You know that moment when you’re reading a story and you know what a character is thinking? You’re so in touch with him that you feel it yourself? Wonderful, isn’t it?
But this has to be handled with care. There are times when readers are eager to fill the blanks; just as many times, though, they are not. If you can work out when they will and when they won’t, you have a powerful writing tool.
Two instances in which readers won’t know what your character is thinking
1. Establishing characters
When writers introduce a protagonist, they often want to get readers on the character’s side and establish who he is. A good way is to show what matters to him and what might generate a story. Maybe he’s bored with life on his dull planet, or he wishes he could grow up faster, or he wants to get out of jail. So the writers shows a bunch of troublesome and frustrating events. But they forget to show us how the character feels about them.
We witness a scene in which the character fights with his best friend or the car breaks down—and the character hardly seems to react.
Usually when I talk to the writers, they confirm that they want the character to be wound to snapping point. But they assumed the reader would supply the reaction.
That’s risky.
Suppose we are introduced to the character in a scene that shows him getting fired from his job. The writer might be thinking: “Everyone knows this is bad. It’s obvious the character will feel crushed.” But actually there are a thousand ways to respond to this situation—liberation, fear, vengefulness, a mix of all of those. If we don’t know the character, we don’t know which it is.
Later in the book when we know the character better, we can fill the blanks. Early on, we can’t—and we don’t want to.
And often it backfires further. Because the writer doesn’t show a reaction, the reader often assumes the event washed over the hero; it didn’t matter.
Nail Your Novel by Roz Morris (affiliate link)
If a scene is meant to establish character, don’t forget to show the character’s reaction.
2. Creating enigmatic characters
We love characters who are mysterious. That inscrutable person who won’t reveal his feelings to the reader or the other characters, who makes us uneasy, who transmits a certain something that doesn’t add up.
But many writers make their mystery characters empty instead of intriguing.
Mysterious and enigmatic characters need to tease our curiosity. They have to be created positively and actively. This is not done by under-drawing them. You need to create conundrums—dates that don’t add up, people the character claims to know who don’t exist, things he does that doesn’t make sense. Also, he must respond to things.
Rather than create an expressionless blank, give us hints that this character has a lively consciousness, but that he’s keeping his cards close to his chest.
Entice the reader to notice the mystery.
Invite the reader to fill the blanks when characters confess their feelings
Here’s a challenge. If a character confesses his attachment to another, try not to let him say: “I love you.” Instead, set him up so the reader knows he’s saying it.
The phrase isn’t forbidden, but many writers use it as a magic wand, hoping it will add instant drama and intensity. In fact, what the characters mean is more important than the actual words.
What can they say instead? Anything that fits with the normal business of your plot, but make the reader understand “he’s telling her he loves her.” If you’ve built the tension, this is a point where you can trust the reader to fill in blanks. Perhaps one character tells a story that’s more personal than usual, but could be dismissed as “just a story.” The other might respond in kind. Or might not notice. Or might ignore the hint. Whichever way it goes, it sustains the tension. The readers complete the equation with their own reaction. Which is very satisfying.
Final guidelines
Don’t leave readers to fill the blanks if:
- You’re establishing character.
- You want to create a mystery.
Do leave readers to fill the blanks if:
- We know them well enough to read between the lines.
