Start the Story With Action
Start your story with some point of action or suspense. Your audience wants to be immersed into your novel within the first page, so get on with the story. There will be time later to provide your readers with all the background information they could possibly want. For now, get the attention of your readers by jumping right into the action.
Where are the Main Characters?
If you want a book that grabs the attention of your readers and doesn’t let them go, then you have to introduce your main characters. Within the first page or two, you’ll need to have at least one of your main characters make an appearance. You might have certain characters who, of necessity, do not make an appearance until later in the book, but you can’t start your book without at least one of them.
If you want to take a bit of a risk, try introducing your antagonist first. The hero can come later. However, if you’re going to do this, you’ll need to really hook your audience with suspense. Give them a reason to keep reading, to meet the hero (or heroes), or they’ll toss your book out the window.
Every Character in a Novel Needs a Motive
Like real people, the characters in your story shouldn’t do anything without a reason. If your hero goes to an inn and discovers a crucial piece of information, he’d better have a good reason for going to that inn. Even if that reason is as benign as needing a place to stay for the night. Just make sure he didn’t travel ten miles out of his way with no real motive. At least let him meet up with an old friend, or something along those lines. Your characters have to have believable motives, or your audience just won’t buy it.
Keep the Action Moving in Every Chapter
Your book started with a wonderful hook and now … somewhere along the way, you lost it. You started meandering, and while you eventually wrapped up your plot (along with the subplots you so carefully crafted), it’s taken so long and had so many boring bits that your readers became lost and confused. If you want to keep your readers, you need to keep the action going.
Reexamine your entire story. Do you have chapters, maybe several in a row, where nothing really happens? Bits of text that do absolutely nothing to advance your plot? Get rid of them. Don’t worry if it shortens your novel. I’d rather read a story of a mere 80,000 words that was cohesive and entertaining than one twice as long that seemed to forget the point halfway through.
Keep your plot moving forward, avoid common mistakes, and be aware of the basics of writing fiction, and you will find that your story slowly comes together. Write what you love, and soon you will have an end product that your readers will thank you for.
