Ignore The Man In Black

There is an interesting phenomenon in theatre: stage hands (people who do work like changing sets) wear all black and are understood to be invisible.

The black outfit does make it hard to see them, but not impossible. Despite that, though, we understand that they are not "part of the show" and so we let them do their job and allow ourselves to forget that they're their.

Sometimes, as a reader, I feel like I am ignoring the man in black. I can see certain things being set up and moving around. I can recognize important events or lines being set up, but I try to let it go. I want to ignore the man in black setting the stage for the show to occur.

As a writer, I find myself wanting to wrap the man in as much black as possible. I want it to be impossible to see which things are important and which are just vibrant description. I want them to just go along for the ride.

A good reader will ignore the man in black. A good writer will make the man invisible.