Writer's: "tricks of the trade" - How to keep readers riveted to your book or story

Give the reader something they can't put down

This series explores tips, tricks and techniques used by writers in crafting fiction, whether novels or short stories. In the case of a multi-part subject, be sure to read the previous parts. 

Morgan shares tips, techniques and tricks not only with Las Vegas writers, but everyone who ever sat down at a computer, or has taken pencil in hand (old-fashioned, but some still write that way).

 With all of the high-tech distractions today, readers are easily lured away from books, stories or articles that might have held them captive years ago.

Give that reader the slightest reason to transfer their attention, and you might lose them. Back in the old days, authors could wax rhapsodically about anything that popped into their heads or resulted from putting quill pen to paper. So they would go on and on describing dank landscapes like the Scottish moors, every detail of a character’s home, or desire that seemed to last decades without ever having anything notable happen. That’s not the case today.

There were few alternatives to the novel, poorly written or not, before the electronic revolution, followed by the digital age. Today we have the distractions of cell phones, I-Pods, e-mail, web-surfing, TV programs, video games, and the beat goes on. That’s lots of competition. And competition means there has to be a way to fight back. A way to hold on to the reader by creating something they can’t or won’t put down—written word to carry them through to the final page.

Of course, the first step is a killer opening. But what happens after that. Once the reader’s mind is in the author’s clutches, does it remain there or escape due to ho-hum writing? A surefire way to lose the reader is with a lead that hits a dead end. A dynamic beginning, then something like, “It might have happened just like that. But, here’s the real story…” It is imperative to give the reader somewhere to go. They were captured with the gripping first few paragraphs. Now lead them down the garden path, through the gate that just opened.

Follow with the hook—the sooner the better. Maybe the story is about a health care corporation ripping off the government. The hook: Something was wrong. Could it be what appeared to be a genuine service to the public had a black underbelly? Was it really conceived and carried out simply to generate record-breaking profits, as Winston claimed?” This hook shouldn’t be buried. It needs to clamp shut at the earliest time the reader might even consider the slightest waver in their attention. Might they think, “So what?” Give them the rebuttal to that “so what,” and they will keep reading.

Okay. Now take them down a road that twists and turns to keep the interest churning. That road can’t have obvious bumps or they will take a detour. Go off on tangents early in the game, and that is where the reader will go. Off on a tangent. Worse yet, they might yield to all of the other things competing for their attention.

Another caution--don’t give away the best stuff in the beginning. I recently learned this lesson myself, in working with my editor. I thought I had a great opening for one of my latest novels. She said, “Don’t give it all away at the beginning of the book. The reader will have no reason to keep reading. Tease it. Drop just enough and reveal it slowly. Make them want more.”

Make sure the timeline works. Events are interdependent, so don’t have something happen before or after it should just for the impact. Readers remember, and a small glitch in the timeline might shake their confidence in conclusions they have drawn.

And for heaven sakes, avoid information dumps. That was one of the first lessons I learned when transitioning from writing magazine articles to writing fiction. The limited space of a magazine or newspaper article almost demands that the writer give as much information in as little space as possible. This isn’t the case with fiction. No laundry lists. Use dialogue where possible, and deal out the information like cards in a game. Here is the message you should be sending to the reader: Want more? Keep reading.

Summing it all up, keep the writing tight, avoid unnecessary detours, and save some surprises for the last pages.

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Morgan St. James and her appearance schedule.

Visit the website for Silver Sisters Mysteries, her comical crime caper series

Morgan frequently speaks and gives workshops for published and not-published-yet writers at conferences and events. Her next appearance will be at the Greater Los Angeles Writers Society on June 26 discussing "The Art of Drawing Pictures With Words."

For more information: A complete listing of past columns.