- Be aware of the length of #books in your #genre. Different genres have different expectations.
- #Pacing. A #suspense #thriller will have shorter scenes and sentences to speed up the pace. But a literary novel will slow it down.
- #Dialogue. Make it authentic. Use the character’s voice, not yours.
- #Openings. Open with depth. Read the opening page of your favorite books. Study them. How do they pull the reader in?
- #Tone. Let the tone of the book be known early, so the reader knows what to expect.
- Does page one hook the reader? Is the first line memorable?
- How does your protagonist enter the story? Why do we care about him or her right away? What are they trying to do? What are they facing?
- Make sure all your characters, even the small ones, are unique with their own voice.
- Title. Coming up with a title for your book can be very difficult sometimes. But the title and the cover are the first two things you have to grab a reader’s attention. Make them count!
- Look for strong setups and their payoffs. Planting seeds and clues to the story and characters is essential. Think about every little thing in the story. Make it count!
Want a story where you unravel the #mystery with the main character? Try my THE DUTIFUL DAUGHTER, book one of the Desert Rose trilogy. Women’s fiction with a pinch of the #paranormal and a dash of romance.