Successfully Capturing Readers

Capturing your readers’ interest shouldn’t be impossible. You shouldn’t have to write about vampires or Gerard Way to ensure that people will read your story. There are different ways of doing this, and I thought I’d help you with at least a few. Keep in mind that I’m not a published or professional author, but I’ve been writing for ten years and I’ve learned a few ways to snag readers.

The first is to keep the first chapter relatively short. It doesn’t have to be two paragraphs, but keeping it fairly limited or possibly shorter than the rest of the chapters might do you good. After all, The Lord of the Rings is a really hard book to continue. Once you get through the first 50 pages, then you’re in the clear, but Tolkien does open with a very long chapter and a lot of information at the same time. If you’re not him, I’d suggest a slower start where the reader doesn’t have to remember 30 things about your main character just to keep up with the rest of your story.

Another trick is to have something happen in your first chapter, something that can easily lead into the rest of your story. Your hero (or heroine) could literally walk into that guy she’s later meant to fall in love with. Or she could accidentally cause her mother’s hair to catch on fire if it’s later going to be revealed that she’s a witch. You don’t have to give away all secrets in the first chapter, by all means don’t, but hinting at what may or may not later happen is a good way to catch your readers interest. There are easy ways to hint at something, and there are more complicated ways. If your story is an original story about werewolves, but you don’t want it to be revealed that the main girl’s future boyfriend will end up being a werewolf, then don’t hint too much at that. Keep the hints short, if you want them to be there at all, but don’t give everything away. Keeping a secret in stories is one of the hardest things to do, but it can pay off when you finally in chapter 24 reveal them.

Ending your first chapter with a cliffhanger could be a very good way to start your story and catch your readers. However, it can also be easy to end up repelling them because the cliffhanger seems to be there only for the purpose of luring people to continue. It’s better to end a first chapter with a subtle cliffhanger than with “and then…” In fact, ending your chapters with three dots is never a good idea, unless it’s a humor story or parody and it’s supposed to feel tacky.

The probably best tip you’re going to receive on this subject is grammar. As boring as it sounds, you will need good grammar to catch good attention and make people want to keep reading. Studying grammar and making sure you know all the writing rules is important, it will keep your story from getting reported and it will help people fall into your writing more easily. Another of the most important things to remember is research. Do your research. This really can’t be stretched enough, because without research your story won’t feel authentic. If it’s just a drabble or a one-shot, maybe you won’t need too much research. But for a longer chaptered story featuring events you don’t know much about it’s advisable. If your reader knows more about pregnancies than you do, they won’t be impressed. And if your character is getting cancer, spend 20 minutes reading about it so that you know what you’re talking about. Research doesn’t have to take you hours, unless you want to be really careful, but you should at least spend some time making sure you know the subject.

These, I find, are the most basic techniques to gain more readers. There are other ways of course, but these are the simplest ways, fit for someone who hasn’t been writing for too long. If it’s your first story, try reading these tips and see if you can apply any to your own story. It just might get you some more subscribers in the end.

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