Don't Cheat the Reader - This presentation is designed for writers on how to avoid the most common pitfalls of writing. How to keep your readers from throwing the book across the room and into the trash can.

1. Don’t Cheat the Reader!
Writing Books Your
Readers Will Love
Larry K. & Lorna Collins

2. Reader’s Prayer
By Sylvia Sikeston, Editor
God grant us the courage to
not buy the Fiction we
cannot stomach,
The serenity to read the
Fiction we can,
And the wisdom to know the
difference.

3. Why We Hate Books
• Badly drawn characters
• Spear carriers
• Too many characters
• Unclear protagonist
• Introducing key characters
too late in the story
• Confusing POV

4. Why We Hate Books – Part 2
• Bad writing
• Too wordy
• Not enough detail
• Poor plotting
• Cop-out endings
• Unresolved endings
• Unresolved plotlines
• Impossible situations

5. Why We Hate Books – Part 3
• Facts known only to the
author
• Historical inaccuracies
• Language errors
– Historical
– Moral
• Author intrusion
– “Telling” details instead of
“showing”
• Preaching

6. What We Love - Basics
1. Compelling Characters
2. A Good Story
3. A Great Hook
4. A Strong Voice
5. Excellent Writing

7. Characters
• Make them believable and
authentic – to you and the reader
• Make them distinct and
identifiable by their actions and
sounds
• Give them clear emotions
• Complete their arcs
• Keep them consistent
• Make them memorable
• Make them necessary

8. Characters – Part 2
• Give each character an
agenda (What do they want?
Need?)
• Make the protagonist and
antagonist clear early
• How do they react to stress?
• Know whose POV is being
expressed
• Create fewer, not more

9. A Good Story
• Create believable situation
• The larger the event, the
more important your
characters
• Create conflicts between
characters
• Create internal conflict in
characters
• Increase conflict
throughout the story

10. A Good Story – Part 2
• Interrelate scenes and chapters
• Create a primary event to start
the story
• Use suspense – withhold
information
• Keep your promises to the
reader
• Make the reader care about
the plot

11. A Good Story – Part 3
• Make it real, make it
believable, make it true
• Resolve plotlines
• Build to a climax
• Keep your theme consistent
• Write strong ending

12. Create a Hook
• Decide where to start the
story:
– Before the beginning
– At the beginning
– In the middle
– At the end
• Name a character
• Give significant plot

13. Create a Hook – Part 2
• Give character an
attitude, a secret
• Create a question in the
reader’s mind
• Create a mood
• Create a great sentence,
paragraph or chapter
• Create an intriguing place

14. Create a Strong Voice
• POV
– 1st person
– 1st shifting
– 3rd person
– 3rd shifting
– Omniscient
• Be consistent

15. Excellent Writing
• Give enough detail
• Don’t be too wordy
• Don’t start the next book
as the finish of this one
• Make sure the mechanics
(spelling, punctuation,
etc.) are perfect
• Use effective metaphors
and similes

16. Excellent Writing – Part 2
• Create “cliffhangers” for
chapter endings
• Give the story a spiritual or
moral dimension
• Write descriptions to
appeal to all the senses
• Use active verbs

17. Writing Basics
• Read, Read, Read
• Write, Write, Write
• Edit, Edit, Edit
• Keep at it!

18. Final Thoughts
“When you speak, your words
echo only across the room or
down the hall. But when you
write, your words echo down
the ages.”
Bud Gardner – Chicken Soup
for the Writer’s Soul