Readers don’t need to know nearly as much as we think they do. In fact, the opposite is often true. The less readers know, especially in the beginning, the better. Yet so many writers use the beginning of their novels to dump loads of information.
This is harmful, people. Seriously, seriously harmful.
First, it bores the reader.
Think for a minute. Why do you read? To get caught up in a good story, right? Yet when we stop the flow of the story to fill the reader in, they’re no longer getting a story. They’re getting a biography on a character they neither know or care about yet.
Second, it’s not natural.
How do you get to know a person? How do you move from first-time acquaintances to full-out friends? Usually there’s a process. When we’re introduced to somebody for the first time, we know better than to reveal all the personal details of our past. That would be awkward. And again, boring. In order to care about somebody’s past, we have to get to know the person. And we get to know a person by what they say and do. Otherwise known as action and dialogue.
Third, it squashes all intrigue.
This is huge. Huge, huge. The biggest reason why we shouldn’t reveal too much in the beginning. Think about what keeps readers turning pages. It’s intrigue, right? That enticing unanswered question. The minute we jump in and reveal too much information is the minute we squish all the questions.
Last week, we had issues with our plumbing.
First, there was this mysterious drip coming from the ceiling in our laundry room. That drip caught my attention. I found myself thinking about it throughout the day. Visiting the laundry room more often than usual.
The next morning, the rug in our upstairs bathroom was wet. It was a mystery, because I couldn’t find a leak anywhere. You can believe my curiosity (and okay, fear) doubled. Were the two related? Where was the water coming from?
The day after that, more wetness on the bathroom floor. The leaky ceiling was worse. And get this. Another pipe in our basement, nowhere near the leaky ceiling, started dripping.
I went upstairs, got on my hands and knees, and searched everywhere. I was hooked. I was engaged. I was obsessed with finding this dang leak.
My plumbing gets it. It understands the art of stringing an audience along, bit by bit, unveiling just enough to keep a person hooked.
What an important skill to master as a writer.
We need to know how to reveal tantalizing scents that make our readers want to take a few steps further to see what’s up ahead. And when they move forward, the scent needs to get stronger. More tantalizing.
Okay, maybe I’m mixing metaphors here. Tantalizing scents and plumbing problems probably shouldn’t go together. But you know what I mean.
Of course, there is a fine line. We can’t reveal so little that the reader gets confused. All I’m saying is, many of us error on the side of too much. And I’d take a confused reader over a bored one any day. Because at least a confused reader keeps turning those pages.
Let’s Talk: What do you think? Do you tend to reveal too much, afraid the reader won’t understand or like the character unless you explain everything? Have you mastered the art of hinting?
*Photo by missy &the universe