A Bummer of a Text Exchange Yielded This Neat Editing Trick
Understanding how space is allocated will tighten up your story
“How’s it going with that new person you’ve been seeing?” my friend asked a while back. “What’s it been, like three dates now?”
“Yeah…OK, I think?”
He asked to glance at the text conversation and scrolled up a few times with his thumb.
“You’re not even reading it!” I said.
But that wasn’t what he was looking for.
“Lot of blue here,” he said ominously. “Not much grey.”
After stifling a series of chuckles (poorly), my friend pointed out that the size and frequency of the color bubbles can reveal as much as the text that’s in them. They can be a barometer of who’s busier, who’s more attuned to their phone, or most importantly: who seems more interested. (Not always a meaningful barometer, surely.)
Despite the deflating analysis, it occurred to me that the same principle is useful for writers, and one I’ve since added to my toolbelt. The next time you’re editing, look at what’s taking up physical space in your story. Has a secondary character sprouted so many side-plots that they’re competing with the main narrative? Is lengthy description slowing down a dramatic…
