Tuesday, December 24, 2024
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How to Misdirect Your Readers: A Conversation with Lydia Kiesling

Have you ever have that experience reading a book where you think it’s about one thing, and then slowly it starts to reveal that it’s actually about something else? We call this “misdirection,” a narrative device that allows writers to write the story they want to write while allowing an undercurrent of what the story is “actually about.”

(Writer’s Digest Presents: Why You Should Attend the Annual Conference (Podcast, Season 2, Episode 5))

In the sixth episode of season two of the “Writer’s Digest Presents” podcast, editor-in-chief Amy Jones and content editor Michael Woodson sit down with author Lydia Kiesling to discuss misdirecting readers, climate fiction, and her new novel, Mobility.

From The Episode:

“I do think books—especially if you spend enough time with them—they will develop a logic of their own. And so sometimes, you notice things happening at the end, or someone else notices for you. And then you’re like, Oh, yeah, I was doing that. I didn’t really realize. Maybe it’s just kind of at whatever season in your life, you have a certain set of preoccupations, and they all will lead back to one another.” — Lydia Kiesling 

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