Into the Depths: How to Dig into a Story when the Details are Unclear

I am reading a book that, after two chapters, I would ordinarily put down.

It has one of those plots that builds slowly, one where you think you’ve got the gist of it early on, where you’ve heard so much about it that you wonder if it’s going to live up to the hype.

So why am I still reading it?

Two words: Author. Credibility.

Because I have met the author. Because I know the author’s previous work. Because I’m a long-time fan of this author’s work.

Like the forest I ran by the other day, where you can see the whole without its parts, a story can be muddy and difficult to trudge through as a reader and as the author.

So how do you, the author, dig into a story when the details are unclear?

You might not like my advice.

The way gets clearer just as when you’re trying to get into reading a book. You just have to keep reading.

You just have to keep writing.

It’s not the easy answer or the fast formula for success. But the slow way, I’m discovering, teaches us far more about our characters’ authentic selves. And if we let it, the slow way can teach us a little about ourselves too.