Action in the white space - Part I

Over the course of the week, I'm going to be discussing writing in the white space. It's communicating a point without actually writing it. Writing between the lines...or not.

Sometimes as writers we worry that if we don't describe absolutely everything, our readers will be left confused but give your reader some credit. If your chapter started, "John scooped macaroni and cheese from the glass pan and plopped it on his plate", we as readers will assume it's dinner time (when) and that he's at home (where) not a restaurant and that he's not lactose intolerant...we gather a lot by action and the author didn't have to step in at all.

What are a few ways we can write action in the white space?

1) Show the outcome rather than describe the action...

"I won't let you hurt me again, John," she said.
He stepped closer. "What are you gonna do about it? You don't control me, I control you." He jabbed his finger into her chest.
"I have a gun, John, I do. Please, step back... step back, I say. I'm begging you, step back."
"Ha, you don't know how to use that gun, little girl. You don't even know --"
He looked down to his chest. The red spot grew on his paisley shirt.

So, I didn't describe the action of pulling the trigger but I described the result of the action. The reader will figure out she did know how to pull the trigger.

2) Let the reader settle disputes on his own or allow them to open Pandora's box ...

Although it is important to tie up many loose ends, not all of them need to be. I like watching the television show Bones. It's clear to me that Booth and Brennan feel a connection but they don't always agree. Booth is strong Catholic and Brennan... well, I don't know what she believes but it's closer to agnostic. On the show, they constantly debate the validity of their respective religions but the writers of the show never state what they feel is right or wrong. The viewers can make their own decisions.

A writer can do the same thing. We can write about controversial issues but it doesn't mean we have to answer all the universal questions. Let's say your book is about politics, your character is living in the United States and it's almost voting time. The writer gives the reader both sides of the debate - democrat or republican - the character debates internally, but at the end of the novel the character enters the voting booth and the story ends. Each reader can decide for themselves how the character voted.

Or, one character may be pregnant...she has many choices: keep the baby, abort, adopt or other. Throughout the book, the character debates but in the end, the reader does not know what happened. The reader can choose for themselves.

Not every box has to be opened, not every letter has to be read, not every answer has to be given.

Source: Brainstormer

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Great link: Patricia Stoltey at her blog listed Self-Editing steps... these are great links so check it out.

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