Narrative misdirection is a writerly trick of establishing false expectations in your readers, directing their attention to the wrong information and causing them to ignore correct information. It's an excellent way to surprise them, and has uses in nearly every genre, though it is a staple of mysteries.
J.K. Rowling happens to be a master of this technique. Time and again, Harry is certain he knows who the villain is, and every time he is wrong! Author and blogger
John Granger goes into a great deal of detail about Rowling's method in his book
Unlocking Harry Potter. Another Potter scholar,
Travis Prinzi, has some excellent posts on the topic as well. (My professor hubby is currently teaching "Harry Potter and Philosophy" and has gotten me into the lit crit on Rowling. Granger and Prinzi are wonderful speakers and their blogs worth a visit.)
In my Whoops! Blogfest entry, I also played with the technique. Misdirection can be an excellent way to make humorous moments funnier. Take a moment to
go look at it.
You're back? Excellent. I'll explain the elements of narrative misdirection by walking you through what I did, and why and how I did it.
1.
Limited viewpoint. My piece is in first person. The only perceptions you have are Dani's. The possibility is good that she does not have the whole picture. She very well might misinterpret the data in front of her. But it's hard for you, the reader, to know that because I've removed other sources of interpretation by limiting the perception to only what she directly experiences, knows or remembers.
Rowling uses third person limited. Omniscient narrators are a no-no in this technique. Your POV must
limit perception.
2.
Sympathetic voice and reader identification. Dani's internal monologue paints her as a smart, arty dreamer who's a bit shy. She obeys her aunt grumblingly, having thoughts of being put-upon with "stupid" assignments. Everyone has felt this way at one point or another. As a reader, you sympathize and take her side. You become willing to trust her judgments about what is happening and why.
3.
Playing with expectation. Aunts are those sorts of benevolent authority figures we expect to play "the straight man" in any joke. I describe Cecily having a young child that is usually weaving through her legs or swinging from her purse strap, which cements a picture in your mind: maternal and focused there. I give you only the details that would support your existing expectations of "aunt."
4.
Clues the character chooses to ignore. This is VERY important. The truth must be in the scene and there for the astute reader to pick up. Otherwise you just have very annoying out-of-nowhere surprises, not narrative misdirection.
I hint that Janie should be around, and that she had been playing a game called "guerrilla stealth"--a name that implies unexpected combat. I also point out that Aunt Cecily is the instigator of Dani ever leaving the cathedral nave and going into the quire. As a reader, you chose to ignore the importance because Dani does.
5.
Details that capture your MC's attention. Does the beauty of Durham cathedral's quire really matter that much? Or the fact that the guide is bilingual French-English? No, but as a reader you're willing to be pulled off on Dani's flight of fancy because of the
style in this paragraph. I used a little writerly magic dust of pretty words and alliteration and imagery to momentarily sweep you into Dani's distraction.
Keep in mind you can't do pages of this kind of thing, but just a paragraph can be an effective "sleight of hand." It's like the "jazz-hands" dazzle that magicians use to point you away from the real action.
Likewise, drawing Dani's attention primarily to the guy she sat on keeps you, the reader, from looking deeper into what Dani's family members are doing.
6.
Confirm misinterpretations. Both Aunt Cecily and Janie play to Dani's expectation. The aunt scolds, the cousin becomes "ashy pale" at the scolding. And it's no small scolding. The aunt's big reaction cements the misinterpretation as true.
7.
Payoff, in which misinterpretations are clarified. This is one tiny detail you might be tempted to overlook. Do wrap up how the surprise really happened, because it's annoying to the reader when you don't. Rowling always does. In my little scene, it was a simple exchange: "You weren't supposed to tell your mum" and "you never said that." I didn't have to give a detailed back story of how or when Janie and Cecily planned their trick on Dani. The reader can imagine it easily enough. But I did need to make it clear they were in cahoots deliberately from the beginning or the payoff would have fallen flat, because readers just wouldn't buy it.
So there you go, a quick primer on the basics of simple narrative misdirection. In mysteries, of course, it gets considerably more complicated. The author must layer in clues and dazzling distractions, one on top of another.
How do you think you might use this technique in your writing? 
I'm supposed to be cleaning my house right now (shhh!!), but thought I ought to not fall behind with acknowledging blog awards. And hey, I did find the bottom of my daughter's closet, which I think deserves some kind of reward.
