Leaving out a piece of information can change how a story is understood. Compare these examples.
- He stole from the supermarket. (What)
- He stole from the supermarket because he was malnourished. (What + Why)
- The malnourished man took food from the supermarket during the zombie apocalypse. (What + Why + When)
- In the zombie movie, filmed in Hollywood, a malnourished man stole food from the supermarket. (What + Why + When + Where)
- In the Hollywood zombie movie, newcomer Jim Smith plays the part of a malnourished man who steals food from a supermarket. (What + Why + When + Where + Who)
To tell a truthful story, we need all five Ws. Together, they show that the man is an actor in Hollywood and not a thief in the crime section of a local newspaper.
When part of a story goes missing, it can completely change its character.
What? + Why? + When? + Where? + Who? = Understanding
People appreciate it when these fundamental questions are answered early on in a text, especially when the subject is unfamiliar. The answers act as signposts for readers.
Of course, sometimes it’s better not to talk about causes, reasons, and motivations until later in a document. If a text is about a complex topic, answering the “Why?” may require detailed backstory and analysis.
It can be confusing if a piece of writing explains the why before it fully establishes the what, when, where, and who.
I’m sure many writers will agree that “Why?” is a very powerful question. When truth and falsehood matter, a failure to clearly explain causes, reasons, and motivations can change everything.
That’s why it’s often a good idea not to force a rushed explanation at the start of a document.
How a missing why changes the story
The other day, I blogged about a scene in a soap opera. A character called Colin rushed off to Thailand because his pregnant daughter had an accident there. Neighbours who didn’t know why Colin went gossiped that he was leaving his partner.
In real life, we do this all the time. We look at what has happened and then try to guess the causes. How kindly or nastily we speculate depends on our feelings!
If it’s vital that your readers understand the why of something, make sure to explain it clearly. Otherwise, they may fill in the gaps with their own ideas.
An editor’s viewpoint
As a non-literary editor, it’s my job to help writing perform efficiently. This usually involves thinking about the readers’ experience and whether they’ll lose their way in a document. In other words, will they understand it?
By answering the five fundamental Ws, the writer puts up content signposts for the reader.
Content signposting increases the chance that the reader will follow the argument and understand the message.
(Photo by T6 Adventures on Pexels.com)
TIDE and CANUTE 