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Sometimes when a strange thing happens in a story, for example a knife being found in a weird place, it can seem like a mistake by the writer. By highlighting the strangeness (whether by having the...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T21:57:30Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40191 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T10:11:44Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/40191 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Sometimes when a strange thing happens in a story, for example a knife being found in a weird place, it can seem like a mistake by the writer. By highlighting the strangeness (whether by having the MC notice it, or by other tools) you are letting the reader know that this is not a mistake - this strange occurrence is intentional, there is something hiding behind it. Remember also that you are working with a certain bias: you know how the story will unfold, you know which elements are important. The reader doesn't know which elements are key, and which are random chance. @Cyn is right that you shouldn't be heavy-handed in spoon-feeding your reader every thought, but it's not bad to highlight the things you particularly want the reader to notice. In fact, I'd err on the side of highlighting a bit too much, and then removing hints that beta-readers call "captain obvious". But @Cyn's approach of erring on the side of "not enough information" and adding hints where necessary is also valid.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2018-11-16T18:36:07Z (about 6 years ago)
Original score: 4