keeping secrets from your reader

(Adapted from a John Marsden lesson in Everything I Know About Writing)

The Australian writer John Marsden says, “Be a stingy writer! No matter how warm and generous you are in real life, develop a mean streak when you write. Sure, you have to be ‘giving’ in some ways, like taking risks and exposing yourself, but don’t seek to hand the reader everything he/she wants.”

This is especially true when you want to build tension, suspense, and drama into your writing. When developing an important scene, avoid handing all the information over to your reader, prepackaged and ready to go.

For example, you’ll want to avoid writing a paragraph like:

“I was staying at Port Whitehead with my family over Easter weekend. My name is Lucy, and I’m fourteen. I like collecting seashells on the beach, and that was what I was doing I was when I saw the shark washed up on the beach.”

Sometimes, it’s advisable to hold important information back from the reader, to keep them engaged and interested and holding onto your every word. For instance, how much more interesting would the scenario in the above story be if we weren’t told everything at once?

• “I was standing knee-deep in the cold waves when I saw it: a slick, shining surface amid the churning water. The waves were turning something in their grasp. It wasn’t until a big swell pushed it all the way onto the sand that I saw the fin on its back and knew what it was. I knew then that there were others out here, ones that were still alive, and that I was standing among them.”

Writing practice:

In a scene you’re working on, try holding back some key details or pieces of information to build suspense and drama.