Would this annoy you?

seun · Jul 31, 2007

I've noticed in some of my fiction (particularly my short stories) I don't explain everything. I'm not talking about spoon-feeding a potential audience every little bit of info; more having characters in strange or uncomfortable situations and their efforts to get out of it or simply survive rather than saying why the situation has occured.

So if you read a book that leaves questions unanswered, are you OK with it or do you want total closure after the last page?

kristie911 · Jul 31, 2007

I like a fair amount of information. I'm far more forgiving in short fiction though. If a character is in a situation, I don't necessarily HAVE to know how they got there and why, because it's short fiction, I expect a there will be some unknowns to the situation. It's okay to leave some unanswered questions, but in long fiction (novels), I want a lot more information on the characters. If they have a phobia, I want to know why. If they're in a situation, I want to know why, where did it start, how did they get there? I'm not nearly as forgiving when I read a novel. Maybe because I'm stuck with a character much longer, so I need to know more about them, or I'm less likely to empathize and stick with them.

Azraelsbane · Jul 31, 2007

It depends. Short stories seem to be a much more open arena for completely leaving things out. That's why I don't crit short stories much anymore, because I don't like it when things are going on and I'm missing tons of info. Some is fine, after all, I do like to use my brain once in awhile, but I've read so many short stories that left nearly every aspect a ?, and when I mentioned it in my crit I always got "Well I meant to leave that out."

In my opinion, when the author leaves out something critical to the story, there should be a thought-provoking reason. It seems short stories don't follow that, and heck, maybe I'm talkin' out my ass and nothing follows that. It's just my opinion.

If it's a really crazy situation that would seem nearly impossible to be in, I would want a little bit of explanation fit somewhere in the story. Not info dumped, of course, but at least hinted at somewhere. If it's not a spectacular situation, then I don't see the need to explain it.

seun · Jul 31, 2007

I think I do it because in mystery or fantasy, I like to use my imagination and fill in any blanks myself. If you've read King's short story The Mist, you'll know what I mean.

Danger Jane · Jul 31, 2007

I'm not exactly sure. I guess if it was really well-done, it wouldn't bother me, like everything.

I think it would work better in a short novel than in a long one. If it's going to be long, I want a couple details.

Maybe you can reveal it in a really subtle way so that it's almost like you haven't revealed the backstory--but you have.

RRK · Jul 31, 2007

I agree with Azraelsbane that any omissions that the reader might notice and wonder about should have a thought-provoking reason. Like, if you want to force the reader to wonder about a character, or to have to try to think for themselves what would happen at the very end...but don't leave things hanging unless there's a good reason for it, since the reader might not be able to tell what they should be thinking deeply about and what is just a casual omission.

Celia Cyanide · Jul 31, 2007

No, not at all. I think it's one of those things that annoys some people and not others. But I certainly don't think it's a negative quality to your writing. Just that some people won't like it. But that goes for everything.

Soccer Mom · Jul 31, 2007

seun said:
I think I do it because in mystery or fantasy, I like to use my imagination and fill in any blanks myself. If you've read King's short story The Mist, you'll know what I mean.

Sure. I don't mind some things being unexplained. Taking your example, it doesn't bother me to never find out WHY the mist came or HOW the mist came. Sometimes in life you have to deal with situations and never know how they happened or why, so it can work in a story as well.

Julie Worth · Jul 31, 2007

I always leave a few loose ends. I do this on purpose, because I hate books that try to explain everything. Life isn't like that, even in fiction.

Will Lavender · Jul 31, 2007

There are times when the author shouldn't explain everything. If King would've tried to explain the fog in "The Mist," it would've been futile. First, the thing defies scientific explanation; and second, the story has more in common with a supernatural tale than it does sci-fi.

There are other times when the oddity needs to be explained so that the reader is not simply confused. If you explain things and give them a reason for being, the reader may have more of a stake in your characters' well-being. This is going to be a weird example, but in Michael Bay's Transformers (which I enjoyed), the screenwriter chose to explain the history of the Transformers in a pretty specific way. I thought it was interesting, even though the science of course was ridiculous.

So, like everything else, I guess it depends on what sort of story you're writing.

King believed with most of his early stories that there should be little explanation as to why the events were taking place. The thing about King, though, is that he's a master with characters. You can get away with almost anything if your characters are deftly sketched.

JoNightshade · Jul 31, 2007

I agree with those who say it's fine in short stories, less fine in novels. I mean, novels are long because you're supposed to say everything you mean to say. Short stories... yeah, short stories can be pretty much anything. It's an entirely different art form.

maestrowork · Jul 31, 2007

seun said:
I've noticed in some of my fiction (particularly my short stories) I don't explain everything. I'm not talking about spoon-feeding a potential audience every little bit of info; more having characters in strange or uncomfortable situations and their efforts to get out of it or simply survive rather than saying why the situation has occured.

So if you read a book that leaves questions unanswered, are you OK with it or do you want total closure after the last page?

Again, the standard answer: it depends.

Does the lack of information hinder the story in any way? Do the readers need to know? How much info do you need -- are you going to have a full back story?

I think eventually people will want to know how they got there in the first place -- think of a show like Lost. It's wonderful and suspenseful to put the character in media res and not explain everything, but eventually, your readers will demand to know. The more mysterious the origin of the situation, the more they would eventually want to know the answer (another example comes to mind: The X-Files).

