Erich w/ an h asked David Wong:

A writing technique you use is having a character know information that is, for stronger effect, purposefully never told to the audience. Things like what Hitchcock did to David, what John saw under Largemans mask, how much Big Jim knew about everything, Molly's recipe for spaghetti bolognese, etc. As the author, do you actually know those things (for reference maybe), or do you keep that info secret even to yourself?

David Wong I personally think that an author should always know the answer to something that is left ambiguous or unknown in the story, I almost feel like it's an ethical obligation (because you are implying that an answer exists, but that it is being withheld for effect, as you say). I guess I don't want to come off as criticizing authors who don't have an answer in mind, I'm sure they could argue their side, it's just something that bothers me. Like when they toss out a mystery that they themselves don't know the answer to, it almost comes off as false advertising. But I may be literally the only person who feels this way and I'm not like some moral authority here. I'm just a regular guy who got a book deal. No one has any reason to listen to me about anything.

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