Today, we'll have a look at the issue of finding balance between secrecy & mystery VS explaining and sharing. How to keep the reader wondering, and not make them frustrated at the same time?
First, let's mention genres. The amount of secrecy will differ in a detective novel and a romance; specific scenarios need specific approaches. Let's keep that in mind and plan the plot step by step, deciding which points will work the best for revealing secrets.
But let's talk about the general rule: keeping balance. Some stories will stay more secretive, while others may lean into oversharing; but those two elements should work with each other, compliment each other.
→ Some information is better off revealed to the reader, like the character's motivations and weaknesses, so the reader can empathize with them, but also so they carry a sense of self. It's also worth explaining the character's circumstances, like why are they living the way they are. Again, we're not going for sharing every single detail of how they got where they are, but a little background is more than expected.
Oversharing about a character would be explaining every single of their fears, passions, relationships, how they won a medal in third grade, etc. The reader doesn't need to know the character had their teeth removed when they were seven - don't TELL them unnecessary details. Instead, write how the character goes through their life, and make their actions explain for them.
Oversharing about the story's world would be for example going on to explain the country's history simply because someone mentioned it. It's easy to be overwhelming and too much for the reader who might feel like you're giving them a lecture.
→ Dose the information. Make the things happening make sense, while also remaining secrecy regarding certain topics, which will make the readers want to keep reading in curiosity.
While keeping secrets from readers can work to a certain extent, there's a point where too much is too much. I remember reading this fantasy book once. The premise was quite cool, we were given a bunch of mysterious characters, and all of them seemed to be playing some mental games. At first, it was an interesting concept, you kept reading on, wondering what is really going on. The bad part? The mystery kept going, only getting more and more layers, while nothing was being explained. At some point I no longer had any idea who am I reading about, who are the characters, what is the story about. It all lost meaning, because here I was, reading an extremely unreliable narration with characters I knew nothing about.
It's the best to share the draft of your story with a friend or a beta reader, and ask for their opinion regarding the way you played out a specific secret. Ask them, whether the big reveal was expected, or it came entirely out of nowhere. Did you give too many clues? Or maybe not enough?
→ Take the mystery you planned, and slowly, step by step, break it into small parts. Then look at your entire plot line, and decide where to plant both reveals and clues. It's something you need to practice, but once you got it, nobody will stop you.
→ Filter the information you share; readers don't need as much literal explaining to deduce what's going on. You probably love and value the world you created, but if you're writing paragraphs only to say "hey, guys, I came up with this!", it's not working.
In the end, the line between too little and too much isn't defined. Let your intuition and your readers' feedback point at just the right amount of sharing for your story.
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