Ten Rules in Ten Days - Rule 8: Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.

In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," what do the "Ameri­can and the girl with him" look like? "She had taken off her hat and put it on the table." That's the only reference to a physical description in the story.

One of the things I see new writers do is to give detailed descriptions of each character as they are introduced. They describe them head to toe, including every physical feature (hair, eyes, mouth, nose, skin), and everything they’re wearing. I find this obnoxious.

I pr...