So, I tried to read Lightlark. I really tried. I couldn’t.
But I found something in there that actually might help a lot of writers.
I’m not going to give a ton of information on what Lightlark is, because, for the purposes of this post, you don’t really need it. Suffice to say that it’s a (in my opinion) very poorly-written book.
So, anyway. The advice.
There’s a scene at the very beginning of the book where the author is trying to set up the background, world, and characters. The protagonist is sitting in the greenhouse that she lives in, and her two caretakers enter.
It’s at this point that we learn the caretakers’ nickname for the protagonist: “Little bird”. We’re also given some information, both about the protagonist’s life and the way her caretakers treat her; We learn that they’re pretty controlling over her and sort of own her, in a way.
This sets up some pretty neat, if a little obvious, symbolism: The protagonist lives in a greenhouse - a glass dome - and her controlling caretakers call her a “little bird”. She’s a bird in a cage.
You probably didn’t need me pointing it out for you to notice that - you know how to read and, if you’re following me, you’re probably a writer. So, you’re thinking: Nice symbolism, I guess, but what’s the point of the post?
The point of the post is that the author immediately fucks it up.
After crafting this tidbit and putting it into her work, the author decides that it’s not enough; Surely her audience won’t notice that the greenhouse is supposed to represent the protagonist feeling trapped without being prompted.
So, she prompts us.
By literally saying: “She was like a bird. A bird in a cage.”
There’s your advice. Don’t treat your readers like they’re stupid. They’re not. Trust your audience to understand your metaphors and symbolism and underlying themes without being told. Or, at least, trust me when I say that this is about the most annoying thing an author can do.
It’s far better to have a subtle metaphor or choice of words go unnoticed than a less-subtle one be pounded repeatedly into the reader’s skull because the author treats them like they’re four.
