By Marie E. Bast @mariebast1
To steal the heart of the reader, a story must have a solid plot line and the protagonist must believe a lie about him or herself, which will cause obstacles and hinder them achieving their plot goal. This problem will become obvious at the inciting incident and first plot point. Each chapter, like a golf ball rolling across the green toward the cup, has a specific job to push the story forward. Starting with the hook, the writer must capture the interest of the reader and carry it page after page until The End.
Here’s how it’s done
The story needs to construct the hero/heroine’s journey through words that can dance across the page and hold the reader’s attention. As the protagonist chases his goals, each chapter must build and create interest through the promise of excitement, tension, mystery, suspense, drama, or romance. The writing must call the reader to action, which is namely, to keep on reading.
Sound easy?
Here are ten steps to help you construct a story that will steal the heart of the reader.
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- Strong characters are interesting and attract the reader. Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind isn’t always likeable, but she draws our sympathy when she loses everything she loves. Then she plunges into turmoil after turmoil on her journey.
- The writer creates the protagonist’s journey through a series of plot points, milestones, and midpoint twist. Each chapter needs to contain goals and motivations, and slowly reveal the hero/heroine’s multidimensional character throughout the story.
- For a story to have depth, the protagonist needs a backstory that adds complications to their life, affects their decisions, and interferes with the choices they make. As the story develops, the reader understands through the backstory why the hero acts the way he does.
- Paint the story with powerful verbs and descriptive nouns. Don’t say he got in his car. Show it. He wiped a smudge from his pristine Jaguar before he lowered himself onto the buttery-soft seat. His hand didn’t touch hers; it caressed hers. His love didn’t just warm her, it wrapped around her heart.
- Punch up the story with hooks, twists, turns, and U-turns, to drive the outer goal and journey.
- Conflict should follow the protagonist like a puppy. A problem, antagonistic twist, or controversy should cling to each chapter and plague the character. Love and happiness, the solution to solving the mystery or catching the killer, should always stay out of arm’s reach. Make the hero/heroine suffer. Don’t give them what they want.
- Storytelling thrives on tension, emotion, and romance that translates to a hunger for the reader to stick with the story until it ends.
- Make the story unique and fresh. Create a story that will excite, and draw the reader’s core curiosity. It’s human nature for a person to be curious. It’s how electricity, the automobile, and the airplane were invented and why the caveman ventured out of his cave. They were curious. The reader too is curious to see if the hero/heroine accomplishes their goal.
- At the crisis, when it seems like all is lost, the hero/heroine does some soul searching. The protagonist realizes what he believes is a lie, and now he has a choice to make. Will he reject the lie and accept the truth? Remember to make the black moment, revealing the lie, and the epiphany memorable events. Make the climax satisfying; show how the hero/heroine’s character has had an emotional change. That wait it rewards the reader for staying with the story until the end of the book.
- Tip: Three story-building tools—Story Engineering: Mastering The 6 Core Competencies of Successful Writing by Larry Brooks; Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson; Creating Character ARCS by K.M. Weiland.
Marie E. Bast is a Publishers Weekly bestselling author. The Amish Baker’s Rival was a 2021 The Carla Book Award Finalist; while The Amish Baker was a 2020 BBB Finalist. Marie loves gardening, walking, and golfing with her husband of thirty years. Visit her website at MarieBastAuthor.com.