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Q&A How much should you "guide" your audience with questions?

I would progress with great subtlety. Drop the tiniest of hints here and there but, mostly, let the reader do all the thinking possible. When you've got your draft, send it to people to read. As...

posted 5y ago by Cyn‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-20T00:40:32Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40190
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:11:44Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40190
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T10:11:44Z (over 4 years ago)
I would progress with great subtlety. Drop the tiniest of hints here and there but, mostly, let the reader do all the thinking possible.

When you've got your draft, send it to people to read. Ask them to make notes. When they've done that, you can ask them additional questions if they aren't in the notes. "When did you figure out why the knife was in the shed?"

If there are any points where readers aren't picking up on what you need them to pick up on (or they're actually confused), drop some extra hints.

As for overt things like having a character ask the actual questions, you can do that if it works in the story. But be sure to include questions that are misdirection, not important, or flat out wrong. Along with whatever info the reader needs to figure it out...or not, if you want to save those realization for later.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2018-11-16T18:28:34Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 3