What Do Readers Expect?
We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives. As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!). My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day.
But when Christmas Day rolled around, I felt subdued. Disappointed. Why?
I’d spent the previous couple of weeks anticipating the actual day so much that the reality couldn’t possibly measure up. Reality couldn’t match the perfection of my imagination.
That experience taught me a lot. First, toys always look cooler in commercials than they really are. Second, even though my parents didn’t know their hiding place had been discovered, I never snooped for my Christmas presents in the years after that.
Most of all, I learned how important our expectations are for our perception. Expectations shape our reality.
How many movies have you anticipated weeks in advance only to have it feel flat once you see it? Or maybe you’ve heard people gushing about a book, so you expect to love it, only to be left feeling it was only so-so.
Was the movie really disappointing? Was the book really bad? Or was it just that they couldn’t live up to our expectations?
This is understandable human behavior. The question is, can it be managed? Can we, as writers, avoid disappointing our readers?
Managing Reader Expectations
Some aspects of reader expectations we can’t control: word-of-mouth or reviews, our cover art (unless we’re self-published), back cover blurbs, etc. But some things we can control, and it can start even before we’re published. After all, unpublished authors have readers too—agents, contest judges, and critique partners/beta readers.
- Does our query letter let agents know what kind of story to expect? If our first five pages don’t seem to match our query letter in terms of tone, characters, or basic plot, agents might assume we don’t have a good handle on our story.
- Does the first page—heck, the first line—reflect the genre of the story? If the first line is about an action-packed shoot-out, we wouldn’t expect the rest of the story to be a quiet examination of the nature of reality.
- Does our first chapter at least hint at the overall story questions to give the reader an idea of where the plot will be going? Personally, I enjoyed From Dusk Till Dawn, but many people didn’t like that movie because of how it dramatically switched gears in the middle.
- Are our characters introduced in a way to correspond with the impression we want readers to have? If a character starts off being whiny or a bitch, it might be hard to change the reader’s mind later.
Every scene, every paragraph, every word is a choice. We create our readers’ expectations with the reality we present in our story. I’ve read books where I expected one character to be the love interest, only to discover another character filled that role instead. How did that happen? The authors created an impression with the choices they made in how to present those characters.
Obviously, many times we don’t want the story to match our readers’ expectations. Plot twists and turning points shouldn’t be expected. However, a reader’s experience should match our intentions.
When I beta read, I’ll often comment with stream-of-consciousness thoughts of my expectations to let the author know how I’m interpreting things. As authors, we already know what we’re trying to say, so it can be difficult to know if others perceive our words the way we want them to. See if your beta readers can share their at-this-moment story expectations when they read for you.
Find a way to tap into knowing what readers are expecting from your story. If it matches with your intentions, great job! If not, some tweaking is in order. Try changing how you focus on different actions, dialogue, and emotions. Shape your readers’ expectations with your choices.
What books or movies have disappointed you? Why did they disappoint you? Could the author or director have done something different to fix the problem? In your own work, do you have problems getting readers to interpret things the way you want?
And whether you celebrate Christmas or not,
I hope you’re not disappointed during this season.
Merry Christmas & Happy Hanukkah, heck, Happy Everything!
Great post! I really enjoyed reading it and all your points are relevant! Merry Christmas!
Hi Todd,
Thanks for visiting! Merry Christmas to you too!
I am almost always disappointed by any big-name movies that the media and general public start gushing about – usually because anyone who gushes about them hasn’t done much in the way of reading. The Matrix? My philosophy class with a sci-fi bend – I’ve got Vonnegut for that. Harry Potter? Psh. Jane Yolen did it years earlier and ten times better. Twilight? Do not get me started. There are a few exceptions (I’ve loved almost everything Studio Ghibli has ever come out with, and How To Train Your Dragon was excellent), and a few semi-exceptions (Pan’s Labyrinth was just this side of a masterpiece but dear god I never want to watch that again), but it’s still going to be a long time before I bother watching Avatar – and even longer before I pay for it. Speaking of expectations, though, it reminds me of this one excerpt from Beginning Level Game Design I found on a blog I used to follow. The original post is here. “What players expect from your game is perhaps the deciding factor in whether it will be a success or a failure. If you meet the players’ expectations, or even exceed them (in a positive way, of course), your game will be a hit. If you fail to meet the players’ expectations, well… Welcome to Nowheresville, baby. Population: You. Expectations are usually generated well before players pick up your game. They’ll be influenced by the scanty information you provide on your Web site,… — Read More »
Hi Kay,
Yes, this is so true and exactly my point:
In some ways, I hate this aspect of human behavior – at least in myself – because it means that vacations are almost never as good as you want them to be. 🙂
Thanks for the comment!
