Too Hard To Keep

Years ago, a friend sent me something compelling. 

“Look,” she said. 

I clicked the link.

“What’s this?” I said. 

“Too Hard To Keep,” she said. “It’s a photo blog.”

My own Too Hard To Keep photo.

I began scrolling. Some pictures were wholesome and happy and sweet. Some were the opposite of those things, contaminated and dirty, disturbing. Some were very sad. They were all very personal. 

“People send this guy pictures they can’t look at anymore,” she said. “And he posts them.” 

“No backstory?” I said.

“No,” she said. “No context.”

I scrolled some more. “Guess you’re supposed to use your imagination.”

“Yeh,” she said.

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Years later, I still browse Too Hard To Keep. 

As a copywriter, a storyteller, it’s good practice, assigning anonymous pictures a narrative, giving them life.

And it’s a good reminder to respect The Reader’s imagination, her innate ability to fill in the blanks when and where necessary. 

Our brains, after all, are designed to extrapolate a pair of dots glowing in the dark. Or a noise in the night. Our imagination is an evolutionary asset, baked into us, intended to protect us. Using your imagination is a natural, automatic, ultra-satisfying behavior. 

So go ahead, Copywriter, withhold some details, give The Reader something to fill in. 

When you’re telling a story, it’s OK not to tell the whole story.

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