We're used to reminding ourselves about trusting our readers at a detailed level. But should we also trust our readers more to understand the overall themes and meanings of our stories as a whole?
You know what trusting your reader looks like, I'm sure. You're writing a story, and you're tempted to explain what Elizabeth is feeling when she puts her head gently down on the desk and sighs, or when Toby picks up the product of his afternoon's baking and throws it in the bin. But no, you tell yourself, you've created a character and put them in a context, and their actions should speak for themselves. The reader will perceive what the character is feeling much more effectively if they're shown the experience rather than told about it. You trust your reader to do that.
What about trusting your reader to understand the bigger-ticket items? The reasons certain things happen in the plot, or the overall themes for different characters, at different points in the book, or even for the book as a whole?
In this article on Substack, the author explores how some writers fully explain the fundamental emotional issues for their characters, and whether it helps the narrative to do this, or takes something away from the experience of reading a book. The author argues that a good book allows the reader to ponder the reasons for the characters' actions. Sometimes we only understand what's happened, and perhaps tease out some themes and messages, when we can stand back from a book and consider it as a whole. Sometimes it takes a second reading for that to happen, and sometimes we don't understand all of it even then. This reflection on a book is, for some, an important part of the experience, and gives the book more impact. We only really remember things that we think about a lot.
So, how much explaining should you do? The answer, as always, is that it's your work of art, and you need to develop it in the way that you think works. Consider whether there are different expectations for different genres, too – a literary work may be more complex and contain some element of challenge, while other genres, such as romance, may lay everything bare. Different readers may have different preferences, too. It may be possible to take a cue from popular books that are similar to yours, and see whether these contain high-level explanations of this type.
It's fine to write for audience expectations and produce something that many people easily love. What greater feeling is there than knowing people get enjoyment from your work? It's also fine to write for purely artistic purposes, to create something with a depth that not everyone will see, and that gets enjoyed in a different – perhaps less immediate – way.
I once had a call with an author after completing a developmental edit of a literary novel. I loved the book and felt I had, on the whole, understood it, but the author was concerned to discover that there were some nuances of the plot and character motivations that I hadn't fully grasped. I tried to reassure the author that it's not necessary for me to pick up one hundred per cent of what was in his head for it to have succeeded in its purpose. What I wish, with hindsight, I'd managed to convey is that it makes his writing all the stronger if he doesn't explain everything with absolute unmistakeable clarity. His book may have all the more impact precisely because it retains a degree of mystery around why the protagonist is the way that he is.
I'd encourage readers to cultivate a sense, with at least some of what they read, that they don't need to understand all of it to appreciate it. They can still tackle a book and recognise its merits even if some of it isn't clear to them.
And as authors, we should feel free, if this suits our artistic purposes, to leave a little or a lot of the themes and plot unexplained, and let the reader work it out.
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