Flannery O’Connor and the Concrete

The Visible World

I’ve been revisiting the essays of Flannery O’Connor, who famously argued that the fiction writer must be “obsessed with the concrete.” She had no patience for writers who tried to describe “God” or “Love” without first describing the dust on a character’s shoes or the smell of a particular kitchen.

It is a grounding philosophy. The deeper the abstract truth you want to convey, the more physical your details must be. If you want the reader to feel the weight of a character’s grief, don’t name the grief—describe the cold, heavy handle of the suitcase they are carrying.

The Monroe Minute
Describe a character’s “hope” or “fear” using only a physical object they are holding or touching.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.