One of the earliest lessons I’ve learned as a writer was to “trust the reader.” In the beginning, I didn’t know what this meant. How do you trust a reader? Isn’t the point of you writing is to guide your reader through an experience?
Well, yes, the keyword here being guide.
What I’ve learned this means is that if you say something like “cat”, you immediately assume that the reader knows what it looks like. You don’t have to describe everything about that cat. Most people who reach the point in their lives where they could read your novel will be able to understand basic things.
Now, writing comes in different shapes and forms, and readers’ preferences vary. But I am the sort of reader who likes re-reading novels, so I appreciate less hand-holding and more natural reveals. The sort of stories where on the second or third reading, I’ll go, “Why didn’t I notice that before?” As the years went by, I’ve taken a similar stance with my writing: everything matters, so pay attention. Not for anything but because this is also the type of stuff I like to read.
Your mileage may vary. My husband was one of my first beta-readers, and during the entire trilogy, he was hounding me for questions. I usually answer with something like, “Check the last chapter. Read the last paragraph again.” And he’d swear in frustration, do what I asked, and then be like, “Oh.” (Then he’d stomp off and leave me alone for the next hour or so while he read the rest of it).
He later told me that he was used to reading stuff where everything was patiently explained or laid out to the reader.
I like reading novels where I can trust the writer. Where I know every action and every description forms a picture that would just enhance later reads. And while I know I may not always succeed, and I’ve more than frustrated readers who may have been expecting something else (I’m trying to get better at the mysteries and puzzles, but it’s always a work in progress), the exercise keeps me on my toes.
And I trust that the readers who can give me a little more patience than usual won’t be disappointed.
