How To Write Better Stories: Red Herrings and More Tension

Good writers throw their readers off the scent by introducing red herrings. Done right, they keep the mystery alive until the end. Done poorly and you cheat the reader. Dan Alatorre discusses how JK Rowling uses red herrings in Harry Potter.

Dan Alatorre - AUTHOR

your humble host I’m using Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets to show examples of great storytelling that you can use in your writing.

The transition from chapter 11 to chapter 12 is a split scene really for drama, not necessity. End of 11: this must be where Dumbledore lives. Start of 12: they knock on the door. (You’re not supposed to do that. Time is supposed to pass or you’re supposed to go to a different scene, not just pick up where you left off.)

Again, I like those. What’s up with my editor anyway?

And again we are made to consider Harry’s possible expulsion so the stakes for his actions are always present.

Clues We Get From The Writer’s Style

From his importance, we don’t ever really get a lot of descriptions of Dumbledore, but when Harry goes into Dumbledore’s office, Rowling takes a paragraph to…

View original post 2,590 more words