know thy reader
Sure, we all want readers to buy our books and start reading. But we also want readers to finish them, to stay immersed in the story through the very last line—for the right reasons. But how do we accomplish that? How do we keep them flipping pages?
Keen awareness of your readers’ experience—how they’re encountering the text and how they’re processing what they read—is vital to keeping them engaged in the book.
Let’s look at the five primary reasons readers decide to stick with a book until the end, and how each one requires a slightly different approach in going about crafting your story.
REASON #1: CURIOSITY
Mysteries are puzzles that engage us on an intellectual level. In a classic mystery, readers are more curious to find out what already happened than they are worried about what will happen. Yes, they want to know whodunit, but they’re not apprehensive about the outcome.
Cozy mysteries are a good example of this. A crime occurs and the investigator tries to root out the culprit. There may be intrigue as she does about it. That’s often because there isn’t impending danger. Now, if you create worry, you’re venturing into Reason #2: Concern.)
