Yes, we need white space

Jerry Bellune

Jun 1, 2023

In a black and white movie, you want shadow and light.

In a color movie, you want vibrant colors.

Without these, they would be unwatchable movies.

The same is true of your own writing — and reading.

You want short words, short sentences, short paragraphs.

This builds white space into your prose.

This might not be surgery, but in some ways it is.

Cancer surgeons aim to remove diseased — not healthy — tissue.

We aim to rewrite and cut unneeded words and sentences.

We want to eliminate the clutter.

Give our readers muscular prose.

It's true of advertising, letters, business proposals.

Even letters to Mom.

Short words, sentences and paragraphs.

You would not write 50-word sentences to Mom.

Mom would have trouble reading your letter.

In a letter to Mom, you want to tell her what happened.

You might write to ask for money or to send her some.

You might tell her about her grandkids’ mischievous ways.

You might joke by asking if she’s picked up any men lately.

Earnest Hemingway won a bet to write a short story in six words.

He won by writing: Baby shoes for sale, never worn.

In this somewhat stilted example, you’ll see what I mean:

Man bites dog. Man arrested. Dog rushed to veterinarian.

You get the idea.

Your other readers want to know what’s in it for them.

Don’t make them wade through a dark forest.

Lead your readers into a sunny meadow smelling of clover.

Next: The stories within the stories

Jerry Bellune is a writing coach and author of “The Art of Compelling Writing, Volume 1.” Coaching your writers (and editors) takes time you may not have. An option is to order copies for them of my book, The Art of Compelling Writing, now available for $9.99 at Amazon.com