You have to admire songwriters. What we – writers of stories – do in three hundred pages, they achieve in three verses. It is the perfect example of something I work hard to achieve, and occasionally do: Economy of Words.
We really should pay closer attention to the songs around us. How do they do it? Ah but, you say, they have the added advantage of using the music to emphasize their words, and this is true enough. Sure, you get songs that sound happy until you listen closely and realize they are about death or heartache, just as some tunes fill you with melancholy although the words express the joys of love. But for the most part the music evokes emotions suited to the lyrics.
As story-writers we may not have music, but we can captivate our readers through action, dialogue and pricking at the senses through carefully chosen words. But therein lies the secret:
Never use twenty words if ten will suffice.
I am not suggesting that we all toss over novel-writing in favour of song-writing. Novels have their place in the world just as music has its place. Neither can replace the other, nor should they. But having just read a novel that droned on and on with dreary, pointless chit-chat that served no purpose, and repeated the same ideas over and over just in different words, I feel it is my duty as a reader and a writer to offer up my suggestion to anyone wishing to entertain others with their words.
Allow the reader to figure things out for themselves. If they were clever enough to learn how to read, they are more than likely clever enough to understand what is left unsaid. Some things are best left open to interpretation. Let your readers relate your words to their own lives and experiences.
It seems to work for the songwriters.
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