Or, the Synaptic Theory of Composition. John Dufresne writes about this in his great book, The Lie That Tells A Truth. He asks,

“How do you prevent the reader from being a passive observer? I think you do it by what you don’t show.”

Dufresne reminds us that Hemingway believed that the best stories had the most left out.

Whatever we leave out as writers, our readers will fill with their own imagination giving them a vested interest in a story they are subtly helping to create as their imagination adds color and depth to scene and settings.

So much for overwriting. (What did Strunk & White say about needless words?) I have more to say about this, but I won’t, if you know what I mean?