The news.
It has none of the characteristics that make something worthwhile.
It's not fun, it causes anxiety, it gives you a warped sense of reality,
and people who watch it are rarely going to do anything with the information they get.
Yet, watch it they do. Why?
If we want our books to sell,
we need to be able to answer
that question.
The appeal of many books, ideas and actions boils down to six key factors –
1.) A person-centered subject matter
2.) The presence of patterns
3.) The odd incongruity
4.) A topic that pushes the buttons of hope or fear
5.) Stimuli that engage our body or senses
6.) Thoughts that play to our psychological biases
Rhyming idioms are catchy, attractive and appear truthful
because they are easy to mentally process and their repetitive sound appeals to our love of patterns.
Idioms that at first glance appear contradictory stimulate our keen eye for incongruity.
Fiction is so engrossing because we are hard-wired to detect useful information
and while part of our brain knows that what we are reading is make-believe,
another part thinks the characters, and events, are real.
Some aspect of our poor susceptible minds really thinks Hannibal Lector is out there.
Somewhere.
Have you ever left a movie feeling vaguely dissatisfied?
You didn’t like the film but don’t know exactly why?
Chances are, the movie failed in terms of story structure.
Storytelling is so ingrained in us that it sets up certain expectations for how a story should unfold.
When those expectations are defied, it leaves us vaguely unsettled.
A story is a character in pursuit of a goal in the face of an obstacle or challenge.
How the character resolves (or fails to resolve) the challenge creates the drama and human interest that keeps us reading or listening.
HOW TO HOOK THE READER ...
1.) GET INTO YOUR PROTAGONIST'S HEAD RIGHT OFF AND STAY THERE.
2.) NO HEAD HOPPING
Readers will only know how the other characters are feeling through what your protagonist
(POV character)
notices and perceives—their words, actions, facial expressions, tone of voice, body language, etc.
3.) LEARN FROM THE DOCTOR DELIVERING A BABY
Slap your MC right out of the gate.
It doesn’t need to be the main problem of the story,
but put something on the first or second page that challenges him and makes the readers start worrying about him.
The difficulty or dilemma can be internal, external, or interpersonal.
4.) GRAVITY TAKES NO BREAKS; IT ONLY GIVES THEM
Introduce some opposition in the first few pages.
Bring on a rival, an enemy, or a nasty villain fairly early to get things moving fast and make your readers start biting their nails.
5.) SURPRISE!
Surprise gets our attention by defying our expectations.
We’re wired to immediately start figuring out what’s actually going on,
the better to gauge whether the smack we're about to receive will be on the lips or aside the head.
6.) SQUIRM!
Science has proven that the brain uses emotion, rather than reason, to gauge what matters to us.
So it’s not surprising that when it comes to story, if we’re not feeling, we’re not reading.
In a compelling story the reader slips into the protagonist’s skin and becomes her/him –
feeling what she feels, wanting what she wants, fearing what she fears.
7.) HEMINGWAY YOUR WORDS
Over 11,000,000 pieces of information dive-bomb our five senses every second.
Don't add to the reader's input unless it is necessary. Bore the reader; lose the reader.
8.) NEVER BLUR THE FOCUS
We access the universal only through the very specific. The story is in the specifics.
"Dario had a hard day."
There are all sorts of hard days. Is Dario a door-to-door salesman or a Roman gladiator?
Use the" Eyes-Wide-Shut test."
If you shut your eyes, can you see it? If not, then neither can the reader.
9.) MAKE THEM LAUGH
Life is hard enough for your reader. Give them a chuckle or two in each chapter even if your tale is a dark one.
It is always darker after a light has died than if it had never existed at all.
10.) CARE ABOUT YOUR STORY
If you care, it will carry over into your words.
Charlaine Harris stopped caring about Sookie
and just continued to write the novels to keep her contract.
It showed.
Coming Soon to Paperback:
I've been avoiding the final Charlaine Harris Sookie novel because so many readers said it was disappointing--like she just dashed it off. That's really too bad. When an author stops caring, so do his/her readers.
