Inspiration strikes again.

Language. The ability to communicate.

Language, is what keeps this amazing thing we call society going: being able to talk and communicate and gossip, to warn people of disasters, to tell someone about that great 2 for 1 sale down at the local grocery. Language is how humans communicate, and it is far more precise then how many other animals like dogs or cats communicate, as we are not only able to express our emotions, but we can spin stories or tell people about, for instance, that great 2 for 1 sale down at the grocery store. Language is much more precise then any other form of communication, because you can not only express emotions (which humans and many other animals can do already, by something as simple as body posture or facial expression), but you can also put your words and thoughts out of your head and into the real world. Language is hard to explain, yet it is the basis of everything in this society, and it is one of the things that makes us human. Language is also constantly evolving, and I'm sure sometime in the future, in 100 years or so, LOL, 1337, and WTF won't be just gamer slang. Language is amazing, once you really think about it, but when you think about it even more, you realize it is just a bunch of words that, somehow, to our minds, mean something. And words are just letters strung together, and letters are just sounds and sounds are just... well, you get the picture.

But language isn't just a way to warn people of danger or tell them about sales at grocery stores.

Somewhere in the history of humans, we decided to start telling stories. And as primitive humans, we sat around a fire eating tough, chewy pieces of mammoth meat, watching the firelight flicker across the cave walls and animate the primitive paintings there, listening to a man with a saber tooth cat's pelt draped over his back and a huge mammoth bone in his scarred, frostbitten, thick-skinned hands talking about an encounter he had had with a dire wolf just that evening. Of how he had heard it snapping twigs and stalking him through the forest, and how he had spun around to see it staring him straight in the eye, it's hot breath turning to steam in the cold air.

Notice what I did there?
For a second you could smell the smoke of the fire, see the wolf's yellow eyes staring hungrily at the man, see the green and gray and brown foliage of the forest around him, see the primitive paintings of saber toothed cats and giant mammoths on the dusty cave walls. That is the amazing thing about writing.

But I'm sure every person who reads that imagines a world completely different from the world that I thought of when writing it, and what you thought of when reading it, and what the next person though of when reading it.

You see, writing is a way to guide your imagination through a world, along with whatever made up characters are in it. Our own imaginations can create worlds and stories, but the stories have no plot, and you cannot imagine a world as vividly as you can if you are reading a truly good book. But the problem is, not only are truly good books hard to come by, but writing is imperfect, it can never be as specific as one would want to be. But since graphic novels cannot allow you to truly feel the wind blowing through your hair or the grass under your feet, and since there is no way so far of telepathically reading a story straight from another person's mind, books are the best option. Even if someone wrote every single detail in their mind's eye that they saw, as specifically as possible, every person's image of the world would still be different. Plus, none would want to read a book in which the first three chapters are about little tiny details in a scene, like a spec of lichen on a small rock to the left of a tall pine with a snapped off branch at the end of it where a bee is stuck in the sap which is the color of honey but more yellow and more clear with the sun glinting off of it and... heck, that's even boring to write.

But what I am getting to is, that whatever way you may describe it, writing is the only art where you take your own imagination and let someone else 'see' through your eyes. Writing is like guiding someone else through another, made- up person's life, and through the hero or heroine's eyes, that person can have an adventure without taking the risk of getting killed or even having to get up out of their chair. I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true.

But as I stated before, writing is imperfect, no matter what you do whoever is reading your book will imagine it differently then you, and the next person, and the next person who reads it. You cannot escape that fact, but the trick is to find a good balance between not detailed enough and too detailed -- and when you are juggling a plotline as well this can become quite hard. The other thing to take into account is what to describe. My answer is that you should describe what the reader's mind would not think to.

For example, three short scenes in which exactly the same thing happens, written differently:

Not very detailed:
Shadow the cat stepped lightly outside of the cat door, black fur blending well with the shadows around her. She sniffed around, trying to see a glimpse of something or catch a scent of prey in the night air. Then, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Something fast, darting through some overgrown grass near a flowerpot. She crouched down, eyes fixed on her target, tail twitching ever so slightly, pupils wide, claws out. She jumped, streaking through the night sky, landing near her target, a sweep of her paw, a flick of her claws and she had caught it. Prey. She was a good hunter.

Detailed in what your mind would already think of:
Shadow the cat stepped lightly out of the cat door, lit up by the artificial lights inside of the human dwelling, her black fur blending in well with the shadows around her. She sniffed around, stars twinkling brightly in the sky above, she tried to see a glimpse of something or catch a scent of prey wafting through the night air. Then, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, she looked to where it came from. Something fast, darting through some overgrown grass near an old flowerpot. She crouched down, the uncertain shadows and long grass around her concealing her. Eyes fixed on her target, tail twitching and brushing grass blades aside, pupils wide, claws out and gleaming in the dark. She jumped then, streaking through the star covered sky, landing before her target as it started to run. A sweep of her black paw, a flick of her long, sharp claws and she caught it, the warm body clenched firmly between her jaws. Prey. She was a good hunter.

Detailed in what your mind wouldn't think of:
Shadow the cat stepped lightly out of the cat door, a slight but cold breeze cooling her, the noise and light from the humans inside being quickly forgotten as she seemed to mix with the shadows around her, her dark fur providing the perfect disguise. She sniffed around, hoping to get a glimpse of prey or a scent of mouse on the air. Then, something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye, she looked to where it came from, senses alert, a faint sweet smell of mouse telling her it wasn't just a leaf blowing in the wind. Something fast, darting through some overgrown grass near an old, cracked flowerpot. She crouched down, feeling the cool earth beneath her and the dewy grass at her sides, her pupils were wide, long sharp claws retracted. She jumped, pouncing, streaking through the sky, landing in front of her target as it tried to dart away. A sweep of her paw, a flick of her hooked claws and she had caught it, breathing in the sweet, musky scent of mouse. Prey. She was a good hunter.

See? Not only does adding detail add length *Cough,nomoredraggingbooksout,Cough*, but it adds to the excitement and the drama and it makes the reader feel like they really are there. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the best example, but still.

So my advice to writers, young and old, new to writing or not so new: Practice, and write in detail about the things readers wouldn't think to imagine, it makes the world seem more real. And let yourself notice the small things, in the real world, as well, it will help to notice them so that you can write about them and in turn create a convincing world. Juggling plotline and detail can be hard, but if you practice, you can do it, and the small details are really what makes a world real and amazing.