Writing Off The Page

I don't remember when I first heard the literary term, "writing off the page" but I know I read about it in an amazing book about writing called, "On Writing" by Stephen King. Writing off the page is the kind of writing that J.R.R Tolkien or J.K. Rawling does. The kind of writing that leaves you feeling that you are only invited to part of the story—that each page has more.

Readers are entranced by book written off the page. They long for more, more story, more of the world they were invited into, more...

It is rare to find a book or movie that leaves you feeling or wanting more. Most books or movies wrap everything up with a bow and send you off feeling great—closure. But, every once in a while you want to discover what is written off the page, the stories you don't hear or get to see. Sometimes, you finish and you want more.

I watched a movie today that did such that. I went to see, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" and around every bend of the movie I wanted more. I wanted to hear every characters story. I want to sit and just be with the main character. I wanted to hold the hand of the mother and catch her tears. I wanted to exchange notes with the man who was mute. I wanted more. I found myself entrance by the cinematography, the colors, the characters, and especially the story. (see more about my experience on my personal blog.)

If you can, become a writer that writes off the page. Create an entire world, village, school, home for your characters to live and breathe. Give them stories and friends and personality quirks that never make it into your book. It should be painful to cut out your pages from story you have created. When you are done there should be lots of scraps left over where you have written off the page.

Try it, Good luck!