How do you write a story where the point-of-view character knows something, but you want to keep it a secret from the reader until later in the story? How do you effectively suppress a vital detail for effect later, on without adversely impacting the story?
For example, take a plot following two traveling brothers on a journey to rescue a kidnapped prince. But I think it would be cool to keep secret the fact that the prince is the travellers' brother. Of course, this would restrict the manner in which the characters interact, especially since one of the traveling brothers is the MC.
I know this is something that has the potential to aggravate readers, but I've seen stories where the POV character knows important things that the reader doesn't. I understand, for example, that Gregory McDonald's Confess, Fletch is in close third person POV, but for long stretches of the novel it doesn't let on whether the protagonist has committed the murder he's being accused of. Clearly it can be done; I want to know how to do it well.
This is a spin-off question based on the original form of this question.
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