Cat Fight In The Kitchen-Wattpad Rant

Stupid Readers

I swear I had every intention of being here over Christmas, but instead I helped my dad with his holiday tournament. So I got two days off for Christmas this year, but that's okay. You know I like to stay busy.

Today, we're going to talk about Stupid Readers

You guys think I'm a horrible person right now, but let me explain. I don't think readers are stupid. I don't even mind ghost readers (is that what we're still calling them?) You guys know I love comments (more than votes, or likes or whatever they're called now) (not to say I don't appreciate the votes/likes).

Instead of talking about what you guys might think of as stupid readers (like, you probably think I'm going to say something about readers that try to run the story and readers that demand updates (those also don't bother me either, but I know they bother a lot of people), we're going to talk about the way we treat readers while writing.

A lot of times (and I'm so guilty of this that it's not even funny), we kind of, unintentionally assume our readers are stupid. And by that I mean: we often go overboard on the telling and info dumping, because we assume readers won't get our subtle clues. And I get it. I really do. You work so, so hard to leave hints and build things up just so you can unravel them all perfectly. And a lot of times you start second guessing yourself as a writer. It's all in your head, so obviously you know all about the characters and what is happening and what is supposed to happen.

Then you start to question how much your readers know. Did you write everything like you were supposed to? Are you making your point like you wanted to? If you were the reader, would you understand what was happening?

So all too often we start assuming readers are stupid and just repeating information in basic, straightforward terms. And I think we should talk about that and ways to avoid it:

1. Explaining takes away from the momentum of the story and the importance of the moment.

A lot of times I see people craft this intense scene, filling it full of so much tension and imagery that it's like you're living in it, and right at the climax, they insist on explaining the moment they just built up to. Don't do that. Don't finish a really intense scene by telling your readers that it was intense. When a character is nervous about everything that just happened, don't tell your readers they were nervous.

This is one of those times where you have to have a delicate balance between showing and telling, because each has its own strengths and weaknesses. If you show something, you don't need to then tell about it. If you tell something, it's not always necessary to then show it happening. The balance should be equal between different pieces of information. You shouldn't balance show and tell by showing and telling the same thing.

Trust me, a lot of times I talk myself into going overboard on the information to really drive home the point I want to make, but by doing so, you're actually taking away the importance. When something is repeated in such a way that it loses meaning, then you've done yourself a disservice.

One scene I always get comments on is in Pretty Little Bones and its set up by introducing the situation: the characters are going out to Pension Mountain just to hang out because it's away from town, secluded, and a typical party spot. However, it's also mentioned in earlier parts that the town the characters live in is known for making, selling, distributing, and using illegal drugs. Pension Mountain is the the place where most of those drugs are made, sold, and used. The setting and all this information is woven through the first part of the chapter.

Our rising action is when two well known drug users show up, obviously high, and begin making threats and being beligerant (like a lot of druge dealers and doers are).