In the last blog, we talked about how context is the heart of story. It’s a core component for orienting your reader.
Writing without sufficient context doesn’t lead to “bad prose” as much as it leads to reader disorientation and an emotional disconnect. You lose your reader to confusion and a break in causality.
When your reader can’t tell what matters or why, or how one detail leads to another, they lose the ability to track story logic. It calls everything into question. When that happens, the brain defaults to inferring details and context instead of knowing them. This diminishes the story and robs it of emotional impact.
[Aside: I say character below, but this works the same in business writing when you are talking about a client or yourself. Context works the same throughout all types of stories.]
Here are some common ways that happens:
Vague Stakes
The reader drops into the event, but can’t figure out why it matters to the character (or subject), the audience, or what is happening in the story. There are no significant consequences from actions taken or a lack of motivation to push the character or story forward. Stakes give the story tension and purpose, but they only work if the reader knows why they matter to the character.
Unclear Setting or Situation
When the reader can’t tell where or when they are, that’s a problem. Your readers need to be grounded in the story to understand it. Without enough grounding, the reader can’t visualize where the action is happening or what constraints shape it. They remain untethered to the story and feel adrift and separate from what’s happening.
Confusing Timeline
If writers jump around in time without giving enough signals to the reader to follow the time jumps, they risk losing their readers to confusion and frustration. Readers need their bearings to understand the story or they lose track of when they are. This happens a lot in stories that jump between two time periods, such as dual timeline novels or novels told in a nonlinear manner (like The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger).
Under-Explained References
When you hand your reader too many names given at one time, events without explanation, acronyms that are never spelled out, or allusions that seem obvious to you, but that may be opaque to the reader, the reader becomes confused. Readers need basic information to stay in the story. If you have a lot of characters, introduce them slowly or provide a character chart in the beginning of the novel. Anyone who has ever read a Russian novel will understand this issue. It’s why they often come with a chart and why literature professors often recommend making one when they don’t. Russian novels always have a cast of thousands that use their real names, nicknames, and endearments, which confuses everyone. Make sure you aren’t doing that to your reader. If they need a map or character list to keep things straight, provide it. Better yet, introduce characters in a memorable way and slowly, a few at a time at most.
Too Much Detail or the Wrong Details
Burying your reader in details also buries the important details they need for the story to make sense. Limit details to what is necessary to understand the story and ground the reader. Provide the bits that drive the story and character arcs. Eliminate everything else. You shouldn’t add in all of your research. Your reader will thank you for your restraint.
Assuming Shared Knowledge
Writers often forget that readers haven’t done the research they have. They assume everyone knows what they do. But this attitude harms more than it helps. If you use an acronym, spell it out the first time you use it. Don’t assume everyone reading your article or book knows that acronym. If they do, spelling it out doesn’t insult them. If they don’t, it provides context and helps with understanding. This holds true for any information that may not be readily understood. Even larger words. If you plopped a four-syllable word into your piece, try to weave the definition into the scene, if you can. This happens a lot with industry jargon, such as medical terms or language only used in a single industry.
Answer Reader’s Questions Before They’re Asked
Context should answer readers’ silent questions before they have to stop and ask them or turn to their phone to Google the reference. Anticipate their questions and provide context so they stay in your work. Just don’t overdo it. A little goes a long way with explanations. No one wants an info dump.
Make sure you read through your writing for answers to the following:
- Who is the subject of this piece?
- Where are we in time and space?
- What changed?
- Why should I care?
- What’s at stake?
When you provide answers to those questions within your writing, your readers can focus on the story, its meaning, and its emotional impact. They can feel along with the characters and achieve narrative transport. Whenever you skip those answers, you’ve “broken the magic” and lost your reader.
Now, let me backtrack and explain that a bit before we move on.
Breaking Magic
This is a phrase from back in my Disney days. It refers to any moment a cast member says or does anything that breaks the illusion of the park or Disney magic. It is a fireable offense, and for good reason.
People go to Disney to escape into The Happiest Place on Earth. (Now, as a former cast member, I am not going to debate whether that is still possible these days.) Just know that every person who works for Disney is charged with keeping the Disney Magic alive. When they don’t uphold that promise, they are let go.
This same breaking the magic type experience occurs in writing. It happens when you introduce the real world into the experience by either giving too much or too little. Any moment when the reader comes out of the story because of a break or misinformation or lack of information, it’s a break. You want to avoid that by providing just enough context to ground them throughout the story. Don’t give them any reason to reach for Google or you’ll lose them to their phone.
Back to Context
Without context, readers can’t experience the full story. Instead, it’s more like being given a set of clues they have to assemble on their own. It’s the difference between getting a Lego kit with instructions and little bags with labels to help you stay on track and having someone dump a pile of Legos in your lap with instructions to build the Death Star on your own. You might build it…but likely not. Who knows what your version would look like?
If you want to keep your magic intact, grab our free Context Checklist with bonus section that will help you target the specific type of context needing help.