The White Space: Literary Special Effects
What’s in the white space is part of the writing, visible with your third eye.
Once, while on a film set, I watched the director give the actors some direction. Before they started rolling again, the script supervisor interrupted, flipping through her script pages of numbered scenes. “What scene is that? Where is that in the script?”
“It’s not in the script,” the director said. “It’s in the white space.”
Ever since then, I’ve paid special attention to the WHITE SPACE while writing and reading.
I’ll be using this WHITE SPACE to take you behind the scenes where we will interpret the mechanics of craft, read into information implicit in the text, and I’ll demonstrate ways YOU CAN DO IT IN YOUR OWN WRITING.
In this video
I’ll break down a passage from Amoralman, a memoir by Derek DelGaudio, focusing on examples of Literary Special Effects.
Derek DelGaudio is not only a wonderful writer but also a magician and card mechanic. He has a one-man show that's on Hulu called, “In and Of Itself,” which is really beautiful and also references his memoir, Amoralman.
When the Special Effects kick in during this excerpt from Amoralman (which I’ll break down in more detail on the video), the narrator maintains an awareness that something unusual is happening. It’s as if he’s inside and outside of his experience at the same time. The scene exaggerates into metaphor, allowing him to acknowledge what's really going on.
This passage that I'm going to read for you
on the video is near the end of the book. Some backstory: The narrator has taken a job from a guy named Leo who hired him to be a dealer at a private, high stakes poker game, which is completely rigged for the players to lose without them knowing it. There's going to be a reference to Leo who's in the poker game, and then also the other high roller poker players. His slang term for them is ‘donks.’
Throughout the book, DelGaudio references the concept of shadows from Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave, and shadows are the metaphorical imagery that shows up for him in this heightened scene.
While viewing the video
please note that I’ve color-coded what I consider literary Special Effects in BLUE, and then the grounding elements — what's actually happening — are in BLACK. RED is his inner commentary, as he notices something surreal is also happening.
To me, the most effective literary Special Effects illuminate a version of reality which enlightens and informs your narrator, offering the opportunity for a new decision.
Checklist for Literary Special Effects
Is there an opportunity to use literary Special Effects in your story?
Here’s what to consider:
Contains thematic elements introduced earlier in the story
Grounded in actual scene description
Empowers or reimagines mundane objects and elements
Stems from Narrator’s POV and emotional state
Emotions amplified in a way that may alter perception of time and space
Vivid depiction of an extended moment
Exclusive to narrator or POV character
Culminates in revelation or new decision
Your scene may not contain all these aspects, this is a guideline for working with this device. Give it a try!
Please share in the comments.
What are some examples of literary Special Effects you’ve read?
In what ways have you used — or are inspired to use — literary Special Effects in your own writing?