"What do snowmen wear on their heads? Ice caps!"
"What do polar bears eat? Ice bergers!"
"What do you call a man with a paper bag on his head? Russell!"
The trouble was she read them out just as I've written them, leaving us no chance to guess at what the groan-inducing answer was. It was hard to keep the interest going as there was no opportunity to participate.
Same with writing. If you set up a problem and give the reader the answer immediately then you've missed on us participating in the story. If we don't participate we don't engage. If we don't engage, we stop reading. It's as simple as telling a Christmas Cracker joke.
