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Chapter 2: Enabling Observation for the Reader

 

Abstract Nuances

      Word Choice Revisited

      Suggestion/Implication

      Employing Person-to-Person Imagination: Negative Capability

 

We explore in greater detail concepts that are introduced in the first two books in the Thorough Primer Series for Writers: Punctuation for Writers and Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction. To enable the reader to observe as the writer has observed, the writer must be deliberate in her use of the physical nuances of her language—punctuation, choice and juxtaposition of words and phrases, paragraph construction and length, sentence construction and length, and even the sounds of individual words and letters—deliberate in that she must have a preconceived notion of how her use of those nuances will affect the reader. The writer learns in great detail that everything she puts on paper affects the reader and therefore contains the potential for wielding power over the reader.

 

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In this chapter, we delve directly into the heart of writing — how to create an intimate connection with the reader. If you fail in that endeavor, it doesn’t matter how wonderful your mother thinks your manuscript is or how hard you or your agent or publisher works to promote it. The final judge is the reader. If you give the reader something of value — if you make that intimate connection — she will be back to read more of your work. And if you don’t, she won’t.

 

When you endeavor to create an intimate connection with anyone, you must make that person understand, in a subtle way, that you care about him or her. Creating an intimate connection with the reader is different only in scope and limitation. The reader can’t hear the intonation of sincerity in your voice or observe your facial expressions or body language. You have only the written word to convey your message. Creating an intimate connection with the reader means using the nuances of the language to tie yourself to your work, and tie your work to the reader.

 

All writers know the basics. We all know how to use various lines, arcs, and circles to form letters. We all know the basic rules of punctuation, or where to look them up. We all can pretty well tell whether a sentence makes grammatical sense or whether it’s missing something, although we don’t often know what that something is. But that isn’t enough. It’s the nuances of writing that color your prose and your verse. It’s the nuances of punctuation that direct the reading of your work. It is the nuances of narrative and dialogue that create a certain mood and hook the reader. And it is those same nuances that enable you to bring your vision to the reader with a clarity that cannot be matched by those who do not pay attention to the nuances.

 

The nuances of the language are both physical and abstract, and they affect both the eye-brain connection and the emotion-brain connection. I talked about them at some length in the first two book of the Thorough Primer Series for Writers — Punctuation for Writers and Writing Realistic Dialogue & Flash Fiction (Central Ave Press, 2003 & 2004, respectively). In this chapter, I will provide a refresher and then explore them in greater detail.

 

Perhaps most important among the abstract nuances are the writer’s use of implication and suggestion; her necessary, implicit trust of the reader; and the value of “person-to-person imagination,” what John Keats called negative capability. First, let’s get the mechanics out of the way with a discussion of the physical nuances.

 

Physical Nuances

 

 

 

Punctuation

 

 

 

Phrase Choice

 

 

 

Sentence Construction & Length

 

 

 

Word Choice & Juxtaposition

 

 

 

Harsh/Hard and Soft Letters & Words

 

 

 

Employing Person-to-Person Imagination: Negative Capability

 

To practice negative capability, you’ll have to work… hard. If you can write convincingly from the perspective of your opposite, you can write from any perspective. Since we’re talking about negative capability, it seems only natural to use a metaphor: we might say the opposite of a photo is its negative. If the photo wrote a story convincingly from the perspective of its negative, that would be the ultimate in practicing negative capability. If you’d prefer to bring it back to human terms, try the gender switch. If you’re a man, write a story convincingly from a female perspective. If you’re a woman, write a story convincingly from a male perspective. You’ll notice the key word here is convincingly. If your story isn’t convincing, try it again… and again… and again. Once you get it right, writing a story convincingly from the perspective of your neighbor or a cop or a burglar or the guy who runs the local convenience store will be a snap.

 

But how to know whether your story is convincing? If you’re a man, create a female pseudonym and submit the story to a magazine that prefers stories written by women, or submit it to a critique group for a “friend.” If you’re a woman… well, you get the point.