Writing Tricks: Assumptions

When it comes to creating a page-turner, one writing trick to get on your side is an assumption.

An assumption allows readers to fill in what they think is happening with their own experiences. If the reader believes they’ve figured out what’s going on, and the truth leads them in a different direction, not only have you blown their mind, but you’ve opened your work up to a worthy plot twist, and injected some doubt into your chapters. This is exactly what you want when crafting a great story, so give these assumption ideas a try.

Writing Tricks: AssumptionsDual It Up

To successfully pull off an assumption, you’ll want to play into it. But to make it twist-worthy as well, give the assumption a dual meaning.

An example of this can be found in the 2011 movie Crazy, Stupid, Love. In it, Steve Carell’s character, Cal Weaver, is going through a marriage breakdown and mentions not wanting “Nana” to find out.

“Nana” being a common name for a grandmother, means the audience assumes he is referring to his grandmother. They believe this until the end of the movie when it’s revealed that “Nana” is actually the nickname of his grown daughter, Hannah, a character viewers didn’t know until that point was even related to Cal.

The dual-ness of “Nana” being an obvious name for Cal’s grandmother, but in reality, the plausible nickname of Hannah is what makes this assumption work, and this is something you can pull off in your writing, too.

To try it, subtly lead the reader in the direction of an obvious assumption that also has a dual meaning with a plausible truth. Not only will you trump expectations, but the actual truth could create a crafty plot twist, a sad new truth, a sober dose of reality, or a joyful surprise.

Foreshadow!

Another way to make the most of an assumption is to ensure you’re foreshadowing it.

Let’s say that you have an MC who has been cheated on in the past. This history can be mentioned as she’s with a friend, getting ready to go to a party, and lending said friend a bracelet the MC doesn’t wear much because it always slips off.

Now, the party is being held by the MC’s new boyfriend, who she has so far had a good, trusting relationship with. After being greeted by the new boyfriend and asked to put their coats in his room, the MC and her friend enjoy their night. Later, the MC gets separated from her boyfriend for a length of time and also loses track of her friend.

Remember, she’s been cheated on in the past, and while trying to ignore her creeping paranoia, the MC eventually finds her friend. Before leaving, the MC ducks into the boyfriend’s room to grab her coat, and finds the bracelet she lent her friend on the bedside table!

With the cheating history foreshadowed, the MC (and the reader) makes the obvious assumption. She knows the bracelet is hers and that her friend was wearing it. The same friend she’d lost track of at the same time as her boyfriend. With these assumptions, the reader is now just as ready as the MC to declare war on the cheating friend and boyfriend.

But what else was foreshadowed? The bracelet was prone to falling off. That’s why the MC rarely wore it, and the boyfriend told the girls to put their coats in his room. Isn’t it likely that the slippery bracelet fell off when the friend was putting away her coat, and someone else getting their own coat found it on the floor and put it on the bedside table? Yes, it is. But the assumption and foreshadowing played their part first, giving drama to the plot and taking the reader where the writer wanted them to go.

If that bracelet had slipped off in the kitchen during the party, the MC, and reader wouldn’t have gone straight to the conclusion of an affair, but with the right foreshadowing of cheating and the location for the assumption, this writer’s trick was pulled off, creating misunderstandings, until the real truth comes out.

Let The Characters Lead Part Of The Way

One key element of assumptions that will also work in your favor is your reader believing them. And they will if the characters do too.

In our cheating example, until the truth is provided, the MC really thinks her friend and new boyfriend are having an affair.

In her eyes, the evidence is there, and she’s made up her mind. On the page, she would have gotten to this paranoid point through the internal thoughts the reader is also in on. These character-led assumptions bring the reader to the same conclusions—but only do this to a certain point. Don’t put every single assumption in black ink. It robs the reader of the fun of making their own.

Creating assumptions for themselves gets the reader invested in the story, so aim to lead for part of the way, and then allow readers to piece together the rest.

When those kinds of assumptions are combined with dual meanings and foreshadowing, you’re on track for an “I knew it!” or “I didn’t see that coming!” instead of the dreaded “I don’t understand/hate that?”

That’s the kind of result that you want from this fun writing trick, so assume away and see where it takes your characters and readers!

— K.M. Allan

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