HOW TO KEEP THE PAGES TURNING (link to blog article)

A heavy-duty fan works great.

caw

Finger, page. Finger, page.

Sorry. Carry on!

(The article was quite good. Thanks.)

you mentioned pace in the second-last paragraph.
i think pace is the most important thing to keep a reader turning pages. short chapters which end abruptly, leaving the reader with a lot of questions about what will happen next.
but as you said - it does depend on the genre / style of novel, and obviously you can't keep the story at breakneck pace the whole way. then people will stop reading for sure.

Keeping interest.

If I get bored or bogged down in description then I stop reading.

zarkia said:

you mentioned pace in the second-last paragraph.
i think pace is the most important thing to keep a reader turning pages. short chapters which end abruptly, leaving the reader with a lot of questions about what will happen next.
but as you said - it does depend on the genre / style of novel, and obviously you can't keep the story at breakneck pace the whole way. then people will stop reading for sure.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Thank you for the blog-link, Cynthia, and your thoughts. Here are mine...

Pace doesn't keep me turning pages. What keeps me turning pages is that I have any reason to continue reading at all, and that there's no impediment to doing so. I don't mind a slow novel any more than I mind a winding road. What I mind are third-class, unsealed roads and third-class, uncrafted text.

Prose can be hot, salty, bitter, sour, sweet, or savoury. It can be rich or delicate, thick or runny, but it cannot be clotted, turgid and lumpy like Aunt Beattie's porridge.

As for what keeps me reading, it could be anything. I might like the descriptions, the voice, a character, a conflict, a theme, a plotline, an arc... But what stops me reading is always the same:

Shitty prose.

Ruv Draba said:

Thank you for the blog-link, Cynthia, and your thoughts. Here are mine...

Pace doesn't keep me turning pages. What keeps me turning pages is that I have any reason to continue reading at all, and that there's no impediment to doing so. I don't mind a slow novel any more than I mind a winding road. What I mind are third-class, unsealed roads and third-class, uncrafted text.

Prose can be hot, salty, bitter, sour, sweet, or savoury. It can be rich or delicate, thick or runny, but it cannot be clotted, turgid and lumpy like Aunt Beattie's porridge.

As for what keeps me reading, it could be anything. I might like the descriptions, the voice, a character, a conflict, a theme, a plotline, an arc... But what stops me reading is always the same:

Shitty prose.

Click to expand...

What he said.

Pace is not really a technical function of writing. It is a innate aspect of character.

If I'm reading about an interesting character, then a long chunk of text might be perceived as fairly short. If I'm reading about an uninteresting character, then even a short text might be perceived as too long.

Your task is not to write three letter sentences on one page chapters. Your task is to make your character interesting, and like Ruv said not put impediments in the way.

Some good points made.

For me, it is all about interest. But what exactly makes something interesting?

One item I find interesting is what I think of as 'rising action'. It doesn't so much matter that the action is rising on a 70 degree slope, but moreso that the action is almost always RISING. Whether that slope is 5 degrees, 10 degrees, or 70 degrees, there is a momentum to the story that compels the reader forward, almost effortlessly.

And i'm not talking about sword fights and gun battles, I'm simply talking about the MC doing something and the plot moving forward.

I constantly want the reader to be wondering "What's going to happen next?"

I think this is the key. Not only should the reader be wondering "What's going to happen next?" but the reader should care about what will happen next.

Anyways, my 2 cents on the matter.

Mel...

zarkia said:

you mentioned pace in the second-last paragraph.
i think pace is the most important thing to keep a reader turning pages. short chapters which end abruptly, leaving the reader with a lot of questions about what will happen next.
but as you said - it does depend on the genre / style of novel, and obviously you can't keep the story at breakneck pace the whole way. then people will stop reading for sure.

Click to expand...

How you balance the pace in a novel contributes to the entertainment factor but ultimately its the characters that keep me turning the pages.

I want to watch characters be hindered in their attempt at reaching there goals. That's where the tension is born. And tension for me equals intrigue.

I appreciated your blog and particularly what you said about enjoying writing. Personally, I am of the opinion that the enjoyment of writing is the prime reason for attempting the endeavor with which to begin.