Craft Wednesday #19 Words As the Frame

This blog needed a place for talking about writing. "Craft Wednesday" will be me talking about all things writing: how to write, why to write, and my own craft journey. I hope to learn and to share experiences with you.  

Words As the Frame
OR

A Word on Wordless Communication Modes in Writing

    Sometimes words do not say everything; that is fine, because words work together with other modes to bring the meaning as close to the surface as possible. Consider words the frame for what is inside.

   Spoken words are accompanied by gestures, facial expressions, and tone and inflection of voice.Written words also have the potential to show the intended meaning of words through parts of speech appropriate to the situation, such as adjectives and adverbs, and the structuring of larger units, for example sentences, paragraphs, and even whole writing pieces.

   Believe it or not, both of these methods of communication involve body language. In verbal communication the body language may be obvious, at least to those able to infer what these signs mean: a raised chin, a lifted eyebrow, a shake of the head, a furrowed brow. However, written words can spell out actions and behaviors, as well as voiced and internal thoughts, in black and white.

   

"I can't seem to sleep," Rosanne said. She buried her face into Peter's shirt pocket, tracing the shape of the pierced bottle cap with her nose.

"I know," Peter said. His arms enveloped her shoulders, feeling the goosebumps rising on her arms. "I know."

   This corny scene was written from the top of this blogger's head. The spoken words written down are basic and reveal only what each character wants to share. Meanwhile, the written words describing the scene reveal something else about the scene. How much is revealed depends on the skill of the writer to share a vision, the ability of a reader to interpret wordless language, and some other, esoteric factors that cannot be taught but must be known.

    The small scene written above is one poor example of a good concept; that is, of how written words can reveal more than what is said, touching on what is seen or thought by an observer.