Immerse readers in your stories by using micro details

Have you ever analyzed which qualities of a piece of writing draw you into a story?

One way writers can immerse readers into their stories is by using micro details. Something about these details makes a setting or character so real and authentic that the reader can’t help but sink into the story.

Greek poet Yannis Ritsos was noted for his attention to the “miniscule aspects of life and the potent value he gives to that miniscule.” In a book of Ritsos’s poetry, Yannis Ritsos Poems: Selected Books, translator Manolis (Emmanuel Aligizakis) noted in the introduction that, “it would be impossible for any reader to miss the attention to detail: the sway of the lower pleat of the curtain, the almost imperceptible movement of the eyelid at sleep or waking, or the slightest fragrance of chamomile, images that render an eloquence and richness to his writings as they reveal the heart and soul of Greece.”

Ritsos brought this level of micro detail to his writing because he was an expert observer.

What micro details can you use to create eloquence in your writing?

Read the poetry of Yannis Ritsos.