The Unattributed The

I have a few ideas for tips/tricks on things I see most often in 450s. I'll post more when I have time. 

Meanwhile, here's one. 

Please note - I am completely willing to debate this at all levels. This is my opinion, and others will have theirs. 

Discussion? Yes please. 

--------------------------------

The Unattributed The

One of the things I see occasionally in a 450 (Not calling anyone out. I've been reading them for over a decade) is what I call the unattributed the. It's a the that doesn't yet have an introduction or grounding for the reader.

Sometimes an attribution isn't needed. The sun, for example. We all know what the sun is. However, there are often times where the reader doesn't yet have a visual.

Often, the solution is to switch the to a.

The picture hung on the wall. (What picture?) A picture hung on the wall. (Ah, doesn't matter what picture. There's a picture, let's move on.)

Here's a paragraph I made up.
Imagine if this is the start of a story:

The prince needed to get the missive to the king. He sped through the corridor, past the guards whose iron armor bristled at his passage, squealing on rusty hinges. They held spears that had never pierced an enemy. Torches flickered in the darkness. The prince ran. Eventually he reached the doors and knocked.

Perhaps if this paragraph shows up in the middle of a chapter we'll already know who the prince is, what missive he carries, and who/where the king is. Maybe we'll even be familiar with the corridors. I described the guards, so even though I started with a generic the guards I hope the image of them after negates the unattributed the (even so, maybe the description should be first. The iron clad guards, for example). Finally, we have the doors.

For me, despite the liberal use of the, that last one is the most offensive, the most jarring. That can't be fixed by switching the to a, so what's the solution? Usually an introduction to what the the is referring to.

Eventually he reached the doors to the royal chamber and knocked. 

To me, the the disappears in that sentence. I don't even see it because we know exactly where he is and we can imagine what the doors might look like. So even if in the first example I'd written, the ornate doors that still wouldn't have been enough. That's just adding an adjective. Perhaps adding ornate in the second example would be nice. 

Early story uses of the tend to need attributions, unless they are universally known.

Let's try another one:

The stars spread out before Mira. She had never seen so many! Looking through the window of the ship, she marveled at how they were a flat white, and not the sparkling rainbows she was familiar with when looking through the atmosphere. The alarm went off. The time for breakfast had arrived. She got up and walked from the room.

Whoa.

We know what stars are, so that's okay. The window? Maybe. The ship? Nope. Is she on a boat or a shuttle or the Enterprise? The next sentence puts us in space, so we're getting there. Wait, what alarm? Are they under attack? She's awake, so we can eliminate one alarm, but there are still so many... Oh, some kind of breakfast alarm. Fine. Now she walks from the room. What room?!?!?

My point is this: Have a look at your early paragraphs to see if you've got an unattributed the. Try reading aloud and saying THE with extra volume. This may help it to stand out. Then decide if a reader who is unfamiliar with the story (AKA the slushers/judges) will know what that the is referring to.