How far is too far?

[Taneru]

It is far better to write what is needed to get the idea across and let the reader's imagination do the rest than to describe it in the untmost detail.

A story is not something that should be laid out in absolute detail, down to the exact number of hairs on your character's head.

You have to think: "Why am I writing this scene like I am? Do I need to go into gory detail of every blood vessel slowly leaking their contents across the deck, or can I assume my reader understands the concept of bleeding? When a bullet hits my character in the arm, do I really need to describe it tearing through muscle and flesh and clothing as it impacts, possibly shattering as it strikes bone and splits into fragments which burrow deeper into the flesh, or can I assume that my reader knows that when someone is shot, it hurts?"

Detail is nice and all, but unnecessary detail just drags the story down.

If the wound or whatever is intended to be a central plot point, something completely life-changing for that character or whatever, fine. That is a situation where you might want to go into heavy detail.

If it's just a small wound in the middle of a frantic battle scene, tons of detail can actually hinder your story drastically. If you have an action scene, people are going to want to find out what happens, not read about a knife cleaving through each and every muscle in someone's leg.

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Characters
Alan Markson: The Hellfire Legion's Lord Commander
The Perihelion: Freeport Four's guardian, and yet much more. Missing and assumed Lost with all hands.
Eric Dresmund: Junker, smuggler, thief. Last seen drunk on Beaumont
Vayrn Wyard: IMG Recon pilot turned Neo-Terran Captain. Last location unknown