- Joined
- Nov 6, 2017
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- 415
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"Don't withhold information from the reader."
This bit of writing advice popped up on my radar twice in the past 24 hours, and it's something I haven't heard before.
What is the intention behind this advice? What are ways in which authors can withhold information to their own detriment? What flavor of pitfall is this advice supposed to protect against?
I love plot twists and surprises. If I were Chekhov, I'd have more guns than the NRA. If Tyler Durden spilled the beans on page one, what would be the point of Fight Club?
Granted, I can think of a book I read that annoyed me because "the secret in the past" was never disclosed until the end, but all the characters ranted endlessly about "the secret," without giving any clues to what it was. I think what bothered me was that the author handled it in such a way that I had no investment in the characters. I had no reason to care about anyone's secrets, and there also weren't any clues in place for me to puzzle over or guess what the secret might have been. (As a reader, I LOVE to puzzle and guess.) Neither my emotions nor curiosity were involved.
This bit of writing advice popped up on my radar twice in the past 24 hours, and it's something I haven't heard before.
What is the intention behind this advice? What are ways in which authors can withhold information to their own detriment? What flavor of pitfall is this advice supposed to protect against?
I love plot twists and surprises. If I were Chekhov, I'd have more guns than the NRA. If Tyler Durden spilled the beans on page one, what would be the point of Fight Club?
Granted, I can think of a book I read that annoyed me because "the secret in the past" was never disclosed until the end, but all the characters ranted endlessly about "the secret," without giving any clues to what it was. I think what bothered me was that the author handled it in such a way that I had no investment in the characters. I had no reason to care about anyone's secrets, and there also weren't any clues in place for me to puzzle over or guess what the secret might have been. (As a reader, I LOVE to puzzle and guess.) Neither my emotions nor curiosity were involved.