Intrigue based game from a mystery writer

Gayle Trent has a quick article on how to improve the quality of your characters in novel writing. Of course, this applies to pick-up as well. To quote the infamous Ross Jeffries, the problem with the average guy is he "spurts from the heart and shoots from the c***." Meaning that most guys, when they meet a girl they like, start immediately telling the girl everything about themselves. She doesn't have to work for it, so there's absolutely no intrigue created by this.

Revealing small tidbits about your characters as you go along helps engage your readers. We know how important that is in dropping clues and red herrings, but it's also an excellent way to have your readers identify with your characters -- even the villains. This is especially important in a mystery because it isn't until the end of the story (hopefully) that the reader figures out who is truly the villain.

The ability to insinuate personal qualities that are attractive about yourself is the entire art of DHV'ing. If you give it away too soon without the audience working for it, then the show is over. Much like using magic as a personal attractor, your ability to convey personality by giving a piece at a time while the audience works for it is what seperates the people who use intrigue game effectively versus those fail.