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Paula looks at how to keep readers reading.
We all know how important it is to have a good opening to draw
the reader into your story, but how do we keep them reading?
Here’s
what I think (in no particular order, just my take on what keeps ME reading a
book!)
Don’t
dump all the backstory in one lump, tease your readers with part-revelations,
not obscure enough to frustrate, but intriguing enough to make them want to
find out more.
Don’t
introduce too many characters too quickly – readers can get confused (and
annoyed!) when they can’t work out who’s who and /or whether they are important
characters or not.
Move
the story along. Don’t meander into irrelevant events or conversations.
Make
your characters ones they can care about, empathise with, feel their emotions,
cry when they cry, smile when they’re happy.
Make
sure your plot is realistic and not contrived.
Don’t
go into excessive description – readers tend to skip it.
Provide
cliff-hangers i.e. page-turners. Your readers should want to know what happens
next (so that they think, maybe late at night, ‘Just one more chapter’). Some
of my reviewers have said they ‘couldn’t put it down’ which, to me, is one of
the best things people have said about my books. I love keeping people awake at
night!
Keep
them wondering how the hero and heroine can ever get together for their ‘happy
ending’. They know this is going to happen but they need to be curious about how it will happen, when all seems lost.
And
finally, don’t hand a solution on a plate to your hero and heroine through some
contrivance or coincidence. The reader needs to know they’ve struggled against
the odds, overcome their problems, and, most satisfying of all, learnt
something about themselves and each other in the process.
But
please don’t have the hero and heroine hating each other all the way through
the story until the final chapter when they suddenly realise they love each
other!
What would you add to this list?
Good advice Paula. I've printed it off to remind myself, that this is what I prefer in a book too. We often forget as writers, the type of things that frustrate or keep us reading, because we have favourite scenes or sentences in our work and are loathe to delete them when editing. Maybe instead of do I need this? I should think, 'would I want to read this, or skip it?'
ReplyDeleteThat's a good question to ask :-)
DeleteExcellent advice, as usual.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jen!
DeleteNoted, noted and noted. I would add be careful not to repeat things. Yes, I know I have a problem with my characters drinking too much coffee and I will deal with it! I recently read a book which involved a new baby, it seemed that in every paragraph or at least on every page the heroine was 'making up a bottle of formula". I felt if I read the word 'formula' once more I would scream!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we all have repeats that we don't notice until someone points them out to us. I know I do!
Deletehave a billionaire's secret love child???
ReplyDeleteI think there must be dozens of novels with some variation of that! :-)
DeleteNothing to add...you have a nice, comprehensive list here.
ReplyDeleteI try to have something of a cliff hanger at the end of each chapter. Sometimes it's an action one, sometimes it's an emotional one.
I do the same, Deb. :-)
DeleteNothing to add to your list, Paula, and I'm also going to print it. It's so easy to lose track of what's important.
ReplyDeleteCarol added another good one about not repeating things. In her case, it's coffee; in mine, it's more likely to be the characters drinking wine!
DeleteDon't have your characters act out of character. You'd think this was obvious, but it does happen! Personally, I hate head hopping... but I know it doesn't bother a lot of people.
ReplyDelete