Overexplaining
Overexplaining comes when you don’t stop at the end of a sentence, but go on with more words. I could have made that “when you don’t stop at the end of a sentence.” Or sometimes it’s when you add more sentences to explain something the first sentence expressed. It sometimes comes from not trusting the reader to understand what you mean.
I remember when I first started writing on my own–that is, without teachers, just trying to figure out how to write a novel by writing a novel. I had the weirdest problem with ending sentences. I’d find myself sitting at the typewriter after work, watching the words unfurl on the line, and thinking, “wait, is that clear enough? Maybe I’d better elaborate.”
Some of those sentences were absurdly long, but overexplaining can also be quite short. For example (overexplaining is in italics):
That bastard would take her grandmother’s money and leave her homeless. She ground her teeth at that disturbing thought.
It’s overexplaining because juxtaposition alone tells the reader why she’s grinding her teeth.
Editorializing
Editorializing refers to commenting on something right before or after it happens. It can exist in any writing, but it really sticks out in fiction. Editorializing can make it feel like the writer doesn’t think the reader is smart enough to make connections and interpret moments for themselves. For example (editorializing is in italics):
In the chaos of the storm, they did not notice her take the heavy golden icon from the saddlebag. Ironically, her luck had not run out.
Editorializing pulls the reader from the scene–we feel the writer hanging over our shoulder, making sure we get it.
Sometimes when I’m line editing, I mark up editorializing with the comment, “Let the reader have this thought.”
Editorializing can also reduce a scene’s impact on the reader, as described in this blog post by Susan DeFreitas on the neuroscience of scene. Scenes take a lot of skill to write well, so the last thing you want to do is reduce their impact.
How to Avoid Both
The best way to avoid overexplaining or editorializing is to always assume that the reader is at least as intelligent as you are. As a bonus, trusting the reader makes for stronger writing.
So…Who You Gonna Trust?
Cheers,
Pat