In writing, a “play-by-play” happens when the author simply follows the character around while the character does unimportant things, like get dressed, eat, and do homework. It’s like getting a narrative version of the character’s schedule. For example:

Jared woke up and took a shower, thinking about the last baseball game he watched until the water turned cold. In the kitchen, he made waffles and eggs for breakfast, while the rest of the household slept. Then, he went to the grocery store to pick up some deli meats for lunch later. He and John were planning on a hike that afternoon, so Jared also gassed up–it was a bit of a drive to get to the trailhead. Back at home he unloaded the dishwasher and emptied the trash. He decided to watch another game to pass the time. John called to make sure they were still hiking, because he’d heard it might rain. Jared said he was still up for it. They decided to leave earlier.

To be honest, I’m not sure at this point if I came up with the term “play-by-play” or if I heard it somewhere. I could only find two sources that use the term, and my usage predates those sources by a lot . . . though I’ve never done a post exclusively on the topic. Some of my clients also now use the term.

But in any case, can you see or sense a problem here? This isn’t story. It’s lazy writing. So let’s get into why such passages are problematic (and then when they aren’t).