Readers' wants and expectations

cj Sez: I rediscovered one of my archived posts about mypath to creative writing, and I’ve excerpted it here. Hope you can find a usefulnugget in here:
Readers have different expectations/wants
  My first drafts arecrappy and sparse, mainly for two reasons: First, first drafts are supposed tobe crappy, and second. before a screenwriter course turned me on to creativewriting, I was once a corporate journalist/editor tasked with relating the gistof a story in limited line space.
  When I’m finished with the first draft, and the manuscripthas its usual dearth of details, I start work expanding details: The fivesenses…hear, see, taste, smell, feel… and the who, what, when, where, why, andhow of the plot.
  I incorporate someaction descriptors, but I consider too many of them stage directions. Somewriters use them much like adverbs to “tell” their readers what to think or asa way to add words to a short manuscript.   Action needs to havepurpose. If describing an action doesn't contribute to the reader's knowledgeof the character, scene conflict, or mood, then it’s stage direction. I writemostly suspense and thrillers and have a minimalist approach to action—usingfew words speeds up the pace and heightens the tension. On the other hand,readers of cozy mysteries or more narrative-based novels want, and expect, toknow every detail.
  Adding or withholding detail is a good way tocontrol the pace of your novel. Even in suspense and thrillers, there areplaces where the reader needs a breather from the action. These would be thespots where I add more detail or beats. Places where I can reveal more of thecharacters’ growth, i.e., transformation, as the plot progresses.
  Hint: Adding detailwords slows the pace; being stingy speeds it up.
  When action isneeded to set some mood for the scene, then yes, I detail the action. SometimesI add details to slow the action and increase the tension. If I want acharacter to give the reader a sense of impending danger and fear, then I addmore description to the action. I tend to follow the lead of my favoriteauthors—Robert Parker and James Lee Burke. Their succinct style ofwriting is what I like to read, and it is their fans who are my target market.
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Author and Reader Notes
Be sure to stop by next week when Kathleen Kaska, author ofthe award-winning Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series shares her path to securing apublisher to reissue her books.
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  In a recent JaneFriedman blog post, SusanDeFreitas (@manzanitafire),an award-winning author, editor, and book coach, says writers can make theirprotagonist “too good.”
WhenIt Comes to Characters We Love, Vulnerability, Not Likeability, Is Key | JaneFriedman
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Author quote:  “All writing isdifficult. The most you can hope for is a day when it goes reasonably easily.Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block, and doctors don’t get doctor’s block; whyshould writers be the only profession that gives a special name to thedifficulty of working, and then expects sympathy for it?”  —Philip Pullman

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Congratulations to fellow Mobile Writers Guild member CarrieDalby on the upcoming release of LOYALTY, the third book in her meticulouslyresearched historical Washington Square Secrets series. 

  LOYALTY will launchAugust 27 and is currently available for preorder.  BuyLoyalty Now      

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  Okay, that’s it fortoday. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raisingprayers for a happy and safe you and yours.
cj
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