How to write a novel that readers won’t DNF
Why should a reader finish your book when there is endless entertainment available to them? Writing a book that readers finish isn’t as easy as people make it out to be. As an author, you’re not only competing with other books and storytellers, you’re competing with other forms of entertainment, like movies and television. Of course, we’re never looking to please every reader, some people just won’t like your story and that’s okay. But, we have to be purposeful about how we design and write stories so that we can meet the expectations of our ideal readers.
Common mistakes new writers make
One of the most common mistakes new writers make is that they don’t have a clear throughline for their plot. This means that their plot does not stay focused on a single plot problem or question. Instead, it goes on tangents and the reader finds it hard to keep track of what the story is actually about. Meandering plots are one of the fastest ways to bore your reader and bored readers DNF (Did Not Finish). Even though not having a clear throughline for your plot is one of the most common writing mistakes, the good news is, this can be easily avoided.
How to clearly define your central conflict
You need to deliberately decide on your central conflict, plot problem or plot question before you begin writing (or at least in the early stages of drafting). These are different terms for the same concept. The concept is that every novel has a throughline that readers cling to and they read until the end so that they can get the answer to the question your story poses. This is what keeps readers turning the pages. Every scene is built to get closer to the answer to the question or resolve the main conflict.
Here are the plot questions in some popular novels:
The Hunger Games - Will Katniss survive the games and save her family from poverty?
Star Wars: A New Hope - Will Luke learn the Force and embrace his destiny as a Jedi Knight?
The Great Gatsby - Will Jay Gatsby win Daisy back through his accumulation of wealth and social status?
Pride and Prejudice - Will Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy get together despite their prejudices against each other?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - Will Harry Potter learn wizarding and defeat the dark forces threatening Hogwarts?
1984 - Will Winston Smith escape Big Brother’s control?
When you’re planning or zero-drafting your novel, make sure you clearly define the plot question or main problem in your story. Then, as you build your scenes, ask yourself whether or not the scene is connected to the throughline of your story. If a scene doesn’t connect to the throughline or character development, you don’t need it! The joy of clearly defining your central conflict is that it not only keeps your reader invested, but it makes your writing process more focused and therefore easier and faster.
The importance of a compelling character arc
Did you notice a trend with all of the plot questions above? They all include character(s). You can’t have a compelling story or plotline without a compelling character. That means it’s imperative, if you want to keep readers invested in your story, to not only create a throughline but also a strong character arc. I wrote more details about how to do this in my post 5 Key Elements to a Compelling Character.
The other story elements that keep readers invested
Once you’ve got your overarching reader hooks, including plot question and character arc, you need to focus on your scene-specific hooks. These include aspects of storytelling like obstacles, conflict and tension. Your obstacles are what is getting in the way of an easy answer to the plot question. In other words, the plot question can’t be easy to answer, otherwise your novel would be incredibly short and boring.
Keeping readers invested and interested requires different levels of storytelling knowledge. It’s not as easy as sitting down to write and seeing what comes out. Most of us don’t have these skills by default and we need to work on developing them and being purposeful about including them in our novels. But the more you practice balancing and incorporating these story components, the easier writing will get. If you need help, I provide manuscript assessments through my developmental editing services. My goal is to help you improve your novel so that readers, agents and publishers will love it. If you haven’t got a completed manuscript yet, my book coaching services can help you complete a novel that incorporates all of these story elements. Get in touch to book a free 30-minute discovery call.