Now, it doesn't mean everything has to be explained. If the people are trying to escape a fire... I think it's okay if you don't explain how the fire got started. Like life, a lot of things don't have to be explained. It just is. As long as not knowing the info doesn't affect the story, I think it's fine. But if the background of the situation is important, then I think the readers deserve the answer. But you still have to decide what kind of details you need for your story. For example, in the movie Sunshine, we need to know why the astronauts are going to the Sun... but we don't need to know how they each individually got selected and they back story and all that -- they may be relevant to the characters, but they are not relevant to the story -- but the back story of Icarus I (the previous ship sent to the Sun) is important because it's the integral part of the story, so we need to eventually know what happened.

ZannaPerry · Jul 31, 2007

This is actually perfect timing because my mom and I were talking about some upcoming books that I can't wait to come out and she told me about this one she read that she literally chucked across the room because it left everything a cliffhanger. Why the MC had a baby then gave it up? Why happened to the events leading up to her rape, and how she truly felt about it afterward? The author gave no description at all about any of her misfortunes because it simply did not feed enough to the reader.

I like a good hand of details about one character...not just a single reason why she killed her husband.

ccarver30 · Jul 31, 2007

I think I would want total answers.

BarbJ · Jul 31, 2007

Couple of people used King's "The Mist" as an example, so I'll copycat. King hints at what may have caused the mist, but doesn't go into explanations. He describes the threat of the bugs, but not what made them like that. He ends with the possibility, but not the certainty, of hope, but doesn't write whether or not the hope he offers will fight the bugs, let alone end them. He doesn't write about the MC returning to find out what happened to his wife, which many authors (me?) couldn't have resisted. He offers just enough to make it a great story; that's talent.

Another good example from King (can't remember the title) is a short where some kids are stuck on a raft in a lake holding a Creature. Few explanations, but it made me stay awake when I should have been asleep. Anyone else remember that one? I refused to go swimming the day after I read it...

Bufty · Jul 31, 2007

Seun, have you ever looked at this the other way around?

When you write these 'guy in strange or uncomfortable situation' stories do you know the original event or circumstances which put the guy in his uncomfortable or tricky situation?

I'm guessing that you must know the causal event in order to write the story.

Fair enough, but if you then deliberately hold back from the reader the vital clues that would enable the reader to understand or grasp or piece together what those original events or circumstances were, how do you expect him to see, detect or experience the same emotion which you (with that knowledge) felt when writing the story?

Hope I've expressed my point here. I'm trying to suggest there is a difference between careful word choice and phraseology, and accidental vagueness.

Okay - something happened at some previous time, but give me a little clue.

seun said:
I've noticed in some of my fiction (particularly my short stories) I don't explain everything. I'm not talking about spoon-feeding a potential audience every little bit of info; more having characters in strange or uncomfortable situations and their efforts to get out of it or simply survive rather than saying why the situation has occured.

So if you read a book that leaves questions unanswered, are you OK with it or do you want total closure after the last page?

GeorgeK · Jul 31, 2007

In my first novel, my son thought there were too many unanswered subplots (and maybe that was the reason it was rejected, that and that it was 530 pages and I'm unpublished as far as novels go) I ended up writing a whole second novel which tied everything together and he was much happier for it. As I look back on the first two, they really do go together so much and don't work that well as a stand alones, that I understand better now why it should have been rejected. The 3rd and 4th in the same world make a few references, but are designed each to be a stand alone story and are more in keeping with expected length. I'm waiting for my wife to read the 3rd before I submit it. I want someone besides my son to tell me if there are plot holes. I wonder if he might not be completely honest, wanting to "spare my feelings".

Danger Jane · Jul 31, 2007

the movie Off the Black with Nick Nolte and Trevor Morgan leaves many loose ends but does it REALLY WELL. Watch it, man.

blacbird · Jul 31, 2007

Unanswerable in the abstract. Entirely dependent on context of story.

caw

maestrowork · Jul 31, 2007

The flip side of it is that there will always be readers who ask questions: "And what was his grandmother's maiden name?" or "Where did the first alien come from?" It's good that the readers are asking questions -- that means they're paying attention. But it doesn't mean you have to answer every single one, or every loose end has to be tied up at the end.

ZannaPerry · Jul 31, 2007

If I were reading a book without much details or backstory to it, I would want to know why the MC wants to jump off a bridge at the end!

SpookyWriter · Jul 31, 2007

The reader will close the book if you don't make them disbelieve every lie you tell. Do you need to go into a lot of detail to deceive the ordinary person? Not often, so given just enough detail to keep the reader moving forward is a practice learned by doing.

amber_grosjean · Jul 31, 2007

I agree with everyone here. It really does depend on the situation of the story. Some questions are made to be left unanswered but if remained, will the reader feel disappointed after reading the whole book and not knowing? That's what we need to focus on.

I do like some loose ends because I have a vivid imagination and I can fill in some of those empty spaces. Sometimes, I get upset cause I was dying to know more. King is a really good example of an author who can pull it off. I love his writing. He reinvented horror and I love horror. And it's cool that he plays a few small roles in his movies too.

But, I think, when editing, if you have to ask yourself something, so will your readers. My first book, Cursed Blood, has a few spots where I left some things out. I wanted the reader to figure it out. For instance, why was Donna chosen for this evil curse to taint her blood? I never really did answer that question but I did hint at it just a little. I tell more in the sequal lol. It hasn't been published yet but we'll see.

Amber

Danger Jane · Jul 31, 2007

I will add that there are lots of (unthoughtful) people who HATE loose ends.

But then again unthoughtful people are more likely to watch a movie (see the imdb board for Off the Black) and then gripe about the unanswered questions than read a book.

Personally I like to read into subtleties.

Shady Lane · Jul 31, 2007

I don't want everything wrapped up perfectly. I like books to be slices of life. You join when they've already started, you leave before they've finished. But I of course like some sense of how everything's going to be.

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