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Writing is all about conditioning the reader's expectations. All the big effects in writing come from an appropriate setup. If you want to show a result contrary to the narrator's expectations, you...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48001 License name: CC BY-SA 4.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48001 License name: CC BY-SA 4.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
#2: Initial revision
Writing is all about conditioning the reader's expectations. All the big effects in writing come from an appropriate setup. If you want to show a result contrary to the narrator's expectations, you make sure that the reader is aware of the narrator's expectations before the event occurs. This is the answer to every effect you want to create. It is not about how you write the event itself, it is about how you condition the reader's expectations before the event occurs. It is the cheerleader walking down the stairs into the darkened basement. It is not about how you film the scene. It is about the previous scene where the killer snuck into the basement.