Should you give the reader what they want? #amwriting #WIP #amwritingfantasy

My answer is yes (mostly) but definitely not when they want it (mostly). We all want the characters to get together or to see some bad*** action sequences and cunning betrayals. What I believe an author can’t do is give the reader when they want this stuff. It’s like everything else in life where you appreciate what you have when you have worked/waited for it. Anticipation I believe is key. Now don’t read what I say and think this license to troll the reader dangling a carrot in front of their face for them to reach for it and it be out of their grasp.

A romance novel wouldn’t be good if the couple got together in chapter 1 and lived happily ever after. An adventure novel wouldn’t be good if you’re antagonist is defeated in chapter 3 and you’re just dealing with the fallout afterwards. You need tension and conflict in your novel because it makes the reader want something and that way when you give it to them it makes it that much sweeter.

I say this because I was writing a character today whose fate was in the air. I thought I wouldn’t be like one of the authors who makes you wait but I realize as the writer that wait is the best part. The moment you like most in a book is when you’re reading quickly to find out if your character’s pet survived. (Pet’s are priority of main characters.) Examples Appa from the Last Airbender or John Wick’s dog but I digress. The point is that relief once you find out Appa is dead or the sadness when you see John Wick’s pet die is because tension and set up was so great for it. So before you give that reveal make sure you’re story has earned it.

Also feel free to use misdirection. There’s a reason horror movies have been using these trope for decades. I will say don’t try to be to clever then you risk loosing the reader and if the set up becomes to convoluted the reader can’t follow and won’t care about the reveal. Now there is no sure fire way to do this but trial and error. The best way to determine if you are doing it right is with Beta reader. I highly suggest using them to determine if they can see the twists coming and when they could see it coming. The best time for a reader to realize what is about to happen is a paragraph before it happens.

But I’m curious to know what you think about the writer and reader relationship. Should the reader get what they want when they want it? Should they get it at all? Should they get it once in a while that way they appreciate when they get it? Let me know in the comments below.

WORD OF THE DAY

Tension – mental or emotional strain.