Writers use details to make stories come alive

During a recent staff meeting, I talked with my writers about showing and not telling, and I blogged an example here. 

What I sometimes find is that writers observe/record details but that's where they stop. They don't ask questions about what it is they've observed. But by asking questions, a writer goes a step further and the answers provide rich detail that help tell the story.
 
He's an example, let's suppose:

A reporter interviewed a subject on the fringe of society. They met in the person's sparse living area.The reporter could hear his boss (that's me) in his ear, telling him to pay attention to details and jot everything down. So he did. When the reporter returned to the office, he shared what he had found.


1. The person has an old looking TV set with rabbit ears.
2. A ratty pastel quilt covered the couch
3. A hotpot and an electric popcorn maker sat on the floor next to an outlet
4.  A Bible sat on the end table

The reporter was happy. He thought he had done well, and he had. But, I told him, you can do better. Let's look at each one of these details and see what we might possibly find if we ask a question about the observation.

Writing exercise

Let's do another show don't tell exercise. In an earlier post, I asked you to tell us something about a character by showing something in his or her home. If you haven't done this and want to, I would love to see what you come up with.
This time, I want you to tell us something about a character by describing either what's inside her purse or what's inside his wallet. Have fun.