Richard Castle on The Key to Good Writing

http://www.richardcastle.net/news/the-key-to-good-writing


This is such a worthwhile read, and it might just be the man behind the mask sending the audience a message.

Quote :

You want to get your audience’s imagination racing - you want to get them thinking for themselves. That’s what a lot of people don’t understand about story. Most people think it is passive – the author tells the audience something while they listen. In fact, being an audience member is much more active than that.

You show an audience a key, and they aren’t going to wait for you to tell them what it is to, they are going to start guessing. Is it to a safety deposit box? A treasure chest? A chastity belt? (Although I suppose those last two are the same thing – wink wink) As a writer, it’s your challenge to keep fueling that fire and to eventually come out on top. You want your reader’s mind to be cycling rapidly through different ways the story could turn out and then in the end you want to deliver something even more special than they imagined.

and

Quote :

So, in lieu of delivering a satisfying ending, I’ve seen writers focus all of their energy on the build up which can get them into a bind. You have a key that leads to a box, and inside of the box there is a map, which leads to a deserted town, where there is an old man who tells you a riddle, and the riddle leads to a cave and inside the cave there is... a teddy bear!

........



So use the key – it can be a very valuable tool – but use it wisely. You have to know what the key opens, and what’s inside has to be rewarding to the audience, so that they feel like the trip was worth it. You want to entertain your audience along the way, and you want to keep them invested and get them thinking for themselves, but you also want to have something for them in the end, or you will be letting them down.