Sometimes, the information is so important that without it, we can’t figure out what’s going on. Just let us enjoy the story! The Story Is Confusingīy definition, a meta mystery requires withholding information from the reader. Either way, it’s a frustrating experience. Alternatively, it can feel like the author is reaching out and sectioning off certain information for later. These deliberate omissions leave us feeling like the characters are deliberately hiding information from us, as if they know this is a book that we’re reading. Because, as we all know, trying not to think about something is a great way to avoid thinking about it. When the death of Shallan’s father comes up, she literally thinks, “Don’t think about that,” and then the narration moves on. Something mysterious happened to Dalinar’s wife, but his thoughts always jump over that and consider troop deployments instead. We’re supposed to wonder how Kaladin became a slave, so when people ask him about him about it, he somehow changes the subject inside his own mind. Instead, authors create weird breaks where the character’s train of thought is suddenly absent before starting up again.Īll three characters have this problem. If that information were added to the narration like the character’s other important thoughts, it would give away the mystery. This doesn’t work with meta mysteries, since the protagonist already knows the answer.

If the character thinks about their departed loved ones, that should be on the page. If the POV character sees a snarling wolf, readers expect to know it. But as a side effect, close limited also creates the expectation that readers will see the protagonist’s important thoughts as they happen. It immerses readers in the story by putting them in the protagonist’s shoes, which is great for building both tension and attachment. This is an excellent narration style and one we often recommend. The POV character changes depending on the scene or chapter, but Sanderson always sticks to his chosen character for a given section. The book is written in close limited, meaning that the POV character’s thoughts effectively are the narration.

The first problem WoK encounters with its meta mysteries is the way they clash with its narration style. * Is this a problem? I’ll let you decide… but the answer is yes. Of the four POV characters, three are steeped in meta mysteries and the fourth is so minor that he barely matters. Today I’ve set my sights on Brandon Sanderson’s 383,389-word doorstopper, The Way of Kings (WoK).

We always knew this would be an uphill battle, as authors love this trope. Mythcreants has long been on a quest to rid the world of meta mysteries – the trope where audiences are made to wonder what the protagonist knows – even before Chris published an in-depth article on it.

The way of kings art