This is a great post, Jami. Excellent points!
Hi Clara, Thanks for the comment!
Great post, Jami! Movie-wise, I’m almost always disappointed in movies made from books I love. I guess the Lord of the Rings trilogy was the exception–loved those movies. The biggest book disappointments I’ve had were the ending to JR Ward’s Lover Unbound (which she apparently caught hell for from readers) and a certain character who got killed off in Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series (ditto). I’ve also been a bit disappointed in the last couple of Sookie books from Charlaine Harris, and fear the series might be winding down.
Hi Suzanne,
Great examples! Yep, I loved the LotR movies more than the books (but that might be because I was always more of a Narnia girl than a LotR girl anyway). And in general, I don’t enjoy movies from books as much. I will say, however, that I think they’re doing a great job adapting the sometimes very cinematic-unfriendly Narnia stories into movies. They’re adding depth even. Usually, movies are more shallow as they have to cut so much out.
In books, it’s usually more that I don’t love it as much as I wanted to. I didn’t mind the ending of Lover Unbound as much as others seemed to, but I understand why they didn’t like it. I haven’t read the Harrison series, and I tend to read the Harris books like popcorn and don’t take them very seriously, so it’s hard to disappoint me with them. 🙂
[…] I mentioned last time, whether or not we’re disappointed often depends on what we’re expecting. After all, […]
Hey, I thought you said it was an accident? And I quote: I never snooped for my Christmas presents in the years after that. Busted!!!
You know what I’d love to see in a movie? A great romantic comedy – one where the supposed hero doesn’t sleep with the heroine’s mother, sister or best friend before he begins a relationship with heroine. I mean, why is there always some awkward, embarrassing or disgusting scene that’s thrown into the romantic mix to get a laugh? From whom? If I’m their target audience – they missed me. It’s almost as if the director/writer is trying to appeal to too many people. I hate that.
I’m just saying…
M.
Hi Murphy,
It was an accident – the first time. If I’d gone looking in later years, that wouldn’t have been an accident. 🙂
[…] and work to sell that ending to the reader through clues and subtext. Just as expectations shape how people percieve reality, authors shape readers’ expectations by embedding story goals throughout the […]
I’ve been browsing your blog for several days. As an undereducated wanabe writer, I realize the need to learn the craft from those who have “been there and done that”. Rather than continue a shotgun plan of reading a bit of what this writer has to say, and some more of what that writer has to say, etc., I’ve chosen you as my mentor.
Oh, you don’t have to do anything you’re not doing right now, and I won’t ask you to read my scribblings (unless I ever publish a manuscript). Starting with this, your earliest post I’ll read all the way through your blog and, hopefully, put your lessons to good use.
Thank you for your blog.
Hi Mike,
In truth, I learned most of what I know by being open to learning “whatever” from “whomever.” So that can be a valid education plan too. 😉
That said, thanks for the vote of confidence on following my blog posts as part of a do-it-yourself mentorship program. 🙂 I did something similar when I first started as well, as I read all the posts on the edittorrent blog, which is run by two editors. I already had an instinctive grasp of storytelling and story structure, so their posts about grammar and whatnot were perfect for filling an early weakness of mine.
So that’s another way to learn–read widely enough to be exposed to different concepts that might be weaknesses we’re not even aware of and then keep our eyes open for tips to help us with any of our weaknesses known or unknown. Good luck with your education and thanks for the comment!
