have vowed to kill Harry if you don’t answer.”

Okay, that’s a bit of a distortion… or is it? I see it all the time in young writers, writers who need to include such microdetail as a means of setting the scene in their own minds, or who use it as a way to get to know their characters better.

As first-draft stuff, it’s fine. But… it’s gotta go before it hits your editor’s desk, if you can. (If not, I’m always glad to point it out.)

Microdetail holds up the pace. It shifts the focus of the scene from the important stuff to these small details that ultimately, in the grand scheme of the book, don’t matter. Or that belong somewhere else. And sometimes, they’re examples of lazy writing. (See he stood from his seat)

Now, sometimes, microdetail is important. Sometimes, it helps set the mood, or describes a character. And when it operates like that, it’s not bad stuff. It’s important.

But until you become experienced enough to know the difference between microdetail and the sort of small details that help paint a picture that truly help your book, you struggle. And that’s natural. It’s part of the learning curve of learning to craft a damn good book.

This is where good critique partners come in. And patient editors.

You don’t have to rely on others, though. This is where reading a lot comes in handy. Is the book you’re reading full of microdetail? Are there lots of descriptions, long or short, that don’t further the story or set a stage, paint a scene? Consider how the book you’re reading handles some of the details you’d like to include.

The next step is to write, write, write. Keep in mind those books you’ve been reading. There’s a reason some agents tell you to read as much as you write — it all soaks in. And then you can spit it out as you write and/or revise.

You got this. It’s hard at first, like all learning curves are, but once you’ve got it, you’ve got it.