A Well Dressed Story

When I was in middle school, the administration finally approved girls being able to wear pants.  There was a freedom in being able to choose on a chilly winter day whether to pull on a pair of blue jeans or bundle up in a dress.  But unfortunately there was a difference between being in style and looking ridiculous.  My time came one day when my mother decided to purchase my first pair of blue jeans.  Her heart was in the right place.  She was trying to help me blend in.  What she didn't take into account was the fact there was a thin line between acceptable fashion and being the brunt of ridicule.  I knew the moment I put on those blue jeans with the wide stripe of tartan circling the bottom of each leg that it would not go over well with my peers at school.  

Thinking about that time in my life feels a lot like when I returned to my writing almost three years ago.  What style would I bring to my writing?  Do I simply throw things together and hope for the best?  Ignore the fact that a poorly dressed story would only be the subject of an agent's or publisher's ridicule?  If I want to make the right impression, don't I need to know what makes up a well dressed story?

The other thing I need to be careful of is overdressing my story.  Too much description, too much telling and not enough showing will surely drown my character and doom them to the slush pile.   Like keeping up with the latest fashions, a good writer makes sure they keep up with the rules and expectations of the industry.  Attending workshops, joining critique groups, participating in writing conferences are just some of the ways new and established writers make sure they know how a well dressed story should look...stylish but not ridiculous...