My protagonist needs to find the identity of the members of the MDG Group, an organization that scams homeowners in foreclosure. When he figures out that MDG stands for the first name of the scammers, he assumes that the M stands for his boss Melissa and spends much of the book working on that assumption. Then in a surprise climax, he realizes his mistake and reveals that the M stands for another character whose name is Marilyn. The challenge was introducing Marilyn and having her appear periodically in the story but keeping her in the background enough so the reader wouldn't suspect her. Thank you, Natasa, for a terrific video. Much appreciated!
That sounds clever, Daniel. With a construction like this, you also have a lot of ways you can shift the clues and reveal depending on how beta readers react.
I am new to writing fiction and found your video by chance. You have given me so many wonderful concepts to use as tools and did so in a fun, clever and meaningful way. Your examples and explanations brought not only an understanding of the concepts presented but concrete ways on how to use them effectively. Your personality, pure heaven and angle dust, is delightful, and yes, you got me with your boo! As a senior, I am soon to be awarded an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. My genre is poetry. However, I do have a novel I would like to write. I will practice the concepts from your video and when ready I will move on to part 2. I look forward to this new adventure, and I am happy to be a part of your journey as it develops. I will enjoy watching your "likes" and subscribers grow.
Natasa, now, as I write this, you are my favorite person in the world. In the world of video instructors, you are a ten-out-of-ten. This came along at the right time. In my story, the number 3 is crucial to the climax. I bury it all over the place. For example, my protagonist, a woman cop, is retrieving the murder's weapon. He hid it and all his weapons (he's a serial killer) in a manner related to the number three. My cop is told she'll find the knife under a brick used to push it into a knothole of a tree. In retrieving it, she finds she has to climb up two limbs. A third limb would have been the limb from which a storm created the knothole. I do things like this at least ten times in the story and worry I'll give it away. Your lesson here has given me much to think about. Maybe I only need a few hints, yet I'm concerned because the number is so important to the plot. My hero fails if she doesn't figure it out at the end. I want to be sure the reader doesn't go back and consider these "plants" and feel I hid them too well. "No one could have guessed from that." Is what I want to avoid. I have much to think about. And you are at the top of the game. You're having fun delivering important information while being fun to watch. You are clear, concise, and articulate well. Thank you for this and I'm off to the second part. Watch you there!
Thank you Dennis for such a heartwarming, encouraging comment. I'm especially glad to hear that the videos are fun to watch because I DO have fun making them! It's always difficult to weigh in without reading a manuscript, but most of the time you needn't worry about readers feeling cheated because they couldn't have guessed it. Think about the Agatha Christie example in the video with the murder committed by the maid who is young and pretty enough to entice Mr. Jones. The solution to the mystery depends on Miss Marple knowing that the maid, Gladys, is young and pretty. The reader was never told that -- yet no one felt cheated. On the other hand, at least without having read the section with the tree limbs, it sounds like a hint that's not noticeable at all. I'd recommend looking into the Backgrounding Techniques paper to see if you get some ideas for how to bury the other hints: eprints.gla.ac.uk/70404/1/70404.pdf The best thing to do is to share the MS with a few beta readers and see what they surmise. Just make sure they're readers of that genre. Then you'll be in a better position to decide how to revise it.
Natasa, you are adorable. I learn so much from your videos. You're a good instructor. I was going to ask if what you've described here falls into the "unreliable narrator" category but it looks like you are covering that in the next video. I'll watch it now. I've always been somewhat confused by the term. I am not sure if I am using the technique in my writing and/or, if I should. Thanks for what you do. -bz *correction* I'll watch the video when you release it! :)
That's so kind, Rebecca, thank you! Unreliable narrators will be covered in the next one. If you have any questions about it then, please feel free to comment there and we'll get into it!
THANK YOU so much for sharing this insights. There's another hint who Darth Vader actually is, when you look at the name itself. Darth Vader means Dark Father.
Thanks for pointing that out, Sandra! I looked it up. Vader means father in Dutch and Lucas said Darth came from the word dark. It's fun to unearth these hints.
When there are subtle hints of the surprise earlier in the book the reveal is welcomed. When a huge surprise which should have been but never has been even slightly suggested shows up and answers the whole mystery, the reader feels cheated.
Exactly, Peter. The vast majority of the time, the hints need to be planted earlier. Interestingly enough, I think WATERSHIP DOWN may be one of the rare exceptions to that format.
How to surprise your Reader part one was really useful. As are many of your other tutorials that I’ve watched. In my historical novel called Beguiled, there are a couple of big surprises, that I wish now I had had your comments to make them even better surprises. One is that my protagonist around 1920 gets pregnant the first time she has sex with the boy she doesn’t even like that much. In her life unfolds differently than she expected. I hope to incorporate some of your suggestions in the sequel which I am writing now.
Given that you've used surprises in your work before, you were probably able to glean more from this video than you would have otherwise. Best of luck with the sequel!
