How to Make Your Book a Page Turner
by Janice Seagraves
To make your book a page turner, you’ll need to hook your readers.
Place a hook at the beginning and end of each chapter, so the reader won't want to set your book down.
A hook doesn't have to be the middle of some crisis like a cliff hanger in the old serials where the hero is left literally hanging off a cliff. It can be something that leaves a question in the readers mind: Will she/he kiss/accept him/her.
If your story is suspense, mystery or horror, don’t end the conflict until the very last page.
Do the same thing if you’re writing romance, keep some unresolved question between your couple until the very last page.
In that way you’re keeping the tension going.
Remember you have to have tension to have a story. No tension, no story.
When you have your hooks set, you can reel in your reader. Then your reader will be staggering into work the next day, saying, “I just read the best book. I couldn't put it down and didn't go to sleep until three in the morning.”
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Blurb: The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas. Then she finds a nearly-drowned man. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck.
With only meager survival skill between them, will they survive these windswept shores and can they find love?
For the first time available as a trade paperback: https://www.createspace.com/4084680
And for the Kindle for only 99. cents: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AS9NDNO
And for the Kindle for only 99. cents: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AS9NDNO
Janice Seagraves website: http://janiceseagraves.org/
This look like my kind of story: a beach, and suspense.
ReplyDeleteI make sure I have a hook at the end of each scene.
Great Tip. I often want to wrap up my chapters and I see that it isn't the great way to go. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, Janice. I just finished reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." Great hooks at the end of the chapters. My only complaint is the story kept going after the major resolution.
ReplyDeleteVery true about chapter-ending hooks, Janice. It's not always as easy as it sounds. Thanks for the advice and the reminder. I look forward to reading Windswept Shores which is in my Kindle.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right, Janice. And a good hook combined with compelling characters really carries the story forward.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, but not always easy to do...But I keep working at it.
ReplyDeleteI love the image of a reader staggering into work because they've been up all night reading your book! I think its something all authors dream about and a good hook keeps them coming back for more. Great advice!
ReplyDeleteHi Mona,
ReplyDeleteThank you, and that's great.
Hi Melissa,
Not really. Each chapter should end in the middle of action or leave a question in the reader's mind.
Hi Tina,
That can be problem or maybe the writer felt compelled to tie up all the lose ends.
Hi Cara,
Thank you. You just made my day. :)
No, hooks aren't easy, but with practice they can be.
Hi Vicki,
Yes it can, and the reader will feel compelled to keep reading.
Hi Jean,
Yes indeed.
Hi Paris,
Thank you. :) That's my ideal reader, the one who can't put my book down.
Janice~
Oh so true Janice. Not always easy on our end but it does make for a better read. Great tip.
ReplyDeleteHi Rose,
ReplyDeleteThank you. :)
Janice~
You're right, Janice. We need the hooks, and if we can it's best at the end of each scene if possible. lol
ReplyDeleteHi Sandy,
ReplyDeleteYes, scene hooks are also an excellent way to keep drawing your reader in.
Janice~
Thanks for the reminder, Janice. Excellent blog post. I've been the reader who can't wake up because I couldn't put a book down the night before.
ReplyDeleteHi Gemma,
ReplyDeleteMe too. I love those types of books.
Janice~