[ SECRET POST #1614 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #1614 ⌋


Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 09 pages, 218 secrets from Secret Submission Post #231.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 3 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

If the fic is only about one or two characters then yes, you have a point.

Still, if a writer can only cause an impact with a surprise, then they probably should work on their writing skills and try to cause a emotional impact with their words and the development of the story, instead of depending on surprising their readers.

[(Anonymous)]

Speaking as a reader (viewer/etc.), I will say that this isn't always true. In fact, I believe those shows that advertise "Tonight, Someone Dies" are pulling a cheap ploy to gain audience attention. The wham factor is lessened and the plot possibly ignored in favor of speculations about which death is going to occur. And this is with a full cast of characters. The same should apply to fanfiction.

In fact, I'm going to argue that if a writer is skillful enough, they can lead the reader along in a way that creates a sense of dread even as they read, so that character deaths don't come completely out of left field when they occur, and yet don't spoil the entire story from the get-go. I like to enter a work of fiction with as few preconceived notions as possible, and sure, there's emotional attachment to the characters and I've read some pretty gutting stuff in my time, but at the end of the day it's just a story. I can get over it and not resent the author for not "warning" me.

[(Anonymous)]

I hear this argument a lot and don't understand where it comes from. Since when did a desire for suspense or uncertainty become the mark of bad writing? They're tools to be used like any other. Scenes will come off entirely differently if the reader is going in with the mindset of "This is where someone dies, isn't it? I bet it's so-and-so."

[(Anonymous)]

So you'd be totally cool if you read the back of a book, and it gave away all of the major plot twists, because "oh, writers shouldn't rely on surprise?"

Look, here's the thing. If something is written well, then yes, it will have an emotional impact no matter what -- including on multiple readings. But the nature of that impact changes once you know what's going to happen. For example, I've read 'Ender's Game' a shit-ton of times, and it thrills me on each read, but that thrill is very different from what I felt the first time I read it. It's not about dependence on surprise; it's about surprise adding something special the first time through. I don't particularly like it when that "something special" is taken away.