Griffith Writing Tip #9 Location location location

Choosing the right location is a good idea for restaurants and motels, but amateur writers often get overly involved in describing where every event in the story takes place.

I remember editing a sci fi book a few years ago that did that. The characters' location and movements from one place to the next were always described in detail. For example—

Charles stood by the door and said, ...
Michelle sat in the chair opposite Paul and announced ...
After saying that, Fred stood up and walked to the exit.

I'm not saying you should never tell where people are as they carry out various roles in your story. Just don't talk about it so much that it begins to become an obsession. As with everything else in your book, especially if it is fiction, every description must support the theme of the book. If the character who is speaking is arrogant or sassy, then describing how he was standing by the door could be effective. For example—

Charles stuffed his hands in his front pockets, stabbed at the floor with one foot, and said....

This sentence has a chance of contributing to a character description.

In summary: Don't include details about a character standing, sitting, or lying in a certain place unless the location is crucial to the action.