How whitespace affects reading

cj Sez: Since Halloween is only a couple of days away, here’syour next book to read:

  Perfect for the upcoming holiday: HALLOWEEN PIECES . . . Ananthology of 18 pieces of work by 17 authors

A short paranormal story I’m kind of proud of, “Once in aBlue Moon,” is included in this fourth installment of the Mobile WritersGuild anthology PIECES series. Paperback and ebook available. Kindle is $1.99.

 

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  Searching my archives for blog ideas, I came across this 2020post by Ellen Buikema on the Writers in the Storm blog. I am a big fan/followerof the concept for all of my writing and believe it’s worthy of sharing. Grantedmy excerpt from her post is directed more to formatters and self-publishers, butthe entire post speaks to presentations, too, whether as an author at aconference or in the business world conference rooms.
  Since creating presentations for senior management was partof my career in the automotive industry, I would add that for visual presentationsdon’t use small, thin, script fonts (need 20 point or greater) and don’t use pastelcolors for text or graphs. They’re almost invisible to anyone beyond the firstrow of your audience. 
  Read the full post by clicking on the link for Ellen’spost below.
Ellen Buikema wrote:
Like a pause in a song, white space can help create drama,emotion, a bit of quiet before a storm of words.
White space is the canvas where we paint our words.
Writers can affect readers with the use of white space in severalways.

1. White space draws the reader’s attentionto the words on the page, makes the print easier to read, and improvescomprehension.
2. Space on the page makes finding where the reader left offreading quick and easy.
3. Kerning, the space between letters, can change the lookof the print and add meaning. Just as using all capitals can be interpreted asyelling, extra space between letters may emphasize speaking words slowly. “Youneed to s  l  o  w  down.”  (cj Sez…Personally, I’d use this only in advertisingand poetry.)
4. The use of white space at the beginning and ending ofchapters gives the reader a visual break. Some writers and formatters choose tobegin a new chapter halfway down the page. Others like to start all chapters onthe right-hand side of the book for physical copies. A new chapter beginning onthe same page as the previous chapter looks like a formatting error.
5. Line spacing may be adjusted to fit next to or around aphoto or illustration, or from left to right margin across the page. Avoiding aline with the final word of a sentence dangling all by its lonesome self on thefollowing page is a good thing and can be done using line spacing as well askerning.
6. Blank pages are helpful in the case of an anthology ofshort stories, particularly if the spacing and word count send the ending ofone story onto the right-hand page. A blank side gives the reader emotionalspace to regroup for the next tale.
Ways to create white space: 1. The use of images surrounded by a margin of space:illustrations, icons, graphs, photos, all give the reader a brief rest and letthe mind focus on something different.
2. Bullet points and numbered lists make reading quicker,scan-able.
3. Variable sentence lengths make for more pleasurablereading. Too many long sentences in a row create blocky text. If you pause andgo back to a big block of text. it is really difficult to find one’s place.
4. Use shorter paragraphs. 
( Source: https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/03/white-space-in-writing/)
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  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on,and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you.
cj
Now a note from my sponsors:

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  The books are available on Amazon or through your favoriteeTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free fromHoopla.
  Little note: When you shop The Haunted Book Shop, I can drop in and sign copiesof my books for you. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in herown right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you any book(s) byany author of your choice.
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