Lessons Learned, Part 3

Recently I read a book that disappointed me. I’ve been trying to share reasons why that book didn’t work for me. Again, no author or title — this isn’t meant to be personal. So I’ve mentioned that the villain was mostly a caricature, and that the main characters were too powerful compared to those they were up against. My last lesson is about pacing and suspense.

Over and over, this author introduced a problem and then telegraphed the solution within a few lines. For example, two different MCs had to work together and they had never met before. Someone would ask, “What if they don’t get along?”

This was a great question. It created tension. The stakes were pretty high. If one of the two refused to cooperate, things were going to get ugly.

But then in the next paragraph, someone else would say, “It will be fine, they both share the same element.” And, indeed, when the two characters met, they got along just fine, for exactly that reason.

After this happened a couple of times, it was pretty hard to worry about the things the author was saying we should worry about. They wrecked their own suspense by giving the answers away. I wasn’t sure if they wanted the reader to worry, but not too much worry, or if they were a know-it-all and couldn’t resist telling the reader everything.

Whatever the reason, the lesson here is to know when to quit. “What if they don’t get along?” would be a great way to end the scene. No rebuttals, no reassurances, just go on to the next scene and let the reader sit with that worry. “What if they don’t get along?”

To me, this would make the reader more invested as they try to figure out what will happen. What do you think? How do you keep from spoiling your own suspense?

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