 Mystery: September 20, 2017 Issue [#8514] |
  Mystery
This week: The Relative Position of the Reader Edited by: Jeff  
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"Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle; they read it to get to the end.
The first page sells that book, and the last page sells your next book."
-- Mickey Spillane
Trivia of the Week: Lisa Lutz began her career working quite a few low-paying jobs, including at a private investigation firm. She tried her hand at screenwriting with one produced film (which didn't perform well), and several other scripts that failed to sell. She eventually gave up screenwriting and turned her screenplay "The Spellman Files" into a book that ultimately ended up being nominated for an Anthony Award, Macavity Award, Barry Award, Dilys Award, and won an Alex Award. It hit #27 on the New York Times Bestseller List and, in a twist of fate, was optioned by Paramount Pictures for adapting into a movie.
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THE RELATIVE POSITION OF THE READER
When a reader interacts with your story, they are in one of three relative positions to the characters in the story. They can be:
 Ahead of the characters
Behind the characters
On pace with the characters
Each one of these relative positions offers opportunities and drawbacks for your narrative.
AHEAD OF THE CHARACTERS
When the reader is ahead of the characters, the reader knows something characters don't. This can be a very effective perspective for thrillers, because the author can create anxiety in the reader by showing them exactly what's waiting for the characters just around the corner. This type of story is great when you have a multiple storylines going (particularly when you're showing both the protagonist and the antagonist working toward their respective goals), or when you want the reader to clearly understand what's at stake in the story (e.g., the fate of the world, the stability of the government, the freedom of a wrongfully convicted person, etc.) even if the characters don't quite fully grasp the full scope of the plot yet.
BEHIND THE CHARACTERS
When the reader is behind the characters, the characters know something the reader doesn't. In my humble opinion, this is one of the most difficult perspectives to write because it requires the reader trusting that the characters will eventually explain the information to them. Sherlock Holmes tales are a great example of this type of storytelling where the reader is essentially waiting until the end for the titular character to say, "Okay, here's how I solved the case." These type of stories can be incredibly engaging for people who like seeing an author weave a complex tale and put a puzzle together at the very end, but it requires a deft hand to keep the reader interested rather than frustrated when the characters and narratives are always a few steps ahead.
ON PACE WITH THE CHARACTERS
When the reader is on pace with the characters, the characters and reader discover the same things at the same time. This is effectively used in horror films, where the audience is following the characters down every creepy hallway and around every dark corner. These type of stories are really effectively used in smaller-scale thrillers and mysteries, where the objective is to put your reader in the character's shoes. Unlike big-event thrillers where a lot of the suspense comes from worrying that the protagonist will save the day in time, the suspense and thrills with this perspective come from the reader realizing crucial plot details at the same time as the characters.
When deciding which perspective to take with your story, it will depend on the things you want to accomplish. What's the focus of your story? Is it to have the readers discover clues and solve the mystery alongside your characters? If so, you probably shouldn't undercut that by giving the reader information your character doesn't have, or expect your reader to wait patiently while your characters get to have all the fun of discovery. On the other hand, if your story is about a complicated conspiracy to take down an entire government, you probably want to spend at least some time giving the reader a peek at what the objective is, at least in general terms. It's not much fun to plan a whole heist or takeover if you're only going to explain how it's done in the last chapter of the book! And if your story requires a character that is more advanced than the reader, you probably don't want to spend too much time showing them stumbling through their thought process, or telegraphing the things that the character won't figure out until later.
There is no right or wrong way to position your reader in relation to your characters. But there are three different perspectives you can use, each with their own pros and cons. Figure out the one that's best for your story and stick with it. You don't want to spend too much of the time or space in your story chasing narrative perspectives that undercut what you're trying to do. 
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
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EXCERPT: Captain O'Leary, was about to leave the cop-shop in the capable hands of a "skeleton crew" which was really Dorothy Hensbrick, an 84-year-old woman, who agreed to work the phones for dispatch and beep Captain O'Leary, should any emergency calls come in.
EXCERPT: When I was little I often had these strange dreams...
They lasted for as long as I can remember and ended not too long ago. I don't know the reason for why they stopped, but I haven't had one since then.
I've kept these dreams in the back of my mind and never spoke of them until recently, when I finally realized who he was.
EXCERPT: Agnes pulled the last sheet of tissue from its package to wipe the remaining teardrops on her face. Her eyes stung and her throat parched. She didn't know how long she had been crying, for it had felt like forever. Fatigue, hunger, and sleepiness drained her will to live. Agnes wanted nothing more than hot food and soft beds rather than 6 hours sitting at the airport. Maintenance issues they said. Pre-flight inspections they said. She wondered if her days couldn't be worse than this.
EXCERPT: I awoke suddenly, surrounded by darkness, gasping for breath. I lay shivering in a frigid puddle of what I assumed to be water. Not that I could tell. I could see nothing. I tried to think, where was I? What was I doing here? Questions began to swirl around in my head like leaves in a tornado, tossing my mind this way and that. The harder I tried to grasp for the answers, the further they seemed. In my panic, I finally stumbled onto the question of "Who am I?" All other questions seemed to vanish into thin air as I sat up in the darkness. My breathing steadied and I no longer felt cold. All I felt was bewilderment and focus on the one question: Who am I? I was at a loss.
EXCERPT: An agonizing wail echoed through the deep depths of a frigid cavern. The sound traveled through hundreds of passageways that were carved out long ago, ten levels high, the source of the wail came from a chamber on the top level of the cavern. At the entrance of the chamber, lanterns hung on both side and their light had gone out, but parts of the chamber were lit from the luminous rocks lying on the floor. Besides the glowing rocks, a large cavity was bare under a column of white smoke rising high. The wind from outside snatched the smoke away as a blizzard howled outside of the isolated chamber. When the wail ceased, pure silence conquered the surroundings. Even the blizzard grew deaf and the white snow fell gently inside.
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Feedback from my last newsletter about lone wolves and team effort characters ("Mystery Newsletter (August 23, 2017)" ):
Quick-Quill  writes: "I love team effort. I do find some to be narrow minded. I have had three stories shot down in the first chapter. I decided not to give out my work for critique until I have at least 3-4 chapters to read."
I usually recommend authors provide as much of a longer work as possible when asking for feedback. If a reader is only presented with a chapter, or a handful of pages, they can only knowledgeably comment on that relatively small excerpt of the whole. And in longer pieces, it's entirely possible their concern is alleviated a while later. This happens all the time with screenwriters. They'll sometimes ask me to read the first ten pages of their script and I'll have a lot of questions about the significance of situations they're setting up, character motivations, etc.
And the answer is often, "Oh well I address that later in the script." But without having that "later" available, a reader can't know that.
Tornado Dodger  writes: "What a terrific editorial Jeff. I don't write multiple stories with the same character but I do read stories where that comes into play. I have to say, this is something I hadn't thought about. What a brilliant idea to talk about this. Wonderful editorial. I know I will think about this again when writing and reading. Thanks for taking the time to think of such interesting topics. "
Thanks for writing in, Brooke! It's always great to hear from you! 
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