Silver's Helpful Writing Tips

How to Keep Your Readers Coming Back For More

Put on Your Reading Hat

The Reader's Mind

If you want to write a story in which your readers cannot put it down, you must enter into the reader's mind before your story is written. You have to know what it is they want, what they are looking for, and what they expect.

Let's break down those three things and look at how you can improve your story and turn it into something people will devour.

What Readers Want

Readers want to escape. They want to be swept up into something bigger than themselves. They want to experience the ups and downs of your characters and come out on the other side stronger. They want to laugh, cry, and experience life with them. You are to provide this for them. Easy enough, right?

Honestly, readers are a needy bunch (I'm a reader, I can attest to this). But how do we, when we put our writer hats on, do this? It's a tall order! Well, I believe the first place we have to look is within ourselves. We know what we want when we read, so start there.

Try asking yourself this: What about this story would I enjoy if I were reading it?

When you do this, you're getting into your readers head, and tapping into how you begin to see your story as you write.

What Readers Are Looking For

Story. Plot. Character Development.

This isn't all readers, obviously, but I think it's the vast majority. They want a good story, an exciting plot, and they want to watch a character grow. And since you've got your readers hat on, you'll be able to start looking at your story from that angle.

Story

The question of "What is more important, plot or character?" is the wrong question to be asking. It should be, "How do I convey the story I want to tell?".

From there you can formulate a plot, and build characters through which you will explore that story with the reader. 

You are an artist. The pen is your brush, and with every stroke of it, you are either building up the picture or marring it.

Plot

If the story is the paint, the plot is the canvas on which you put your color. Pick a bad one, and it will end up taking away from the story you want to tell. The plot is the framework which supports the story, so take the time and pick the right one and one you feel will match your painting. No matter what it is you are writing, there is a canvas for you to paint on.

Also, don't be afraid to paint over the original if you have something new come up that works a little better! (Always keep copies of your work somewhere!)

Character Development

Each character should be unique and be able to stand on their own (even if they never do in your story) because that makes them dynamic, and to your reader, a little more realistic.

They should have their own motives, thoughts, wishes, desires, and dreams. It doesn't mean you put all that into your story; it just means you drop little hints here and there.

They should always be growing, learning, failing, and striving until they reach the end of whatever story you have for them. Even minor characters who are fleshed out in the right way can help immerse the reader.

What Readers Expect

This is where you can have the most fun (at least I do *evil cackling*) by messing with your readers' expectations. I purposefully set up my readers at times, usually a couple of chapters before the thing is set to happen because I know that when they reach it, their minds will explode.

I cannot read minds (or can I?), but I know how to tap into their expectations by merely looking at what my expectations would be if I were reading it as they were without the foreknowledge of what was coming.

Let's say you want to set up a plot twist, but you need to make sure that no one figures it out until the moment. One way to do this is by misleading them early on in the story. You drop hints here and there, maybe laying a red herring or two in their path for good measure.

You artificially create a reader expectation for one thing while secretly working towards your ultimate goal. Thereby subverting the reader's expectation and leaving them wondering: How did they do that?

You can do this with the story, plot, or with a character.

Put Your Hat On

There is no perfect formula or algorithm to this, no secret word of power that will help you. It's simply a matter of putting your reader hat on and asking yourself: 

Would I want to read this story? What do I want to convey with this story? Do I find these characters compelling?

If you can't answer that question, well, you may need to rethink your story. That doesn't mean throw it out; it means you need to put your hat on.