Techniques to Write Effective Silences
Words are noisy. As a writer you want readers to read every word but are you giving your readers enough silence?
What do I mean by silences in writing?
Anything that makes the reader, or the character, or the action––slow––pause––stop.
Why are learning techniques to write effective silences important?
Just as in music, the silences or rests in writing are an integral part of the rhythm and meaning. They allow the writer’s words to resonate and the reader’s thoughts to form.
Use techniques to write effective silences and you will:
- build tension
- generate anticipation
- allow the reader a moment to ponder, recover
- provide a quiet counterpoint to the dramatic noise
- offer a metaphor for the silence of the grave
The savvy author must choose how, where, and when to write effective silences to advantage. The only way to evaluate the power of your silence is by reading your work aloud.
Every. Single. Line.
The techniques to write effective silences can be divided into:
- punctuation
- style and structure
- content
Punctuation
Let’s look at punctuation marks that create a silence from the shortest pause to the longest. The writer can consciously choose the length of pause needed.
The comma signals the reader to take a catch-breath, which may go almost unnoticed, but affects the rhythm and slows the pace. The writer can often choose when to use or lose a phrase that requires a comma.
The period when immediately followed by the next sentence is a brief full stop.
The em-dash is a longer pause, an abrupt cut off, or cut into the scene. An em-dash may set off a given phrase for special consideration.
In dialogue, the em-dash signals interrupted speech and generates tension. Speech interrupted by another speaker can signal conflict or urgency. Speech interrupted by action can signal surprise, danger, or mystery.
The ellipsis (…) can signal something has been intentionally left out, but more often, in fiction, it is a soft, fade-away pause in speech or thought.
Style and Structure
Sentence length determines the placement of periods and the resulting silences. Short sentences increase tension and speed pace. Long sentences generally set a more relaxed, contemplative mood and slower pace. There are exceptions to every rule. For instance, a repetitive, run-on sentence may convey panic.
Paragraph length requires and allows the reader to pause at the end of each paragraph. These silences affect pacing and readability.
Rhetorical devices should be studied by every writer. One excellent resource is the Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More lecture packet available at margielawson.com. Rhetorical devices amplify and add power to a manuscript, but also alter the rhythm and quality of the content.
The following examples are from my twelve-years-in-the-making debut novel, A Certain Man.
Consider how a simple adjective powers up the word silence.
- accusing silence
- eerie silence
- disciplined silence
Take each letter of the alphabet and quickly free-associate an adjective for silence. Some may seem far-fetched, but some may be fresh, never-read-before, and exactly right.
One of the simplest rhetorical devices is the use of alliteration.
- shimmering silence.
- superstitious silence.
- A secret simmered in the silence.
Silence can be amplified with alliteration and other RDs that contain well-placed repeated words. The growing silence felt heavy. Heavy with hate. Heavy with death.
For example, consider a rhetorical device called the period-infused sentence. Never, ever again. OR Never. Ever. Again.
Both sentences convey conflict, and neither is wrong, but the period-infused sentence adds more space and more silence.
White space creates silence. Creative white space allows the reader to breathe, to ponder, to digest. Consider the second sentence above. Never. Ever. Again.
Isn’t the impact even greater when the sentence is set apart by white space? And centered.
Never. Ever. Again.
Content
Rhetorical questions are not meant to be answered, but are used for dramatic effect, and to drive home a point. The unanswered question creates a silence for the reader to consider the issue that has been raised.
“Should a promise be broken when it becomes difficult to keep?”
Cliff hangers are a great technique to write effective silences. Cliff hangers are a mandatory silence at the end of a scene inflicted on the reader to create suspense and an undeniable urge to turn the page.
In this scene, Mara knows Samuel was attacked by three men. She has returned with help only to find his still body half-buried with loose soil.
Mara held her breath.
Silence. A far-flung silence. A silence clinging to a shred of hope.
A gasp broke the silence.
And her buried Beloved began to breathe.
Silence narratives may reveal the impact of the silence on the point-of-view character.
Jareb stood in his saddle. He pointed to Pil-i.“I will pay the price of seven slaves to any man, woman, or child who leads me to the killer who traded cloaks with him. This cloak belonged to the man who murdered my youngest brother.”
No one moved. No one spoke. Even the children were still. The accusing silence stretched.
It was not the peaceful silence of Sabbath rest. Not the dead silence of a sepulcher.
This silence teemed with temptation. The temptation of great wealth and great greed.
Men looked to their wives, their brothers, their mothers.
Samuel studied their faces, their stances.
He could almost hear the gold coins clink as they counted the reward in their heads.
But––there is another silence–– A creative silence–– A paralyzing silence.
A prolonged ––S-i-l-e-n-c-e-.
WRITER’S BLOCK.
What then?
What techniques to write silences did you notice in this blog post?
Please remember to comment below.
Author Bio:
Linda Dindzans, M.D. is a writer with the heart of a healer who offers readers stories of redemption and restoration. Though her compelling characters inhabit the treacherous times of the Bible, Linda believes there is nothing new under the sun. The struggles of her characters still speak to hearts today. Only a profound encounter with the Son transforms her characters from victims to victors.
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