A Writer's Device: Details, as seen.

Short post today, but a fun example of this came to mind while doing a little "for fun" project with someone yesterday...

One of the simplest ways to let the reader get inside the way characters see and react to the situation in a story is to clearly "voice" the differences in perception of the same thing seen by more than one of the characters.

In the bigger picture, this can be part of an Unreliable Witness telling of the story. But, it's very effective just within a scene. For example, two characters, who have just had an extraordinarily... passionate... first date. The next day, after a shower, they've both gone back to the bedroom to get dressed for the day, both see the condition they left the bed in.

She's in the Performing Arts as her trade. She sees "a mess" and is more overwhelmed by the recollection of the night before without seeing the details. She worries one of the pillows may "never recover".

He's in a different and more analytical line of work. He sees the exact interrelation of how blankets and bed sheets got twisted up and pulled loose. His curiosity addresses the "how" of that happening for a moment, before reacting at a more wistful and... self-satisfied level.

The both laugh a little at each other's sense of it, probably with another embrace.

So yeah... show your readers how your characters see things. It's fun to write, and it matters!