Writers Conning Readers
A homeless person walks up to you holding a coin inside a protective case. He has a receipt, and mumbles something about finding it on the street. You are skeptical, but you glance at the receipt, and it looks legitimate. The homeless person does not want to call the number listed because they are shy. Instead, they ask you to do it.
Calling the owner seems harmless, and when you call, the grateful caller offers to pay you $1,000 to return their coin. The receipt has a $15,000 purchase price, which makes the reward seem reasonable. However, you are not convinced and call the coin dealer (their number is also conveniently on the receipt). They say the sale is legitimate, and the buyer is a regular customer. This “evidence” convinces you to “do the right thing” and return the coin to the buyer. The homeless person then asks for part of the reward, and you hand them whatever cash you have in your wallet. Now, all you have to do is drive across town to claim the reward.
When you get to the address (typically an office building), and the people do not know what you are talking about. You then learn the coin dealer is nonexistent and the “valuable coin” is worthless. Suddenly, you realize you have been conned. Bummer.
Why do we fall for scams? The con relies on our honesty and a little greed. This is our blind spot because we expect everybody to be honest, and sometimes we let greed slip into our driver’s seat.
By now, you know that I like to discuss the topic of writing. So… What is the connection? Fiction writers are just as skilled as con artists. Their goal is to convince readers that the fantasy they invented is real. The difference is that instead of exploiting our greed, they take advantage of our desire to be entertained. Yet, the same underhanded tricks apply.
The first step in a con is to overcome the natural desire to be skeptical. Writers take a less drastic approach. Movies, for example, start with music, the title, and then introduce the characters. Books are no different and begin with a flashy cover and compelling title. Writers carefully draw viewers and readers into the story so they accept make-believe as real.
A perfect example is Harry Potter. Every person on this planet knows as a stone-cold fact that no matter how special I am, I will never be able to take a stick, call it a wand, say a magic word, and repair glasses. Yet, J. K. Rowling made millions of readers imagine it is possible.
How did this occur? Like a good con, the transformation began slowly with a backstory. Then, she gently introduced a friendly character. They performed a little magic demonstration and, poof, we accepted that magic is real. Why did we let our guard down? The book was fun to read.
On the flip side, like a bad con, writers can make mistakes. A good one is introducing a gigantic concept too soon. “Bobby arrived on Athos.” What the heck is Athos? Did the author misspell something? It turns out that this is a fantasy novel set in a distant world. Umm, it would be nice to know that before reading the sentence.
Where is the underhanded aspect? We see an obvious example in the movie Shrek. Everybody knows donkeys cannot talk, yet a talking donkey is entirely accepted as a principal character. The screenwriter conned us into ignoring our common sense. Is this ethical? No, because they led us to believe a falsehood.
You might contend, “Now hold on. There is a difference. The con artist knows they are doing something wrong. The writer is only trying to entertain.” I would argue that writers are “conning for good reasons,” and, like a con artist, the writer makes money in the process.
Does that mean I am a con artist? I admit to trying my best to deceive my readers by making them comfortable with my fictitious stories. This is because I want them to be entertained, and sometimes this means bending some facts. For example, in my first book, the main character is over 500 years old. I know this is biologically impossible, but I still went with it. So yes, deception was involved.
I suppose that is the dark side of fiction, but the upside more than makes up for it. Readers and moviegoers are entertained. Yay! Now all I have to do is con more people into buying my books…
You’re the best -Bill
April 21, 2021 Updated October 18, 2025
Calling the owner seems harmless, and when you call, the grateful caller offers to pay you $1,000 to return their coin. The receipt has a $15,000 purchase price, which makes the reward seem reasonable. However, you are not convinced and call the coin dealer (their number is also conveniently on the receipt). They say the sale is legitimate, and the buyer is a regular customer. This “evidence” convinces you to “do the right thing” and return the coin to the buyer. The homeless person then asks for part of the reward, and you hand them whatever cash you have in your wallet. Now, all you have to do is drive across town to claim the reward.
When you get to the address (typically an office building), and the people do not know what you are talking about. You then learn the coin dealer is nonexistent and the “valuable coin” is worthless. Suddenly, you realize you have been conned. Bummer.
Why do we fall for scams? The con relies on our honesty and a little greed. This is our blind spot because we expect everybody to be honest, and sometimes we let greed slip into our driver’s seat.
By now, you know that I like to discuss the topic of writing. So… What is the connection? Fiction writers are just as skilled as con artists. Their goal is to convince readers that the fantasy they invented is real. The difference is that instead of exploiting our greed, they take advantage of our desire to be entertained. Yet, the same underhanded tricks apply.
The first step in a con is to overcome the natural desire to be skeptical. Writers take a less drastic approach. Movies, for example, start with music, the title, and then introduce the characters. Books are no different and begin with a flashy cover and compelling title. Writers carefully draw viewers and readers into the story so they accept make-believe as real.
A perfect example is Harry Potter. Every person on this planet knows as a stone-cold fact that no matter how special I am, I will never be able to take a stick, call it a wand, say a magic word, and repair glasses. Yet, J. K. Rowling made millions of readers imagine it is possible.
How did this occur? Like a good con, the transformation began slowly with a backstory. Then, she gently introduced a friendly character. They performed a little magic demonstration and, poof, we accepted that magic is real. Why did we let our guard down? The book was fun to read.
On the flip side, like a bad con, writers can make mistakes. A good one is introducing a gigantic concept too soon. “Bobby arrived on Athos.” What the heck is Athos? Did the author misspell something? It turns out that this is a fantasy novel set in a distant world. Umm, it would be nice to know that before reading the sentence.
Where is the underhanded aspect? We see an obvious example in the movie Shrek. Everybody knows donkeys cannot talk, yet a talking donkey is entirely accepted as a principal character. The screenwriter conned us into ignoring our common sense. Is this ethical? No, because they led us to believe a falsehood.
You might contend, “Now hold on. There is a difference. The con artist knows they are doing something wrong. The writer is only trying to entertain.” I would argue that writers are “conning for good reasons,” and, like a con artist, the writer makes money in the process.
Does that mean I am a con artist? I admit to trying my best to deceive my readers by making them comfortable with my fictitious stories. This is because I want them to be entertained, and sometimes this means bending some facts. For example, in my first book, the main character is over 500 years old. I know this is biologically impossible, but I still went with it. So yes, deception was involved.
I suppose that is the dark side of fiction, but the upside more than makes up for it. Readers and moviegoers are entertained. Yay! Now all I have to do is con more people into buying my books…
You’re the best -Bill
April 21, 2021 Updated October 18, 2025
