SECRETS: READERS AND WRITERS TAKE NOTE

I believe the reason that keeping secrets work so well in fiction—no matter the genre—is because we all have them. Every one of us carries a secret. Or ten. Some are damning, some are embarrassing. And most secrets rendered in plain sight would reveal our true nature to the world.

Isn’t that the most basic kind of fear?

What I adore about secrets held back and then revealed in fiction is how deep the well of suspense is that they dig. Isn’t it a wonderful feeling when two characters are lying in bed together and we as the reader know something on the tip of one’s tongue while other soul in question hasn’t a clue? The tension is a drop of sweat on your upper lip but you dare not lick it away for fear that this slip will show your upper hand. What delight!

As a writer of fiction, I strive to make the narrative secrets large enough that they’re interesting and–almost more importantly—that their absence from the story is even more effective to the reader’s tenuous psyche than if I’d told them straight out. Most stories work best if cards are deliberately kept face down—not just from characters, but from the reader. Doling them out at an excruciating pace, or having both the reader and the protagonist learn something together, but at the worst possible moment, well, this must feed into what can only be my innate sadistic nature. Call me cruel, but this tactic proves to be some of my most fun while writing.

One of my favourite stories to write is anything in THE NIGHT WALK MEN world. The first novella introduces us to a blighted, jaded and ages-old narrator named Sperro. He has a certain way of looking at the world and doles out the details of his vantage point in a droll manner that just tickles me. It drives a few readers nutso but, hey, it’s Sperro’s world and as he puts it when asked to share, “I will tell you. No wink, no smile, no foolin’. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” And he continues, “Your curiosities are fair and I will treat them that way…I will answer all your questions. But in due time, vice-a-verse-a, you’ll be asked to answer mine.”

Isn’t that the root of it? We fear hearing a secret, even though we crave hearing it. But what will it reveal about us? Or, worse, will we be expected to play fair and share one of our own, outright? Ah, a beautiful and demanding concept.

Next time you read anything, be it drama, thriller, suspense, or even humour, take note of how the author is holding things back and then peppering the story with revelations at a pace that hopefully makes in enticing to roll along for the ride. Good writers savour it. And good readers will too.

Jason will be giving away a copy of either of the books mentioned in the post to a lucky commenter! (Commenter’s choice of book and format)

About Jason McIntyre
Jason McIntyre has lived and worked in varied places across the globe. His writing also meanders from the pastoral to the garish, from the fantastical to the morbid. Before his time as an editor, writer and communications professional, he spent several years as a graphic designer and commercial artist.

McIntyre’s writing has been called noir and sophisticated, styled after the likes of Chuck Palahniuk but with the pacing and mass appeal of Stephen King. The books tackle the family life subject matter of Jonathan Franzen but also eerie discoveries one might find in a Ray Bradbury story or those of Rod Serling.

His books include the #1 Kindle Suspense, THE NIGHT WALK MEN, bestsellers ON THE GATHERING STORM and SHED, plus the multi-layered coming-of-age literary suspense THALO BLUE. McIntyre is the author of more than two dozen short stories, several novellas and full-length fiction. Currently, he is at work on the full-length follow-up novel about THE NIGHT WALK MEN.

http://www.theFarthestReaches.com

* The draw has been made. The winner is Na S.! *