@lex4044 asked for advice on her book, and tips on how to engage with the readers.
I appreciate the question! It's a bit difficult for me to answer, but I'll certainly give all the tips and information I know and have learned.
As far as engaging with your readers goes, I've learned it's super important to be as descriptive with your stories as possible. For example, instead of saying, "I stared at the guy. His blonde hair, colorful eyes, and tanned skin had me in another reality," I've found it's better to over-describe than to under-describe. It's also super helpful if you're looking for a bigger, fancier word, to look up synonyms for whatever word it is that you want to make better. So, if we're using the sentence above, we could look up synonyms for "another reality" and see what pops up. I came up with the word, verisimilitude. Big word, right? Adding these bigger and more descriptive words can impress your readers and leave them wondering what you meant, further engaging them into the story. But it's important to remember not to use these fancy words too often. If you use words that the reader can't understand all the time, they won't be able to understand what's going on. Just when you want a little extra spice, throw in a word or too that isn't too complicated, but will definitely impress your readers. As far as describing your characters and sentences, I've found it's super important to describe what main characters look like in stories, but if the character won't have a main role in the book, then don't feel the need to describe them too much. So, if we're using the sentence up above and using the advice given above, we can correct this. "I stared, awestruck at the guy towering over me. His short, blonde hair, his mesmerizing green eyes, and tanned, glowing skin that looked so soft but almost even rough to touch as well, were all a breathtaking verisimilitude."
I hope this helps your question, and feel free to ask any others!
Lots of love,
-Bree <3