Trust The Reader

My writing mantra, these days.

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Hi friends.

In this era of people just copying and pasting and dumping information alongside the dramatic thievery of existing styles and content, I’ve been thinking about what makes a voice unique and original. And, of course, the value of that originality. I’ve also been thinking about how we can specifically, directly communicate with our audience in our approach. Because I always want to be in a kind of conversation with the reader. This is what makes the original, human artistic voice so important. There’s a true back-and-forth there. This is a way to make progress: through conversation.

My latest writing mantra for this new book is “Trust the reader.” It showed up when I was doing edits, trying to figure out how much to explain, and how much to keep quiet. Trusting that the reader could figure some things out for themselves, that they didn’t need to be hit over the head all the time (or at all), that they might in fact want to figure things out or have the freedom to insert themselves into a moment where I’ve left a little room.

How much are we explaining versus describing versus simply situating the reader? It’s such a careful balance, and while I’m not able to say exactly how to do it, I do think it’s a good thing to have in the back of our minds as we write. It’s instinct-based, in part. It’s also when a good reader or editor would come into play, as well. When someone will say to me, “You’ve over-explained, you’re being too heavy-handed here,” versus, “You’re not explaining enough, and I’ve gotten lost along the way.”

I don’t always nail it—I’ve had a few notes with this book that I took things a beat too long. But I’m more likely to get notes that I need to insert just a little more information to guide the reader along. Because my approach is usually to pare things back, leave a little room and breathing space, trust that my readers actually know how to read. If they (you, me) are showing up for a piece of literary fiction in this era of disposable distractions, they would like to read something that engages with them in a sophisticated manner.

This is how we maintain a cultural conversation. No need to dumb it down. We get enough of that from AI, from short-form videos, from all the blinking lights of the internet. Books are meant to be read, experienced, tussled with, appreciated for their quality, their craftsmanship, their tone, their wisdom. How exhilarating that this experience exists! Every day I sit down to write I think: Let the reader know you value them by treating them with respect.

See you next week.

Jami

You are reading Craft Talk, the home of #1000wordsofsummer and also a weekly newsletter about writing from Jami Attenberg. I’m also on bluesky and instagram.