We have moved to new forum software and posting here is closed!

PLEASE BOOKMARK THE NEW FORUMS

Posted By: Vienaragis Sep 07, 2003 - 03:32 pm

First I guess I should say hi to everyone. I'm new and scared, heh.

I want to ask about the main character keeping secrets from the reader. I know sometimes characters have certain past experiences they don't want to talk about that may come up later, but I'm afraid if I hide too much about the main character from the reader, he/she will feel distanced from them and will not be able to relate. Especially if situations come up when the character thinks of the past, but does not go into detail about it. I normally write in 3rd person limited with the focused character's thoughts constantly being "followed" indirectly. If someone says something that sparks the character's memory and this is implied, but not explored at that moment, will it make the character seem too "far away"? (Even if the character isn't exactly the open type to begin with.)

I just wanted to know people's opinions on this. Exactly how much does the reader have to know about the main character early on to connect with him/her?

Posted By: Bmat Sep 07, 2003 - 03:52 pm

Welcome to the site, Vienaragis.

I like some mystery around the characters. Especially when an explanation is slowly revealed thoughout the story.

From what I understand that you are saying, the character would engage the reader's interest.

Posted By: Maitaman Sep 07, 2003 - 04:20 pm

If the "secret" is about the character and not the story, it can give him/her a sense of mystery. If it's vital to understanding the story directly, it shouldn't be held back too long. You don't want the air of mystery to become an air of distrust and/or confusion.

Posted By: Aldan Sep 08, 2003 - 10:01 am

It truly is a delicate balance, but, if done correctly, should really pay off in the end.
My writing is generally more verbose. I constantly have to trim and prune the info that I end up giving out through the characters' thoughts, so your problem is one which I don't have much to offer to help you with.
Sorry

Posted By: Aldan Sep 08, 2003 - 10:05 am

Oh, one thing that I suggested in another track was to use the character's perceptions to view the settings. That way, it will give the reader an idea of how the world, its cultures, etc. work, without all of the explanatory froofroo that you will find in a Tom Clancy novel, for example. Also, it will give minor clues about the character without giving anything away.

Posted By: The Filmchick Sep 08, 2003 - 11:09 am

About speaking of the past, you could always have the narrative interrupt him.

For an example:

John thought back to that night that he spent in a Nebraska cow-shed, cold, hungry, desperate for a drink or even a smoke. His car, broken-down, rested on the road outside, and he had been terrified that the farmer who owned the shed would come and see him. He had never expected things to take the turn they did, though. A dark presence, looming over him...

"John? John, are you all right?" Rebecca looked concerned.

John blinked out of his thoughts hastily. His fingers fumbled with the Camel he was halfheartedly trying to light. "Huh? Yeah. Sure, Becky. I'm fine."

Obviously, you can't do this all the time, but if you toss it in every 15-20 pages or so, the reader won't notice. That does make John seem 'far away' to Rebecca, but not so much so to your reader - and it doesn't give the implication of a dishonest narrator, which is something you definitely want to avoid.

Posted By: RongFo Sep 08, 2003 - 07:21 pm

FC: LOL! I use that trick all the time. One of my longtime readers pointed out to me the other day that he can always tell my real clues from my red herrings, b/c something always happens to distract my characters from the real clues, while the red herrings just sit there and baffle them. Naturally, I went back to my WiP and reversed the pattern in a few places, just to throw him (and future readers) off the scent.

Posted By: thegreentick Sep 26, 2003 - 09:22 am

I don't know how but I somehow manage to throw in unexpected twists and turns in a plot while not raising doubts as to the credability of the narrator. I think it has something to do with point of view. I will often include multiple points of view on any one issue so that rather than not letting the the reader know what it happening, I don't let the character know what is happening. For instance, I will write a bunch of the story about a place where the character is headed eventually but doesn't even know about it. Initially, the reader doesn't make the connection between the two places but once they finally meet, the connection is made and suddenly, all the objectives of the story change. Then, the reader thinks, "why didn't I see that coming?"

I think It's just the art of giving needed information in the form of another story, not just information. If you start dishing out information without real reason, then the reader is going to know that they need to know it and they are going to look for a reason why.

Posted By: Aldan Sep 26, 2003 - 09:35 am

Another thing that you can do with multiple POV's is to give several different versions of a scenario, seen thru the different eyes. By doing so, you can throw in hard-to-spot red herrings because of the different char's different experiences coloring their POV's.

Posted By: Adamis Nov 16, 2003 - 11:05 am

I don't really use third person limited so I'm not certain how well this will work in that, but I like to write those scenes where the character remembers or learns a secret I don't want the readers to know at that point by using a secondary or sidekick's POV. Heck I like to write a story using predominately the sidekick's perspective.

Example:
Don Quixote from Sancho's POV or Batman from Robin's eyes.
In this way I feel the sidekick becomes a sort-of filter for the reader's understanding of the main character crafting his observations to reveal just what I want the reader to know of what the primary is feeling.