What Keeps a Reader Turning Pages?
I was recently going through my personal notes, and I came across an entire page filled with questions.
Questions about what, you may ask? The answer: questions about a book. More specifically, a book a had recently begun reading (at the time).
In fact, it was a page filled with questions about one of the very first books I had picked up after deciding to write my own novel.
But why would this matter?
Another great question!
You see, one of my first insights, when I began reading with an analytical eye, was the fact that questions play an extremely important role in your book.
Put another way, you always want your reader to have unanswered questions. Burning unanswered questions.
But in matters such as these, sometimes seeing it laid out is a much simpler way than me trying to explain it. So as an example, here are the questions I wrote down following the Prologue, Chapter 1, and Chapter 2 of the book I was reading (bonus points if you can identify the book based on the questions and leave it in the comments!). Read through them and while you do, think about how the author might have posed these questions through her story.
Note: I’m keeping the questions very vague because that is how I had them written in my notes. You don’t need to know the specifics in order to understand how much the action I was reading in the text was actually posing a whole heap of questions.
Prologue (the unanswered questions I had after reading the Prologue):
Where did he disappear to?
Why is he covered in blood?
What did he kill?
Why can’t the guard see him?
What happened to the girl?
Chapter 1 (the unanswered questions I had after reading Chapter 1 of this mystery book):
Who is the man meeting her?
Why didn’t her brother come?
What is the Pandemonium Club?
Where are they taking her?
Chapter 2 (the onslaught of questions I had running through my brain the further I dove into this book):
Why has she been imprisoned?
Why would she need to be dragged kicking and screaming?
What are they doing to her?
Where is her brother?
What does it mean to Change?
Why does the servant do their bidding?
Why do they want her to Change?
How did they know she could?
Why Change into the young girl?
Why do they give her odd gifts?
Why are they relieved to hear the young girl died?
How is she ready?
Who will they call?
How does she need to get ready for him?
Why will she marry him?
Who is the Magister?
What does he want with her?
Why are they working for him?
What is the servant?
You see what I mean?
These questions don’t need to make sense to you (I’d be shocked if they did). The point I’m trying to make is that I, as a reader, had them. Plain and simple. I wanted to continue turning pages because I had questions I wanted answers to!
As I continued with the book, many of my questions were answered. But some went unresolved until not only the end of this book but the end of the trilogy.
As readers, we like answers. Mysteries keep us going, wanting to learn more, wanting to see what happened, why it happened. And so as a writer, questions are your best friend.
Here’s what you can do:
Read your book from the perspective of a new reader. Are the bits and pieces of the story intriguing? Do they leave them wanting more? And, importantly, are you walking the fine line between mystery and confusion?
This is key. You never want your reader to be flat-out confused. You don’t want them wondering what in the world is happening in your story. You want them intrigued. You want them asking why and what happens next.
You can see from the questions above that the story became more intricate as it went along. As more was revealed, there was more to wonder about. Not all stories need to have this level of mystery, but as a storyteller, the crucial skill you need to master is the ability to keep your reader interested. To make them want to learn more. To ask, “and then what happened?!”
The more you practice this, the easier it will become.
But also, the more you look for it in other stories, the easier it will become.
So here’s what else you can do:
Next time you pick up a book, take a moment every few pages or after every chapter to write down all of the questions you have as a reader. All of the reasons you want to keep going (assuming you do—if not, pick a different book).
The better we become at reading, the better we’ll get at writing. True story. So after you’ve finished reading this post, I challenge you to complete one of the activities mentioned here. Either take a look at your own story and write down a list of questions a reader may have, or do it yourself with whatever book you’re currently reading!
I promise you’ll gain insight and a-ha’s into what it takes to become an effective and compelling storyteller.
As with all things, the more you practice (and the more aware you become), the better you’ll get. Happy writing.
Okay, okay. The story I’m referring to is Clockwork Angel.
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