How to Reveal Character by Withholding

As beginning writers, we often tell more than show. We want to be sure that a reader understands a character is angry, so we write: “I hate you,” she said angrily. We might even add three exclamation marks just be on the safe side.

With practice, we learn to become more subtle, taking pride in the scene where the protagonist suspects his elderly neighbor might be a serial killer/cannibal when she absentmindedly removes a severed arm from her purse while rummaging for her house keys.

“What’s that?” Keith asked, pointing at the decomposing extremity.

Tillie froze, cleared her throat, and said, “It’s a homemade back scratcher.”

As we continue to evolve as writers, we often pay more attention to the people around us. Human beings are contradictory creatures. If you don’t believe me, listen to Björk:

What we say and do often belies what we feel.

“How are you?” Betsy asked.

Louie grimaced. “Peachy keen, Bets, peachy keen.”

We’re often told that someone who crosses her arms, she feels defensive and seeks to put a barrier between herself and others. She could be cold, though, or socially awkward and unsure what to do with her gangly arms. As the author, you decide which it is—or even if it’s all three.

When a character doesn’t behave as expected, he intrigues us. Readers love a mystery, so we keep reading the story to find out why. Depending on the point of view, we might know that a character has lied, or we might suspect that he’s not truthful based on his tone or physical cues. Is he hiding something?

Incongruous behavior begs the writer and reader to ask questions to understand why a character is behaving in this way. Perhaps he’s up to no good. Or maybe he’s trying to protect someone for whom he cares. As we dig deeper as writers, we unearth backstory that helps us understand a character better—even if we never use the details we uncover.

Consider withholding information in a scene with a character with whom you’re having difficulty connecting. Write a scene where your character withholds information. What do you learn about the character? It doesn’t matter if you use the scene in your writing project or not. Get to know your character.