First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting on this blog over the weekend, but I was taking a reflective break from blogging/writing. Ok, now that we have that out of the way, today, I would like to teach how to engage your readers.

As writers, we often assume that because someone buys our book or visits our website that we automatically have their attention. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, it is important to draw the reader in from the onset of the story. This can be done by catching the attention of the reader in the first sentence. This means writing a dramatic or comedic introduction. You can also write an abstract intro to pique reader interest and make them want to read on. Keep in mind, that if you don't catch the reader's attention in the first five pages, paragraphs, stanzas, or words, they will stop reading.

Engaging the reader also means keeping their interest throughout the story. This means create scenes or situations that build upon one another so that the reader has to keep reading in order to learn the outcomes. Also, make the interactions between characters interesting so that the reader will want to see how their relationship unfolds. An example is writing about a husband and wife and make the husband have an affair with the wife's sister; this will encourage readers to read on because there is now a conflict (the husband's affair), that needs to be resolved.

Lastly, engaging the reader means providing them with a complete and well rounded ending. Meaning, the climax (ending) of the story should resolve the conflict of the story. However, keep in mind that the ending should be aligned with the storyline and its characters. Stay close to your original storyline so that the ending makes sense and doesn't confuse the reader. An example of a disengaging ending, the wife divorces the husband and marries an alien. This is not a plausible climax, because, the storyline was simple and relatable, but ending the story on a Sci-Fi note would throw readers way off.

Engaging the reader from beginning, middle, to end is not only necessary, but, it is fun because you can build a fan base and learn what readers like and don't like. Remember, when the page comes to life...so do you.