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. 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.

When it comes to writing a book, there are different definitions of the word “theme”. It can get confusing, but it’s really important to get strong themes in a novel and be able to express them clearly. If your novel lacks a purposeful theme, it will lack direction and continuity and it won’t hold the interest of readers.

It’s embarrassing to admit this, but there have been times along my writing journey when I’ve spent more time thinking about how my writing can serve me than how it can serve readers. I became a much better writer when I realized the purpose of my writing is to entertain and inspire others. When I shifted my focus outward, I could better see what I needed to work on to improve my reader’s experience and ultimately my own writing.

During my MFA program, I purposely didn’t take any poetry classes, even though they were available to me. I knew I wasn’t any good at poetry. I wasn’t good at coming up with beautiful images or smart sentences to ellicit emotion from readers. I liked reading it. Absolutely. But writing it, not so much. Now I regret not taking a poetry class.