I was in a discussion with other writers about the idea of payoff for the reader. Our readers expect something in return for opening our books. I expect writers to spend some time thinking about what I might see in the promise of the first pages, in the back cover copy, and in the emotional attachment I form with the characters. If it turns out the author wrote a different book than I wanted—which has happened—I want to see where I made my mistake. Above all, I want assurance that the author didn’t lie to me.
Some of my critique partners thought I was writing a different book when I started. By analyzing their suggested changes, I found a way to rewrite my first pages so another unsuspecting reader wouldn’t feel cheated.
Although I can’t anticipate how every reader will approach my work, I’ve come up with a list of expectations for books I read (expectations which I try to fulfill in my books). I want the authors I read to:
- Love all their characters, even the villains. A slavering monster who is only there to be killed spectacularly in the end works okay for a horror novel, not so much for anything else. Even in dystopias, I want the villain to have some semblance of humanity.
- Respect consequences. If the protagonist needs some time to grow up, fine, let those first decisions be obvious mistakes. The consequences of those mistakes should guide the plot. However—and this is a biggie for me— the protagonist had better start learning from those mistakes, and before the last page.
- Resolve the issues logically. Unless the author is bringing in a god-like character to make everything better, I’m not a fan of “and suddenly the crisis ended and everyone lived happily ever after” resolutions. The authors I love often set up a situation that I think can be resolved only in one of two ways but present a third way out. As long as I can see how cleverly all the dots are connected, I’m happy.
Fulfilling these expectations won’t guarantee my book will be a bestseller. It won’t even guarantee it will be appreciated by those who do read it. However, honoring the reasonable expectations of my readers will make me a more careful writer, and perhaps a better writer.