In the latest in the Writer’s Digest series of articles on mistakes writers make, editor Michael Woodson says writers go wrong when they fail to trust the reader.
You may have noticed this phenomenon in movies or novels: Characters explain their world to each other, using wooden or unrealistic dialogue, telling each other things they should already know. “It’s usually not something we do on purpose, it’s more of a safeguard to make sure readers aren’t confused and understand our intent,” Woodson says. “But what can happen as a result is a reading experience that feels manipulated, that the reader hasn’t been given the chance to be invested enough in our stories that they want to figure ‘it’ out on their own.”
This can happen in any genre, with or without plot twists. And you don’t want to intentionally mislead or withhold information from your readers, Woodson adds. With the right balance, you draw your readers into your story and help them figure out the story world and characters on their own.
To avoid over-telling on the page, Woodson advises over-telling in your brainstorming and draft stages. “Our first drafts should be the dreaded info-dump,” he says. “Write every single thing you know about your story. Write what you hope readers pick up on, and write the subtle things that are in the background.”
When you re-write, keep the important details and start taking out others, and repeat until you have the right balance. Woodson also suggests writer with your “reader brain” turned on. “Take a step back and think about what the experience would be like for you as a reader,” he suggests. “Are you still info-dumping too much? Have you left enough room for intentional convolution? Are the right elements open-ended, leaving room for other elements to be overt?”
