Kathryn Schwille Isn’t Telling

By Paula Martinac

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Author Kathryn Schwille, who has been a member of the Charlotte Lit faculty for years, is back with us this April with a new class. Kathryn is the author of the acclaimed novel, What Luck, This Life (Hub City Press, 2018), which the Charlotte Observer called “nothing short of magnificent” and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution selected as one of the best Southern books of the year.

Kathryn’s short stories have appeared in New Letters, Memorious, Crazyhorse, Literary Hub and other journals, and have twice been cited for Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize. A recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council, she’s led fiction workshops for 20 years.

I asked her a few questions about her upcoming fiction writing class, “The Power of Implication: Or, We’re All Just Squirrels Here.”

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Implication is a topic that isn’t talked about as often as other craft techniques in fiction writing. What’s your pitch for implication?

Readers love to make leaps. Something in a story that’s implied, or understood but not directly expressed, requires a reader’s engagement. A story that spells out everything — this happened, she felt this, then that happened — is a passive experience, and not what most readers seek from fiction. One of my teachers used to write on my manuscripts: Bury this. What he meant was, I’d told too much. Dullsville.

Here’s a super simple use of implication: Mabel glanced over her shoulder. “Really?” By directing the reader’s eye – preparing the context — the writer eliminates the need for “Mabel said.” Similarly, instead of telling us the moon is shining as a character strolls the night, Chekhov tells us a bit of glass glinted in the road. Writers use implication to create under-the-surface moments of realization, imply changes in relationships, quietly move characters around a room, even imply past narratives. The list of possibilities is long and delicious.

In your own writing: Are you thinking about implication while you’re drafting? Or does it come into play more in revision?

For me, it’s both. It’s a terrific tool for revision, so we’ll talk about how to take advantage of it in later drafts. Context creates implications whether you intend them or not. Our task as writers — especially in revision — is to be fully conscious of those implications and how to exploit them.

Inquiring minds want to know: Are you going to talk about Hemingway in your class?

Hemingway’s story “Hills Like White Elephants” bursts with implication and subterranean stuff. We might talk about it, but we’ll concentrate on other examples, such as Edith Pearlman’s subtle piece, “Toy Story.”

In three words, what’s your teaching style?

I like discussions.