How do Writers Engage Readers?

What makes a novel a page turner? How do writers know they are keeping the reader engaged? Is there some magic hocus-pocus or formula, or do we just hope and pray our stories are so interesting the reader can’t put it down? Many books fail to deliver. Even bestsellers don’t always keep us up at night. The failure, as many are quick to point out, is lack of emotional connection.

We writers are a nervous lot. We love to write stories, but we also fear what are writing is not good enough. We fear readers will close the book, and all that “sweat equity” was all for nil. We aim to entertain, to garner an audience, to make some small impression in sharing a bit of our soul. We want the reader to ask, “What’s next?” Is it all about emotion or is plot an equal player?

A story can be action-packed and full of twists and turns, but is it enough? Without a character’s reaction and analysis, spurring him into the next action, I suppose a basic minute-by-minute description of events wouldn’t mean much.

Sights, sounds, smells, and tastes are important sensory details that bring the character and his experiences to life.

Finding the right pacing and balance takes careful planning. What emotion is the writer trying to convey in a given scene? And it’s not just the obvious emotion that yanks at the reader. It’s the underlying ones, the contradictory ones, that make the reader breathless. Emotions are conveyed through showing, not telling, although some emotional tells are useful when used strategically.

I’ve heard a literary agent or two claim a book can be riveting without even having a plot, that if characters are drawn well and readers relate to their emotional journey, story is secondary.

Interesting interpretation. I can vouch for its validity. When a book is filled with more narrative than dialogue and it still holds my interest, it is indeed because I’m in the character’s head. So, perhaps when we are told to write what we know, it doesn’t mean knowledge but how events affect us and how we react.