We will tell you all about it.
Writing and reading belong to the human kingdom. Every now and again, we crave stories that take us into the world of fantasies and dreams. Admittedly, it’s not easy to author them: Even the most talented writers need time to put a good story together. But there are several things that guarantee turning an average read to into great one.
Here are some of them.
A hook
All good stories start with a little something that makes the reader beg the question: “what is this all about?”
It doesn’t always have to be a rhetorical question. A peculiar description or a bold statement is an equally viable method of hooking the reader. As long as either of them is relevant to the story. Throwing in random cryptic sentences are never a good idea. The same goes for boring sentences like “It was a bright sunny October day”.
Lively language
The livelier your language is, the more likely you’re to grab the readers’s attention. To brighten it up, try adding words with a strong connotation (like gorgeous instead of beautiful) and eliminating passive voice wherever possible.
This simple yet powerful mix always works. Active voice makes the person step into the narrator’s shoes. Meanwhile, strong connotations set the emotional scene, prompting the reader to turn one page after another.
Reader’s presence
Immersing readers into your story is a must. They need to feel and see exactly what the characters do, and it is your task to ensure that you choose the optimal point of view. Regardless of which one you choose, remember that active voice always helps your readers step better into the protagonist’s shoes. So do descriptions that are free from cliches such as “a gloomy, rainy day”. Describing raindrops would be a much better alternative.
Omittances
Little puzzles and omittances here and there are a powerful way of engaging your readers and igniting their curiosity and imagination. Come to think of it: If your characters are goth, do you really need to describe how black the dress is and how pale their faces are? Wouldn’t it suffice to mention that these people were noticed from afar and that the velvet clothes they are wearing looked unusual?
But, please, don’t overdo it. Enigmatic and attractive as this method is, if you keep using it all the time your readers will most likely feel annoyed. No one enjoys abundant suspense.
Fresh take on ideas
As an author, you need to remember that humanity has been around for a while. And this is what makes it nearly impossible to come up with revolutionary plots and ideas.
But that shouldn’t put you off. In fact, it’d be in your best interest to find out how others framed similar ideas and concepts and find your niche. To make sure that these ideas are easily retrievable, we recommend that you store them in one place like xTiles.
We hope that these tips will be useful. Stay tuned and check out our other articles in the meantime. Here are some of them: Five Translation Hacks that You Will Love, Doing Better Research: Top Five Tips, The Art of Being Concise.
