If you want to draw your reader in, you have to figure out a way to get them to empathize with the main character in your novel. They have to connect. Help them to see and feel what your character is going through.
In order to do this, you need to change the focus from the us/them mentality. People don’t listen to facts because of their own personal bias. They accept or reject them depending on whether they line up with their beliefs/agenda or not. Think about the USA today and the divide between the Democrat and Republican parties. Ouch! Maybe not!
You have to change your methodology and come in a little sneaky. Instead of lining your prose up from the us/them point of view, you want to look at things from your main character’s point of view. Your reader will be pulled in immediately, not because of the facts of the situation, but because they empathize with the feelings of the character. They are seeing things through his/her eyes.
I’m not a Malcolm X fan, but if you pick up the book entitled Malcolm X you will be pulled into his story immediately. It was an autobiography that followed his life and the events that brought him to the beliefs that he strongly supported and fought for. The story allowed you to look into his head. You could see what he saw and feel what he felt. You may not have agreed with his point of view, but you understood where he was coming from and empathized with him.
That’s the same technique you would use in a novel to draw your reader into the story. You have to present things from your character’s point of view. You reader has to see what they see, feel what they feel, and experience situations as they would.
Something else to think about.
-Jan R
Have you thought about what tense you will be writing your story in? To be honest, I never thought about tense from that perspective. I knew the tense in my sentences had to be in agreement, and I made sure I was producing grammatically correct prose, but I never thought about the entire novel being written in a specific tense.
Your novel is made up of outer conflict and inner conflict. The outer conflict is what we observe. It’s the plot, the incidents inciting action and moving our story forward.
Have you thought about the point of view you will be using when you write your novel? Whose head will you be in?
I’ve shared this blog before, but it’s been a while, and a message I think needs to be heard. As new writers, we sometimes listen to everybody but ourselves. Our friends and critique partners mean well, but if you let them, some will try to take over your novel and mold it into what they think it should be.
Your protagonist is the most important character in the novel. He/she will be in every moment, even if not in every scene.
There are four main dramatic elements to your novel. You probably never thought about it, but if you did it right, they are there. If they’re missing, you need to revisit your work and make some adjustments.
Plot versus story? I have to be honest, I thought they were the same thing. I was listening to an instructor this week who set me straight. They are not, and both components are necessary for a successful novel.
You’re probably sitting there wondering what in the world I am talking about. I know when I first read about loose sentences, I wondered what in the world the author was talking about. Well, let me enlighten you. Loose sentences are sentences with the main concept at the beginning, followed by a string of related details.
I’ve written before about the importance of the first five pages of your manuscript. If you ever decide to go the traditional route of publishing, the agent usually asks for the first five pages. That’s all he/she needs to evaluate your writing and premise. In those first five pages, they know if they want to continue reading or not. It’s the same with the person who buys your book.
Writing your first novel-Things you should know 