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.”
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