Evening Dress: Petal.

• Evening dress: Petal.

Designer/Maker: Charles James (1906-1978)

Date: 1951

Medium: Silk velvet, silk satin, silk taffeta.

Dry Terrain of the American West Captured in a Brief Moment of Color by Guy Tal

The Badlands region in the America West is known for its arid and unforgiving vegetation. The harsh environment is lifeless, but every so often it sprouts a delicate beauty of wildflowers. Photographer Guy Tal was there to capture this rare sight. He says:  “On rare years wildflowers burst into a stunning display of color, transforming the desert into a veritable garden for just few precious days.”

You’re a mimic. You were disguised as a chair in a dungeon when an adventurer decided to take you as loot. You’ve actually enjoyed your life ever since as furniture in a jolly tavern. So when some ruffians try to rob the now-elderly adventurer’s business, you finally reveal yourself.

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For a major reveal, the order of the reveal can matter almost as much as the content of it.

Consider the reveal that the main character previously killed a bad person. That reveal can happen all at once in the story, but consider what happens if you stretch it out throughout the story, giving the reader one piece of information at a time. What information goes first can change the entire dynamic of the story.

Consider these options:

they are dead and I killed them - they were bad

We've started with the knowledge that the person is dead and the main character killed them, and so the tension surrounds the question of why. The reader doesn't know yet that the person was bad, only that the main character killed them, and so this will likely shape their view of the main character.

they are dead - I killed them - they were bad

Breaking up the first component into two parts changes the tension--first, all we know is that the person is dead. This can be broken out even further if you want (they are dead - they were killed - I killed them) but the central tension is the same: how did they die, and by whose hand.

they were bad - they are dead and I killed them

In this case, we start with knowing that they were bad, which removes a lot of the tension--but at the start we don't know they are dad, so they remain a threat. Maybe they're someone the main character still fears, even if they're dead.

they were bad - they are dead - I killed them

Again, breaking out the reveal that the person is dead from who killed them provides an extra level of suspense--but in this case the reveal that the character killed them is likely one that brings more positive reader feelings to the character than in the earlier instances. It may also be the answer to a secret that other characters were trying to find out during the story.

they are dead - they were bad - I killed them

The central arc of this reveal becomes more about the character (no pun intended) of the person who is dead--especially if that first part also reveals that they were killed. The question that the arc of the reveal answer is why are they dead, and also how should the reader feel about their death, a feeling that will likely change once it's revealed that they were bad.

This is just one example of how the order of the reveal matters, but this exercise can work for any major reveal in a story. What are the central components of the reveal? How does the order in which they are shown or told to the reader change the tension and central questions of the story?

Added this comment to remind me just how much horses are Not To Be Trusted No Matter How Cool They Are

I WOULD START LOOKING FOR HOUSES IN A DIFFERENT STATE