ReplyDeleteI still suggest her Lily Bard SHAKESPEARE mysteries. They kept their quality through the five novels. A fine story arc, too.:-)
DeleteHi Roland - it is difficult to bring a story to life for the reader to want to read more, and keep reading ... I've been disappointed too often and get bored sometimes - at least the film ends, while the book I need to finish! I've found endings in some books disappointing - the story's kept me interested, but the ending is flat.
ReplyDeleteOff to check out the Lily Bard Shakespeare mysteries - Cheers Hilary
I hope you enjoy the Lily Bard series of mysteries. I, too, have felt let down by the end of a movie -- usually a mystery or a horror movie -- "That's it?" I would grumble; the solution or the revelation of the monster a disappointment.
DeleteI hope none of my books are like that!! :-)
Great tips, Roland. I love the "eyes wide shut" test in particular. I will use it.
ReplyDeleteI thought you might like that test: it really works. :-)
Delete'Surprise' is an interesting addition to a story. I've read about that and tried to add some sparingly to my story. Not easy and can feel contrived. Great tips and reminders! (But I don't think doctors slap babies any more...heck, I don't think doctors deliver babies any more...midwives?) :-)
ReplyDeleteIn America, doctors still do the deliveries or is that storks -- I get the two confused! ::-)
DeleteSurprises are mandatory in mysteries I believe. But you're right: surprise is hard to do right.
Great of you to visit.
Your right on target with the esoteric mystic sages of past writers, and other great minds or Vanguards of Drama.
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase Konstantin Stanislavski: "When the Actor, becomes one with the story/drama, and the Audience, becomes one with the Actor, Story and Drama, seeing themselves within the story/drama unfolding"> Then an Actor, Director, Writer have succeeded in their task/job.
Kudo's as always, My Dear Friend-Merci Beaucoup Mon Ami Frère.
Vos connaissances, mots ici, sont impeccables... ;-)
Merging yourself with the characters as a writer makes it easier for the reader to do it and so become absorbed with our stories.
DeleteAlways good to wake up and see you here, Robert. :-)
Your Blog is the 1st thing I read every morn. A GREAT way to begin any day...!! :-)
Deleteand It is a pleasure indeed to be here. What I'd give to be able to stop by and see you once if not several times a week. But then, I'd be biting into your writing time. :-D
These are great tips! I'm about to start a new book, so I needed this right now.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with your new book. I bet it will be great. :-)
DeleteWow, some really great tips!
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Diane
IWSG #85
Diane, you made my night with this comment. Thanks!
DeleteThe only time I'm completely disappointed in an ending is if the book leaves me hanging--as in cliffhanger. This I never forgive or forget. I don't read them again.
ReplyDeleteAnna from Elements of Writing
Anna, I sometimes leave a novel with a cliff-hanger, but only because my mentor, Roger Zelazny, did it so well. Hope you forgive me. :-)
DeleteAn excellent reminder of all the elements that go into making a novel worthy reading. I especially love the dctor slapping the baby right out of the gate. LOL! Thanks for the chuckle, Roland.
ReplyDeleteLike the ghost of Mark Twain keeps telling me: teach with laughter, and the lesson will stick!! :-) I'm glad you enjoyed my little analogy.
DeleteGreat tips Roland. Happy holidays to you.
ReplyDeleteI try to help my friends when I can. :-) Happiest of holidays to you, Donna.
DeleteI've been trying for a while to get to your comment form. Yay, I'm there.
ReplyDeleteMy newest short story meets (I think) each of the six key factors on selling a book. Yes it's a short. Again: Yay! And on hooking the reader, I'm difficult to hook. Writers must be clever to catch me. So this is important to me when I write. Hook those suckers. And BTW you nearly always hook my attention. Love this post, Roland.
Teresa
Teresa, you made my weary evening with this comment -- I'm sorry Blogger has made it hard for you to visit, :-(
DeleteA distinctive voice is something that often hooks me. Hugh Howey's Wool fit the bill on that one. The story used an old science fiction trope--people on a ship/underwater city/missile silo who had forgotten there was a world outside. Howey manages to pull it off with his voice and believable characters.
ReplyDeleteDidn't he, though? Hugh Howey truly riveted our attention. :-)
Delete