4 Reasons Over-Explaining Will Kill Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Don’t let the urge to explain ruin your novel.

Writers have trust issues sometimes. We worry whether or not our readers will get what we're trying to do. Will they spot that oh-so-subtle hint in chapter three? Will they get the subtext between the romantic leads in scene five? Is the protagonist’s backstory clear or should we throw in a flashback that explains it?

We worry so much readers might miss something, we end up shoving the story right down their throats.

And that's bad.

Explaining a novel is not the same as telling a story.
For one thing, it frequently leads to bad writing, because we're explaining what happens, we’re not dramatizing a scene as it unfolds. For another, it robs readers of the chance to discover the story and connect to it on their own level. They’re not given the opportunity to make their own choices and decisions about the characters and story and what it means to them.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com