There’s never enough time or paper or ink or bandwidth to tell the entire story. Details must be left out. Entire scenes must be left out. What is included must be worth the time, energy, and expense on the part of the author as well as the reader.
A storyteller’s task is to write something worth reading. Which means leaving out content that is less potent or valuable.
The very best storytellers, the giants in literature, don’t merely write willy-nilly. Rather, they are exacting and cunning in their craft, choosing what to keep and what to cut with purpose and poise.
The fun part of being a reader is asking, “Why would the author include this? What’s the point? How does this fit into the whole? What’s the big picture that he or she is trying to get across?” Some authors make it more or less obvious than others. Which is also part of the fun.
I suspect that more people would find even the Bible more fascinating if they were taught to read it while wearing these glasses.
