Don't Be Coy with Readers

            I love my readers.  I’m so grateful for each person who shared a portion of their life with the characters I’ve invented, that I could hug them.  The readers, not the characters, although I’d love to hug some of them as well.

            And when you love someone, you take tender care of them.  You respect them, you try to give them your best efforts, right?  So do not be coy with your readers, any more than you would be coy with your loved ones.  Do not deliberately withhold information they need.  Do not dangle hints, thinking you’re a master of suspense when all you’re doing is being sadistic.  It’s not only disingenuous; it’s bad writing.

            You should be able to shower your readers with the facts they need—details about your character, important events in the back story, motivations they have for what they’re doing, and the perils that loom if things go wrong (which they must).  And this abundance of information should not weaken your plot in the least.  In fact, it will make your upcoming solution all the richer, all the more appreciated, because the reader will not feel cheated out of vital facts or important clues. 

            When writers are coy, they conveniently leave out information that makes you feel as if you’ve been playing with someone who changes the rules of the game at the last minute so they can win.  They have a hero locked in a trunk as his foreign captors chatter away, racing down the street.  And when the kidnappers park and the hero kicks out a tail light and gets rescued, we do not want to find out that he suddenly understands Armenian and heard exactly what they were planning.  Whaat?  He speaks Armenian?  How?  Why weren’t we told this, earlier?  It’s not fair.  It’s something we couldn’t possibly have known.

            Beginners often worry that their story will lack suspense if they’re too forthcoming.  But suspense doesn’t come from secrets; it comes from an impending crisis.  Spill the secrets but set up the story.  Let us know and love the characters so we’re invested in the outcome.  Let us know exactly why the hero’s plan can’t work and wince as it inches towards disaster.  Readers want to trust you.  They want to feel they can put their hand in yours as you lead them on an adventure, knowing you’re not going to suddenly trick them and then laugh in their face because they didn’t see it coming. 

            If you’re really good at your craft, you’ll bare the souls of your characters.  You’ll be able to throw open the windows, let the harsh light fall where it may, and know that your story will be all the more remarkable for coming out of the shadows and dealing honestly with your readers-- those folks you love.