[MUD-Dev] Hoping for more... (interfaces)

[Matt Mihaly]

On Thu, 2 Aug 2001, Ling Lo wrote:
> On Wed, 1 Aug 2001, Matt Mihaly wrote:

>> In my experience, only about 5% of the players read any
>> significant proportion of the room descriptions, incidentally.
 
> This reminds me of an interview with an author who I can't recall
> at the moment.  In this, he spelt out the rules for writing which
> pretty much avoided description if possible.  Personally, I have
> to admit I agree.  I've never really paid any attention to room
> descriptions except to get around those pesky quests.

Stephen King (of all people) recently published an extremely good
and extremely well-received book titled, "On Writing." It's a great
book. On description, he writes, "Thin description leaves the reader
feeling bewildered and nearsighted. Overdescription buries him or
her in details and images. The trick is to find a happy medium. It's
also important to know -what- to describe and what can be left alone
while you get on with your main job, which is telling a story."

He goes on to say, "For me, good description usually consists of a
few well-chosen details that will stand for everything else. In most
cases, these details will be the first that come to mind."

I tell you, I read that, realized the truth of it, looked around
Achaea and slumped in embarassment of some of our ridiculously
over-described locations.

--matt

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