12 Nov How to Keep Your Reader Interested
As a writer, you want to know how to keep your reader interested. It is the dream of every writer to see many reading their book and to have a fan base. But how would you achieve this aim? Read on to find out.
How to Keep Your Reader Interested
There is more to writing than you know, and it is intriguing when you find out. Writing is one thing, and engagement is another. It takes a good writer to write an article, poem, story, presentation, etc. that will keep the reader going and not close the page till the end. Creative writing does this most – to engage readers who inevitably are drawn to the web of a good script or story.
Creativity in writing is what your readers rate as a top-notch or high-concept story. Just like in the previous article, high-concept stories need no definition. It is simply a story that intrigues the reader and keeps him/her glued to the story till the very finish. I have had sleepless nights reading novels. I have had and lost a good story which I haven’t found again till this day – a story I read in my early teens – “She Who Must be Obeyed”. The fascination I had while reading this book made me look for it again as I grew up – this is what engaging your readers looks like.
You’re a good writer, yes – but how do you keep your readers engaged? You will get the audience you’ve ever wanted, but how do you turn them into your fans when you write?
Slowly and steadily, I would point out a few steps to take to realize this course.
To keep your readers interested, do the following
1. Ever heard of the show don’t tell approach?
This is a perfect medium to engage your audience using this technique. To show and not tell has been an ever-existing technique taught to writers, especially those that write novels. You do not have to tell me that a stray bullet killed a teenager in your prose fiction – painting a more lucid photograph is a key criterion.
Telling me about a girl you like will make me interested but would the image you present keep me glued? That’s the question to ask. Painting a picture with your description is what makes you a good writer – one that’d be able to keep his/her audience yearning for more.
2. Create realistic characters
Some writers write so well that you’d believe they’re real and not in a world of fiction. Other writers would rather do anything possible to prove that their work is fiction, and that’s not a good way to write. Only choose a realistic concept and present your story for your readers to enjoy.
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3. Conflict
There’s no good story out there without a conflict, but there’s no high-concept story out there without a top-notch conflict situation. Conflicts exist in our everyday world. It is an important tool in designing a beautiful story that engages your readers and keeps them glued.
4. Cliffhangers
Have you thought of stopping a story but don’t want to skip a part? Or being suspended at the end of a chapter and couldn’t wait to find out how things went in the next chapter? Now, that urge or eagerness to know how the story’s next chapter would be is called a cliffhanger (suspense). It is a vital tool in the writing world and must be well utilized to achieve the desired effect. Cliffhangers are one of the best tools that keep your readers glued and thrilled.
5. Plot twist
Another beautiful concept to consider while you write to engage your readers is the plot twist. Changing the direction of your plot is the key. Not everyone loves a straightforward story. I for one, do not like stories with happy endings, and I do not entertain the ‘good ends up good, and bad ends up bad’ concept. This is a story you’re developing to make people feel it’s real. Therefore, it must present real-life scenarios where things go south with no one giving as much as not a darn about it.
Your plot twist is a good wonderment technique that would keep your readers intrigued and unable to leave your story till they find out how it all ends.
Conclusion
Engaging your readers is simply a mounting climb – you can call it a hike. The only challenge is the challenges you might face while climbing this mountain or taking this hike. How to keep your readers interested is as easy as that if you understand what I mean. The good news is – with the proper application of the techniques we discussed in your writing, you will find hiking adventure interesting and easy.
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