Writing

Your Writing’s Probably Not Flat It’s Simply Non-Perpendicular

Horizontal Perspectives

First things first. I almost failed Geometry when I was in high school, but since Google and I go back a bit (think 1998 back), I was able to “reinforce” my study of perpendicular angles. You know, the relationship of two lines whereby joining in such a way they create a right angle? Yeah, that perpendicular angle.

Interesting. I didn’t even know those two lines were dating much less joining.

Another exciting thing about perpendicular lines is that if one line is horizontal (yeah, I’m writing erotica now) and the other line is perpendicular and on top (stop it with your dirty minds), the upright line is standing straight and tall.

No, dammit, I’m not talking about an erection. Get your brains out of that gutter. I’m talking about the upright line being considered perpendicular to the horizontal line.

In other words, it stands out.

For most people, their attention is immediately drawn to the perpendicular line. Why? Because it stands out, or in this case up. Most times, we interpret the horizontal line as the base — (uh) — line (pardon the pun) and the perpendicular line as the metric. The metrics are what tells you the story. How good you’re doing (or not).

Think of this when you write your stories. Are you focusing too much on the baseline of the story? Are you spending almost all of your storytime world-building, or providing a ton of back, middle or even end story information that is boring your reader to either a quick death or a hard stop on reading anything else you’ve written?

If you aren’t giving the reader something to hold onto, something which resonates with them, something they can become attached to, then it’s a safe bet your story may not necessarily be flat, and it’s probably not a complete collection of tripe.

It’s merely horizontal. It’s non-perpendicular.

Full of a litany of information that isn’t connected to any perpendicular actionable situation or character. No hills or mountains. No twists and turns. Just a long, horizontally flat trail of words that disappears into the sunset.

Right along with your reader.

Writing perpendicular and joining it with the horizontal base is a lot like a huckster whose job it is to sell a thousand bottles of Dr. Dave’s Magical Elixer. How many people are going to stop and purchase a bottle if you the writer (the huckster) speak in a long-winded monotone, never one time raising your voice to excite a crowd that seems never to materialize?

In my neck of the woods (yeah maybe it’s the ass) we call that trying to sell the steak, but not the sizzle.

Like I said earlier, maybe your writing isn’t flat. Perhaps it’s merely horizontal because that’s all you put into your story. A humongous stream of baseline with no perpendiculars.

Every story you write needs to have its share of perpendicular characters or moments. Parts, or characters that stand out, that force the reader to take notice. Doesn’t matter whether the readers hate the part or despise the character, love it, or them, or feel empathetic toward the situation or the character. When you write your perpendiculars, the reader needs to take note of them.

The steak without the sizzle is just a plain old hunk of raw meat. A Vegan’s Kryptonite. Your readers know what a piece of meat looks like. They’ve been inundated with raw improperly cooked stories tossed their way thousands of times.

They want and deserve the sizzle. They crave perpendicular after perpendicular along with your horizontal story baseline. The worst disservice you can do to your reader is to provide them nothing but a geometrically horizontal story.

But keep this in mind. You can’t create perpendicular lines in your story if you don’t have a solid baseline. If you don’t have a well-written horizontal base. Remember? The two lines have to join to create that ninety-degree angle of perfection, which blends the core of the story with the actionable moment or character.

Do the math (no, I meant this pun) and study your geometric writing. Yes, baselines are necessary. There must always be a steady, horizontal feeling to your stories, but without perpendiculars that’s all you’ll have. A horizontal mosh pit of words.

No joining lines (them sexy devils), no right angles (probably a bunch of wrong angles), and a long road that rambles on until it falls off the edge of the Earth.

Because everyone knows the Earth is, uh, horizontal right?

Okay, I almost failed Earth Sciences too.

Thank you so much for reading. You didn’t have to, but I’m certainly glad you did.

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© P.G. Barnett, 2020. All Rights Reserved.