Withholding Information from the Reader
Asked by Timothy Bailey on July 6, 2020
Hi Jerry,
I just read a novel that was written in close first person POV. Throughout most of the story, as the reader, I dwelt in the head of the MC, experiencing the character's desires, emotions and thoughts, until, towards the end of the book, the author ended a chapter with something along the lines of "and then the MC got a brilliant idea that just might change everything." For the next two chapters the MC started going places and doing things with some hidden motive that was not disclosed until the big finale. To be honest, I felt I had been kicked out of the MC's head and forced to watch the story unfold alongside it's villain.
Is this an appropriate strategy for an author to use to make the ending of a story surprising? Is there a better way to go about it?
Thanks,
Tim
Jerry's Answer
It doesn't sound like it worked for you, Tim, and that's key. For me it's one of the drawbacks of First Person. In Third Person Limited it can work, but after a First Person narrator has made the reader a confidant, it seems disingenuous to then keep him out of the big secret.
To me, when things need to be withheld from the reader for the sake of tension, they need to be kept from the MC as well.