Write Better: Tips and tricks

Little did he know....[aka spoilers]

A common piece of advice for writers is: don't tell the reader what's going to happen before it happens. The "little did he know, but his life was about to change forever."

A lot of people think they're doing a fine job of avoiding this. Most of the time, you aren't literally writing "little did I know" but then sometimes you forget about the small stuff. This is really easy to do, but it's also really easy to recognize and correct.

Yesterday I was reading a published novel from a small but successful writer with multiple 4&5 star selling titles to their name. They have a unique series that I enjoy reading very much. It's not my favorite, not a masterpiece, and won't be winning any awards, but to me it's a fun read, and as a reader, that's all that matters.

And about two-thirds of the way through this particular story, the writer had established a scene (one I've changed because I don't want to bad mouth them; I like them and admire their success!).

Here's a madeup version of what they wrote:

[names, characters, situations have all been changed]

In our scene, detectives Frank and Beans have hidden themselves somewhere in the spaghetti warehouse, where a deal involving Mayor Mac and the feared Elbow cartel is going down. They've got to get pictures of the Mayor to prove his involvement. The scene is tense. Frank, against Bean's wishes, sneaks closer and covertly snaps a few last-second shots.

And then the writers says: Going forward proved to be Frank's downfall.

For the next three paragraphs, I found myself sitting there waiting for the downfall. I wasn't tense, didn't wonder what would happen next or if Frank might get spotted. I changed gears. Instead of following every line closely, creeping forward with Frank, I was just looking for the thing that was going to cause trouble. The marvelous, tense little details didn't matter quite as anymore.

Why did the scene tension drop off? Because I knew Frank was going down. Maybe not how, but I was reading for what caused Frank's downfall instead of reading with Frank.

Instead of going: Oh no! Frank! I was watching it like a bad horror movie. I'm still interested in what happens, and a good writer/director can have you on the edge of your seat, but I know where it's going. Like when the teenage girl knows there's a killer in the house and she walks into the back bedroom in the dark to investigate a noise.

Can't that be good? Well, yes. If you do it right, you can use this sort of information to propel the story, or change the focus. You can ramp up tension in new ways The problem I often see is that writers aren't always doing it intentionally. The line "Going forward proved to be Frank's downfall" sounds dramatic and promising so they use it and viola! 

So when you find yourself using a spoiler line, think about what it is you're trying to accomplish in the scene. Ask yourself if it's worth spoiling or if your readers will get a better reaction going in blind.

If you're looking for an example, think about this:

You're nine. Your mom is having a conversation with the school teacher about your behavior lately. You hid the class tarantula in your desk.

What is this scene like if the reader *knows* about the tarantula? What is the scene like if they react 'in real time'? There are perks and negatives to both methods. Just make sure you're using something intentionally.