So, the book started off great.
And then . . . you as a reader found yourself flipping pages, looking for
something to catch your eye until you finally put the book down. Never to pick
it up again. And probably never, ever to buy another book by that author.
Now you’re the one writing a book.
And from time to time, you glance at that long-neglected volume on your shelf,
and a chill runs down your back as you wonder whether readers of your book will
grab it happily also, only to put lay it down well before they finish. Never to
look at it, or any of your books, again.
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| image: wikimedia commons |
Forsyth has shared her tips on how
to keep readers reading in writing workshops all over the world, and she
recently gave Texans a glimpse of them as well. Like her discussion of the
exposition plot (see Tuesday’s post),
some of these tips may seem counter-intuitive, but Forsyth has the credibility gained from writing dozens of international bestsellers.
Secret # 1: Put characters that readers care about in
jeopardy.
She really, really likes (and writes)
likable characters. Likable, of course, doesn’t mean perfect. Far from it. It
means a character readers can empathize with. Give the character ample time on
the page to make his/her wants and needs known. She won’t rule out the use of
“dark” characters (rules, in her mind, are made to be broken). But be aware
that we as writers will have to try a lot, lot harder, to make readers
empathize with unlikable characters. And then, of course, there’s the jeopardy part. . .
Secret #2: Action does not equal suspense.
You’re thinking, I’ll amp up
the jeopardy by making my heroine run around like a meth-crazed Yorkie terrier.
Wrong. “Too many high-action scenes can actually dissipate suspense,” Forsyth
warns. “Suspense happens . . . in the moments between the promise of something dreadful and its arrival.”
Secret #3: Surprise the reader.
Let bad things happen early in
your story. It shows you can do worse things later. How much worse? They’ll have to
read the story to find out. . .
Secret #4: Maintain suspense even in low-tension moments.
Remember that old saying about
story structure – a sequel of reflection follows a scene (or several scenes) of
action? Don’t lose readers during those periods of reflection. Characters can reflect
like crazy while they know, and readers know, that something really, really bad is
waiting to jump out and say, boo!
Secret #5: Don’t overdo the violence.
This may seem as surprising as
secret #2, but readers can become desensitized by too much gore. As Forsyth
noted, if you’ve seen 17 characters skinned alive, what’s one more? Meh. The
same caution applies to sex scenes. Postponing gratification lets the sexual
tension mount and mount and . . .
Secret #6: Tension always rises.
Each event has to be more dramatic
than the one before. Quicken the pace as the climax approaches (pun intended).
Chapter lengths will also get shorter as the pace quickens.
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| image: wikimedia commons |
OK, here’s the big reveal of --
Secret #7: Vary the type of suspense.
Forsyth recognizes three types of
suspense, affecting three parts of our bodies
– intellectual curiosity (head), worry and apprehension (heart), and
creeping dread (gut). Use all of these, in different ways and at different times.
Of course, Forsyth provided much,
much more information. Maybe I’ll write more about her workshop later. Or you
can keep an eye on her for more tips. And keep an eye on this blog, and on sites such as the Writers Guild of Texas, which helped sponsor
Forsyth's Texas visit, for
more writerly help.
