Fill in the Blanks

Somewhere along the way, we make a conscious decision about how much we're going to tell our readers. We don't want to tell them too much, but we don't want them filling in the blanks incorrectly either. It isn't necessary to be obvious, but we don't want our readers to be oblivious to our intent.

We have to strike a balance. If we give our reader some room to fill in a few blanks, we are able to draw the reader into the story. This is a good thing. It is sometimes enough to have our readers be admiring of our work. It is better to draw them into our work as if they share the experience with our characters.

For entertainment value, we provide enough detail to get our point across. For real enjoyment, we want to suck our reader into the story. Since the written word is seldom interactive, we do this by giving our readers prompts. We describe a characters outfit and demeanor but not necessarily what they look like. We allude to parts of the setting. And we leave our reader hungry for more.

How many times have you finished a book and wanted another chapter so you could find out what happens after the end? This is what we aim for in our writing.