Precision Or Pedantry?
Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tip.
When does precision tip over into needless pedantry?
It’s a vexed question that I find myself wrestling with periodically. Recently (Tip180) I talked about how one of the hallmarks of an inexperienced, or under-edited, writer is too much information, incorrectly placed. Hand-in-hand with that can be a tendency towards unnecessary attention to detail, at the expense of pace, flow and story-telling. This is a separate issue to the balance needed between authenticity and realism (Tip149).
I pondered this question most recently when editing the first complete draft of a novel. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a tendency to write out of sequence, with minimal planning. I also typically leave my timeline and internal chronology until late in the process. Therefore, in order not to be caught out by errors in timing, I usually avoid specifying dates and times as I go along. For example, I might write ‘It had been XXXX days since the woman was murdered’, replacing the XXXX with a more precise timing once I have a structured timeline in place and there are unlikely to be any major changes to the order of the narrative.
But how necessary is that precision, and can it even be detrimental to the style and flow?
In a recent case, my timeline told me that it had been six days since a couple had met in a bar for a drink. But when I wrote that, it seemed out of keeping with the fairly casual nature of the surrounding prose. In the end, saying that it had been several days since they had last met just looked, and sounded, better.
English is a language that serves us well, whether we are scientists for whom accuracy and precision are essential, or poets for whom style is more important. Prose, especially fiction, requires both.
We can say ‘it was six days’ or ‘a few days‘.
‘The car was parked 150 metres from the junction‘ or ‘the car was parked a couple of hundred yards from the junction‘.
‘It was a balmy twenty-one degrees Celsius‘ or ‘a warm and pleasant day‘.
So ask yourself the following questions.
When does precision tip over into needless pedantry?
It’s a vexed question that I find myself wrestling with periodically. Recently (Tip180) I talked about how one of the hallmarks of an inexperienced, or under-edited, writer is too much information, incorrectly placed. Hand-in-hand with that can be a tendency towards unnecessary attention to detail, at the expense of pace, flow and story-telling. This is a separate issue to the balance needed between authenticity and realism (Tip149).
I pondered this question most recently when editing the first complete draft of a novel. As I’ve mentioned before, I have a tendency to write out of sequence, with minimal planning. I also typically leave my timeline and internal chronology until late in the process. Therefore, in order not to be caught out by errors in timing, I usually avoid specifying dates and times as I go along. For example, I might write ‘It had been XXXX days since the woman was murdered’, replacing the XXXX with a more precise timing once I have a structured timeline in place and there are unlikely to be any major changes to the order of the narrative.
But how necessary is that precision, and can it even be detrimental to the style and flow?
In a recent case, my timeline told me that it had been six days since a couple had met in a bar for a drink. But when I wrote that, it seemed out of keeping with the fairly casual nature of the surrounding prose. In the end, saying that it had been several days since they had last met just looked, and sounded, better.
English is a language that serves us well, whether we are scientists for whom accuracy and precision are essential, or poets for whom style is more important. Prose, especially fiction, requires both.
We can say ‘it was six days’ or ‘a few days‘.
‘The car was parked 150 metres from the junction‘ or ‘the car was parked a couple of hundred yards from the junction‘.
‘It was a balmy twenty-one degrees Celsius‘ or ‘a warm and pleasant day‘.
So ask yourself the following questions.
- How necessary is precision? A forensic scientist delivering their findings may give exact measurements, whilst an eyewitness would likely give an approximation.
- Is the degree of precision in keeping with the character?
- Is it in casual dialogue or more formal dialogue?
- Will the degree of precision (or lack of) be important later in the story?
- How does it sound? When you read it aloud, does the prose flow correctly?
One final point: a lack of precision can also allow for some wriggle room. By keeping things approximate, we can avoid the eagle-eyed reader spotting that our character’s kids are going to school on a weekend …
What are your thoughts on precision? When does precision become needless pedantry?
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Until next time,
Paul
If you are a writer with a tip to share, or fancy writing a fictional interview between you and one of your characters, please feel free to email me.
