Sam's Wattpad and Writing Tips

Rabbit Holes of Confusion

Sometimes I come upon something that looks promising from the outside, but then I get inside and I just feel completely lost.

Ever read the same sentence five times and still, you're stuck with the o.O face and that confused upturned lip? But the story doesn't stop there, oh no. It just keeps going on and on, losing you even more. There are characters that popped up from nowhere, you're unsure if they're at the beach or a hockey game. By the second paragraph, you're starting to feel like you've fallen down a rabbit hole. You start to wonder if it's maybe a second book in a series. You start to wonder if you skipped the prologue or a memo somewhere, but you can't find anything...just this confusion.

It turns out that you or even I - the writer - know so much more about what you're writing than your reader does, that sometimes we forget that the reader knows only what we tell them. We have to paint a picture into their heads with words. We can't always expect the reader to grasp what seems completely clear to us, because they are not us.

How do you catch it?

Well, by re-reading of course. After you've finished something, go back and read it. Forget that you know anything about it. See it with the eyes of a first time reader, ask yourself if it makes sense. If you skip a lot of things or very important things, stuff will get wonky quick, and it's so simple to fix.

1.) There are tiny rabbit holes of confusions.

Example: "Julie strutted her way down the street, the chain in tow. Charlie followed at the other end."

Is Charlie a dog, or is Julie into kinky stuff with her boyfriend?

Easy clarification: "Julie strutted her way down the street, chain in tow. Charlie, her dog, followed at the other end."

2.) The deeper rabbit hole of confusion:

Confusing example: "I step into my bedroom. I know it was my sister. I can't believe she did that to me! How dare she! (here it prattles on)"

Here you're left wondering why the character is flipping out. You can't sympathize when you don't know the reason behind their actions.

Easy clarification: "I step into my bedroom. There, on the bed, is my open diary. I hid it before I left, so I know right away my sister must have been snooping again. I can't believe she did that to me! How dare she!"

3.) The huge rabbit holes of confusions that take you all the way to a wonderland of confusion. The introductions that drive us batty as all get out, the stories that open with the character doing things we don't understand the motives behind or the settings for, then there are the stories that seem to start in the middle of a story instead of at the beginning - no, I don't mean the ones that foreshadow the end of the novel. What I mean is a legit scene that feels like the book is hitting us upside the head instead of letting us read it.

The best way to realize you've done this is by letting a family member or friend have a look at it.

Don't forget, the reader knows only what the writer lets them know. Please, do your best to make it perceivable. If it confuses us, we will stop reading.

Vote if you've ever been down a rabbit hole of confusion.