Audiences always want to be surprised by what happens next. How do writers achieve surprise? By deceiving their audiences. Unfortunately, books on writing only briefly and often only superficially discuss the use of deception, if they discuss it at all. Fictional Deceptions: Using Deception to Baffle, Surprise and Entertain Your Audience is the first book to outline for writers the 7 principles and 10 major techniques of deception with examples from almost every genre of movie, novel, play, and short story, as well as from the deceptive realms of espionage, warfare, magic, and con games. The book discusses common mistakes and how to fix them, and offers questions for writers to consider before using each technique. Fans of mysteries, movies and the study of storytelling will also find Fictional Deceptions interesting and enlightening.