How to know whether you are over-describing or under-describing?

[FrenzyWanderer]

I'm a new writer and started writing recently, my previous chapters got criticized for not having enough descriptions. So I edited some and uploaded chapter 08, I think I found a flow...

Could someone please read till chapter 08 and tell me whether something improved

If so I can confidently maintain this level of writing for future chapters without a doubt

I refuse to level up! (Don’t ask about my sister’s opinion on this)

What would any normal person do after they isekai'ed to another world? Well that shouldn't even be a question. Grind up levels, become strong and conquer the world with overpowered cheat abilities. But Ren isn't that kind of 'Normal' What if he conquers the world without levelling up? without...

www.scribblehub.com

And also another question since I'm completely new. Is 600 views in 2 wks uploading with 9 total readers, is the story doing bad? or terrible? or ok?

I refuse to level up! (Don’t ask about my sister’s opinion on this)

What would any normal person do after they isekai'ed to another world? Well that shouldn't even be a question. Grind up levels, become strong and conquer the world with overpowered cheat abilities. But Ren isn't that kind of 'Normal' What if he conquers the world without levelling up? without...

www.scribblehub.com

 

[Intermundium]

The stats are doing decently; I recommend rewriting the first chapter, there were issues that didn't catch much interest and some confusing wording.

 

[FrenzyWanderer]

Can you kindly point out them plz?

 

[Madkins]

Feels like an AI story honestly.
Did you use it to write the story?
There is confusing wording used in the first chapter, especially how the sentences are so short and broken up.

 

[Tempokai]

I don't know if this would help you, but you need this:

Spoiler: Warning: The Butler

In storytelling, Wittgenstein’s surface grammar vs depth grammar maps very well onto the difference between what a story appears to be saying and what the story is actually doing.
Wittgenstein’s basic point is that an expression’s surface form can mislead us. In Philosophical Investigations §664, he distinguishes the “surface grammar” of a word from its “depth grammar”: surface grammar is what immediately strikes us in the construction of a sentence, while depth grammar concerns the word’s actual use. His broader later philosophy ties meaning to use within “language-games,” meaning words function inside forms of life and rule-governed human activities, not as isolated labels.
For storytelling, think of it this way:

Wittgenstein	Storytelling equivalent
Surface grammar	Plot events, dialogue, genre conventions, visible character actions
Depth grammar	What those elements actually mean in context: desire, fear, irony, power, betrayal, moral pressure, emotional stakes
Philosophical confusion	Misreading the story by taking its surface too literally
Perspicuous description	Reading the story by seeing how each element functions in the whole narrative

Example: a character says:

“I’m fine.”

The surface grammar is a simple statement of well-being.
But the depth grammar might be:

“I am hurt, but I refuse to show vulnerability.”

In a story, the sentence’s meaning comes from context: who says it, to whom, after what event, with what gesture, in what relationship, and with what consequences. That is very Wittgensteinian: meaning is not just inside the sentence; it is in the use of the sentence within a human practice.
This also connects to narrative theory’s distinction between story and discourse. Seymour Chatman’s Story and Discourse treats narrative as involving both what happens and how it is presented; the book is described as a general theory of narrative across verbal and visual media. In that sense, plot events are not enough. The telling, framing, order, emphasis, narrator, omissions, and tone determine what the events do.
So in storytelling:
Surface grammar is the visible narrative statement:

“The king died, then the queen died.”

Depth grammar is the narrative function:

Did she die of grief? Was she murdered? Is this political collapse? Is the narrator hiding something? Is the story about love, succession, guilt, or fate?

The same surface event can have different depth grammars depending on the story-game being played.
A detective story, tragedy, satire, romance, myth, and memoir can all contain the same event—say, “a man leaves home”—but that action functions differently in each genre. In a detective story, it may be an alibi. In tragedy, exile. In romance, abandonment. In myth, a heroic departure. In memoir, liberation.
That is the main correlation:

Wittgenstein helps us see that stories do not mean merely by what their sentences say, but by how their signs, actions, and conventions are used inside a narrative form of life.

For writers, this is extremely useful. Bad storytelling often over-trusts surface grammar: it explains emotions directly, states themes openly, or assumes plot events automatically carry meaning. Strong storytelling controls depth grammar: the scene’s real meaning emerges from action, silence, contrast, timing, repetition, and implication.
A writerly version:

Surface grammar: “She closed the door.”
Depth grammar: She forgives him. She rejects him. She protects herself. She is hiding evidence. She has accepted defeat.

The action is the same. The story’s grammar changes its meaning.
So Wittgenstein’s idea gives you a sharp storytelling rule:

Do not ask only, “What does this sentence or scene say?”
Ask, “What is this sentence or scene doing in the story?”

Your story has that mismatch. The premise and the progression is too logically wonky, that any surface work on sentences will not work unless you make the story itself stronger logically. It reads more like a practice run you'd make as a teenager instead of an actual story with deep thought put into it.

