Watching movies or reading books that beat me over the head with the point they are trying to make can really ruin the experience for me. As an audience member, I prefer it when creators are subtle and require me to figure out what an object symbolizes, or what lines of dialogue have double meanings- foreshadowing future events. When done well, I often don’t get it on first read/viewing and only through successive experiences do these clever bits come to light. I enjoy metaphorically slapping myself on the forehead asking “How did I miss that?”
When writing the first draft of Nekonikon Punk: Ctrl Break, this was something I was keenly aware of from the onset. I knew which characters were going to turn heel, what major events were going to occur later in the story, and how the climax was going to resolve. What I wanted to do was not be too obvious about it, but sprinkle in enough lines here and there to give people validation if they made a point to track those clues as they read.
I was eager to hear how clever I was from my initial beta readers. They would tell me how I struck the balance just right and praise me for my skill, especially as a first time fiction author.
Have I set that up obviously enough? Do we all know what really happened?
Yep. I was fooling myself. They did not get it!
MINOR SPOILER AHEAD- If you haven’t read Nekonikon Punk: Ctrl Break yet, why not go support me, give it a go, and come back to finish this post?
One major example was Rafiq. I thought I was so clever early on, making him a friendly rival to Juan, but hinting enough here and there that it would be surprising-but earned-when he turns against Juan in the coffee shop. Boy, was I wrong!
When the first reader came back with a comment like: “That’s out of character. Rafiq seemed like a supportive friend.” I admit, I got defensive. How could they not get it? It was all right there! When more beta readers had similar reactions, I had to pull myself out of denial, and rewrite large portions of the beginning to try and make it work better.
This is just one example (of many) where my I am grateful to my beta readers who humbled me, forced me to reflect, and ultimately made me a better writer. I had to take myself out of my “author head” where I knew all the twists and turns of the story, and place myself in the “reader’s head.”
Of course, I don’t think it is possible to get the balance perfect. Everyone brings their own baggage to any media they take in. Meaning is created by the interaction of the audience with the medium, and so each person will create their own meaning as they read a novel, listen to a song, or watch a film. However, I am happy with the balance I struck.
In the final draft of Nekonikon Punk: Ctrl Break, I think I may have beat people over the head a bit with my early descriptions of Rafiq and his interactions with Juan, but it certainly makes the coffee shop scene land better for the majority of my readers. It also helped me understand Rafiq’s motivations more and opened his character up for some fun developments in the second novel, which I’m currently writing.
Just one more reason why I am so thankful for my wonderful beta readers who helped make my dream of writing a novel come true.
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