One big debate among novelist and scriptwriters, editors, producers, and network executives is how much we should trust the reader or the audience. Should we assume they’re paying attention and will figure things out themselves, or should we spell everything out for them? This could be about plot points, motivation, or a character’s history.
I come from a background of writing for TV, where the network executives tend to assume the audience isn’t paying attention and doesn’t want to do any of the work. That’s why a lot of television writing is so on the nose. I’ve heard more than one network executive say, “I get it, but the audience won’t.”
I think the audience generally is pretty smart about story telling, and they’ll enjoy doing a little of the work. It’s kind of “interaction light.” You don’t have to click on any buttons, the work is done in your head.
The implication for writers is that you don’t have to spell everything out, certainly not in one big lump, you just have to give the readers clues they can use to figure it out themselves. My shorthand for this:
Instead of giving the readers 4, give them 2 here and 2 there, and trust them to do the arithmetic.
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