 

[FrenzyWanderer]

Feels like an AI story honestly.
Did you use it to write the story?
There is confusing wording used in the first chapter, especially how the sentences are so short and broken up.

My language comprehension is anyway bit clunky as a non native speaker, Actually I struggle sometimes writing common things, I tend to write them in cluncky and ridiculous ways

Your story has that mismatch. The premise and the progression is too logically wonky, that any surface work on sentences will not work unless you make the story itself stronger logically. It reads more like a practice run you'd make as a teenager instead of an actual story with deep thought put into it.

close to that

Anyway I'll look into it, thanks!

Feels like an AI story honestly.
Did you use it to write the story?
There is confusing wording used in the first chapter, especially how the sentences are so short and broken up.

I use AI for word choices specifically. and Grammarly for grammer, I started polishing later chapters with AI but strangely I never used AI for chapter 01 (As I remember I hardly used AI for chapter 01) I used AI since like chapter 05 for polishing. And next round did few revisions on chapter 02 and chapter 03 with AI.

 

[YukieSama]

Your chapter 8 is a better reading experience than chapter 1. I think I remember reading your first chapter 1 unedited and this edited one is also a better reading experience.

Whether it‘s over or under describing depends on the scene’s goal. If the scene is about sneaking past a bear, then over describing would be—focusing too much on the rock above in the cave, the small droplet hanging, almost falling, how many rocks there were.

Under describing would be—there was a bear sleeping.
Which again is not a bad sentence, it’s just that the whole point, the whole tension is the bear waking up. So describing its fur color when it rolls over, the claws scraping against the rock and the way it’s covering the exit, these make the scenes more immersive.

While the goal of writing is to immerse readers into your world, it‘s also exhausting on the brain so knowing when to zoom out and when to zoom in is a skill of its own.

 

[FrenzyWanderer]

Your chapter 8 is a better reading experience than chapter 1. I think I remember reading your first chapter 1 unedited and this edited one is also a better reading experience.

Whether it‘s over or under describing depends on the scene’s goal. If the scene is about sneaking past a bear, then over describing would be—focusing too much on the rock above in the cave, the small droplet hanging, almost falling, how many rocks there were.

Under describing would be—there was a bear sleeping.
Which again is not a bad sentence, it’s just that the whole point, the whole tension is the bear waking up. So describing its fur color when it rolls over, the claws scraping against the rock and the way it’s covering the exit, these make the scenes more immersive.

While the goal of writing is to immerse readers into your world, it‘s also exhausting on the brain so knowing when to zoom out and when to zoom in is a skill of its own.

Thank you, If I follow what I have done in chapter 08, It'll be ok, right?

 

[MFontana]

I'm a new writer and started writing recently, my previous chapters got criticized for not having enough descriptions. So I edited some and uploaded chapter 08, I think I found a flow...

Could someone please read till chapter 08 and tell me whether something improved

If so I can confidently maintain this level of writing for future chapters without a doubt

I refuse to level up! (Don’t ask about my sister’s opinion on this)

What would any normal person do after they isekai'ed to another world? Well that shouldn't even be a question. Grind up levels, become strong and conquer the world with overpowered cheat abilities. But Ren isn't that kind of 'Normal' What if he conquers the world without levelling up? without...

www.scribblehub.com

And also another question since I'm completely new. Is 600 views in 2 wks uploading with 9 total readers, is the story doing bad? or terrible? or ok?

I refuse to level up! (Don’t ask about my sister’s opinion on this)

What would any normal person do after they isekai'ed to another world? Well that shouldn't even be a question. Grind up levels, become strong and conquer the world with overpowered cheat abilities. But Ren isn't that kind of 'Normal' What if he conquers the world without levelling up? without...

www.scribblehub.com

To address the question asked in your topic. You are under-describing whenever it feels like you reasonably add more detail and description without breaking the pacing you intend to set for the scene.
There's no such thing as 'over-describing'. It's just a matter of context, framing, and execution. If your description serves a purpose for your narrative, then it belongs in your story. Sure, others will have different opinions on the matter. Let them. They're not the author though. You are, so your opinion on what is necessary or not, or what serves a purpose or not, is the only one that matters for your narrative.
A common viewpoint is that everything should serve the purpose of moving the narrative forward, but this isn't exactly the best way to address the issue.
A more apt way to look at it, is that everything in the story should exist to serve your authorial vision of the narrative you wish to tell.

 

[YukieSama]

Thank you, If I follow what I have done in chapter 08, It'll be ok, right?

Yes it'll be okay. But don't let it stop you from learning more about the craft and more on how to advertise your webnovel. For example you need more tags i.e cute children, doting older brother, younger sisters. Weak protagonist if the brother will stay weak. Every little bit helps as long as its not false.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

To address the question asked in your topic. You are under-describing whenever it feels like you reasonably add more detail and description without breaking the pacing you intend to set for the scene.
There's no such thing as 'over-describing'. It's just a matter of context, framing, and execution. If your description serves a purpose for your narrative, then it belongs in your story.

I take it you haven't read Wheel of Time books three through six?