If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them. The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.
Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon
One of my weaknesses as a writer is that I have a tendency, which I constantly have to fight, to spell out things that readers could fill in for themselves. This comes from a fear of not being understood. (I think this fear originates in childhood and probably has a great deal to do with why I write at all). Of course readers do not always latch on to what I mean to say, which feeds into that fear, but this is inevitable. Authors can’t control what readers take from their books, just as we can’t control what other people make of us in real life.
But the second part of this quote -it comes, I must admit, from a book I’ve never read- is also interesting. You can omit things which you know, and the reader will still sense their presence, but if you omit things you don’t know this makes ‘hollow places’ in your writing.
The way I have always put this is that a reader does not need to be shown everything in order for the fictional world to come alive for her, but she does need to feel that the story-teller understands the fictional world, and could answer the questions that are left unanswered. Otherwise there really is a feeling of hollowness. The very best stories never feel hollow in that way (of the books I’ve read recently, Hangover Square is, for me, a good example). A lot of good stories are flawed but not ruined by hollownesses (A Hair Divides falls into that category). Some stories feel to me so hollow as to be not worth reading.
The things that are known but can be left unsaid…..these are the things which both the writer and the reader regard as givens, these assumptions make them into pals, companions. Feel good factor. Surely you would rather go for a walk in the unknown woods with a friend than a weirdo? The “ let’s pretend “ game is a test of friendship and a gateway to another to another person’s imagination, the essence of storytelling.
But I am a weirdo, Sanjoy, and my favourite writers are all weirdos! I don’t want readers to assume I share their prejudices! What I wouldn’t want to do is go for a walk with someone who treats me like an idiot, and if you overexplain things it can come over that way. (On the other hand I also don’t like smart-alec writers who seem to want to make me feel like an idiot, by not explaining things enough.)