The Art of Narrative Omission: Engaging Readers through Negative Space
The human brain is wired for completion. Show it the right shapes and it will conjure a sphere from nothing. Fiction works on exactly the same principle. In this piece I walk through the four elements where omission does the most work: action, information, motivation, and interiority.
Show, Don’t Tell Disambiguation
What’s at the root of the “Show, Don’t Tell” concept, what does showing look like, and how might people abuse showing? An exploration of this oft-cited piece of writing advice.
The Pitfalls of Emotional Body Language in Your Writing
Physical expressions of emotion can be problematic, even though they’re justified by the “Show, don’t tell” mandate. But there are often better, more artful ways to give us insights into the interiority of your POV characters.
Formatting Character Thoughts
Is it better to format character thoughts with quote marks or italics? I say neither. No special formatting is necessary to signify character thinking. You just need some solid narration.
Should You Use Dialogue Tags Other Than “Said”?
Should you use synonyms for “said”? Some writing advice claims “said is dead”; others look disparagingly upon “saidisms,” the fancier cousins of “said.” Here’s the rule of thumb.