I Can't
Put It Down - How to Write Compelling Fiction
Rob Parnell
How many times have you heard
people say this about a book? Have you ever analyzed the
books that people say this about? I have.
They all share one
‘secret’ in common.
Questions.
Reading is not a passive
exercise. Not to the brain, anyway.
As you read and take in the
information on the page, the brain is trying to work out
where the story is going, what significance certain
actions might have. It’s also trying to work out
puzzles and generally try to second-guess the plot.
This is human nature. It’s
what makes reading an interactive experience--where you
have a kind of relationship with the author for as long
as you’re reading.
Stories that don’t make the
reader ask questions are unsatisfying to read, as are
stories where the reader guesses the outcome.
Many writers forget this and
write aimlessly in the hope that the reader will like
their style and want to read on, no matter what.
This is not a strategy for
success! In order to be in control of your story--and
your reader, you, the writer should feed them questions.
This is not as difficult as it
sounds.
First you need the major
question--your book’s reason for being, if you like.
This is in essence the
‘theme’ of your novel summed up in one
sentence.
Questions like ‘Does money
create happiness?’ or ‘Will good triumph over
evil?’ You should subtly place this question in the
mind of your reader quite early on in your book, so that
the reader is already on a kind of quest for the truth.
Next you have chapter questions
that are more specific to your characters. Like
‘Will Alex overcome his problems?’ or
‘Will Sally win the love of her father?’ This
gives your reader a reason to read on--just to find out!
Then, you should have smaller
questions at every point you can - at least one every 500
words.
Here’s an example:
‘Lucy went to see her
father. He was angry that she was seeing Brad but she
told him there was nothing he could do about it’
Obviously this is flat and
lifeless prose that invites no great speculation. How
about this?
‘Lucy stared at her
father’s implacable face. When he was like this, she
couldn’t gauge his feelings. She swallowed hard. If
he was angry, she’d end up with nowhere to live.
‘I won’t stop seeing
Brad,’ she said, not quite believing her own
words.’
You see the difference?
In the second passage the reader
is forced to ask three questions.
What’s her father thinking?
Will Lucy get kicked out?
Will she carry on seeing Brad?
Rather than simply stating what
your characters think and do, always try to leave an
element of uncertainty in the reader’s mind as to
what will happen next.
The trick is to get your reader
asking questions constantly. Yes - on every page, so that
there’s a compulsive need to turn the page, if only
to find out the answers.
Good novelists do this
unconsciously--they know it’s the best way to tell a
story.
Good crime novelists deliberately
get you to ask all the WRONG questions so that their plot
twists are far more effective.
People keep turning the page in
best selling novels because they are in a constant state
of limbo--ignorant of what’s coming next but eager
to find out. In effect, it’s almost a state of
agitation, even frustration that will keep a reader
turning the page.
Has this happened to you?
It’s weird because you
almost HATE what you’re reading—there are so
many unanswered questions--but you just can’t put it
down!