Hey Jami! I have something to say and ask about reader expectations, so I found this related post to comment on, yay! Okay well, sometime ago, I was worried because of these two opposite kinds of readers: the first is the reader who just digs unpredictable plots and dislikes predictability full stop. The second reader, is the type that wants all their expectations met, e.g. I want X and Y to get together and marry at the end of the book! (BTW, this is funny because one of my favorite kinds of endings is the “hero and heroine marry and have kids and live happily ever after” ending. Yet I have a friend who dislikes this marry and have kids ending because she finds it very cheesy. LOL! Oh us poor writers when we try to appeal to everyone, but of course we can’t appeal to everyone.) But recently, I thought of a solution, and most of the friends I asked about this so far thought it was a good way to solve this dilemma. So, I see that usually when the expectation-wanting readers are upset, it’s usually on major things, like which characters get together romantically, who dies (if any die at all), whether the main villain will be defeated or not or whether the protagonist will win, whether the protagonist will succeed in e.g. becoming the top scientist in her field, and who, if anybody, becomes or turns out to be a traitor. Therefore, in an attempt to… — Read More »
Hi Serena, Yes, many of those “major” things are the elements that make a story part of a certain genre. No major element equals not part of the genre. Period. For example, a romance HAS to have a happy ending for the love-interest characters. Some people have tried to argue that as long as the story focuses on the romance, it doesn’t matter if they get together or not. Um, no. That would be a love story, which is different (see Nicholas Sparks’s books). In a romance, they HAVE to end up together, even just for the time being (a “Happily For Now” rather than a “Happily Ever After” ending). Otherwise, it’s not a romance. People who argue against this rule usually are trying to cash in on the huge romance readership, but they don’t realize that readers of romance expect (i.e. require) that happy/optimistic ending. The only “loophole” for this rule is a trilogy or serial-type story, where the romance plays out over the series, but even so, the fact that it’s a cliffhanger ending needs to be clear in the book description, or readers will throw the book against the wall. 🙂 However, within those major elements, you’re right that the minor elements can be, and probably should be, more unpredictable. The journey for HOW they get to that genre-expectation ending should be made up of twists and turns that readers don’t expect. In other words, if readers wouldn’t be happy if the characters get together (no matter… — Read More »
Yes, well said! 😀 I have a question, though. Stories about romantic love that end tragically are called love stories, but on Amazon, which genre category would the author select? If the author picks Romance, then romance readers would expect a happy ending. So should the author choose the next dominant genre e.g. fantasy or Young Adult, instead, so that readers may not necessarily expect a happy ending? And this might be a silly question, haha, but happy stories about romantic love are also called “love stories”, right? I.e. romances are love stories, but love stories are not romances? 😀 I like your point that if they don’t want a happy ending, they’re better off reading another genre, lol! And ooh I’ve never thought of the how those “major events” tell you what genres the story could be in, but it’s very interesting to think about! So usually in fantasy, the main character and/or their allies would beat the main villain, and usually the protagonists won’t die in the end, though sometimes they do. At least for fantasy, there is no guarantee that the romance arc will end happily (like in Allegiant by Veronica Roth that you mentioned in another post), so love tragedies can come here, not that I would want to write something as sad as that. ^^” But since USUALLY fantasies and young adult books don’t have any of their protagonists dying, readers are incensed if a protagonist does die, like in Allegiant. So even if something… — Read More »
Hi Serena, I’m not an expert in Amazon genres and categories, so I’m not sure. I know many contemporary non-romance-genre love stories would fall into chick-lit or women’s fiction. As you said, the other elements of the story would determine the best fit. And YA and New Adult don’t have that happy ending requirement either. And correct–romances are love stories but not all love stories would be part of the romance genre. (Sometimes people lump them together, which is fine except for when talking about the specific romance genre category. Stories can be love stories, romantic, etc. and not fit into the romance genre, which has the happy/optimistic ending–at least as far as the relationship–requirement.) Hmm, to answer your question about the plot events/genre thing… On second thought, that connection probably works better for plot-oriented genres: romance, thriller, mystery, etc. Time-and-place-oriented genres such as fantasy or sci-fi might not have that connection between genre and plot. For example, Westerns don’t have to follow a specific plot, but many do (think of the “stranger rides into town” type of Westerns). So for something like Fantasy, the plot events would often be informed by the genre, but we’d probably see more connections if we broke Fantasy into sub-genres (travel to hidden fantasy world vs. set only in fantasy world, etc.). In other words, time-and-place genres are often informed by an underlying co-genre for the plot. I haven’t read GRRM’s books, but they strike me as having some commonalities with mafia-style family drama… — Read More »
Ooh yeah I didn’t think of them as time and place, but that’s interesting! Historical would be similar, I guess. Hmm yeah maybe subcategories of fantasy would have more rules…maybe. Most fantasy and sci fi I read have happy endings where the bad guy is defeated, but I’m sure I’ve seen some endings where the bad guy wins, but I can’t recall any specific stories right now. This is fun to think about nevertheless. 😀
P.S. I just had the ominous thought that the horror genre doesn’t have a rule that guarantees happy endings either. *insert evil laughter here* LOL!
Hi Serena,
Very true! Horror’s rules are very different. LOL!