The One Element That Will Make Everyone Read Your Story

Why stories? Why characters and plot and conflict? Even before people could write, we were handing down stories through oral tradition. Today, the writing, reading, and watching of stories is a huge part of our lives and our world. Why is that?

One would think with all the conflict we face in our daily lives—from traffic jams and what to make for dinner, to work and relationship problems, to global conflicts—that we would be sick of the drama and just want to listen to Mozart all day long to soothe ourselves. Don’t get me wrong: I’m all about classical music, but most people who love reading and stories enough to follow book blogs simply crave drama, even in their spare time. And, truth be told, most people are that way, at least to some extent.

The question remains: why?

I’ll give you a few hints: The answer is something essential to our survival as a culture. As human beings, we thrive on it. As individuals, we latch onto it with unparalleled tenacity. It’s both noble and cliché. It’s what makes us get out of bed in the morning, pursue relationships, and set goals. On our worst days, it’s the one thing that can make us smile; the one thing that can bring us out of the darkest despair.

Have you guessed it yet? The answer is HOPE.

Think about it. If we don’t hope to live a good life, why work at all or try to make money? If we don’t hope for joy and love, what’s the point of cultivating any relationship, romantic or platonic? Heck, if we don’t hope for a good day, why get out of bed in the morning?  (I’m sure we’ve all had those times that we’d rather stay in bed and hide than face the day.) Hope propels us forward on every level and in every aspect of our lives.

What’s this got to do with a great story?

If you want people to read your story, you’ve got to give them the hope of satisfaction in ALL areas. (No pressure, right?)

With plot: You start your story one of two ways. A) with a negative world (poor Harry Potter has a sad, boring life where he lives with horrible, abusive people that make him sleep under the stairs) or B) with a pretty good world that is simply flawed, most likely because some negative force might come disrupt or destroy it (Frodo’s life in the Shire is happy and tranquil, but his world is flawed because a dark evil is brewing somewhere far away and that evil might destroy his beloved Shire).

By starting in one of these two ways, you’re making an unspoken pact with your readers about what is to come. They have a hope of satisfaction that things will get better.

For characters: we all know the best characters are dynamic, rather than static. This is (one of many) reasons why your characters must be flawed. They must have a personality flaw or a flawed belief system because the reader wants to see them change and grow. By showing a weak character at the beginning (a weak, submissive Harry or an oblivious, un-weathered Frodo) we make an unspoken pact with our readers that the characters will change and grow throughout the story. They hope for satisfaction on this count.

For setting: your setting should be intricately tied to your story. Especially in a fantasy world, or if you have some special setting that’s very different from what most of your readers see on a daily basis (Mt. Doom in the distance, perhaps?) you must deliver on this setting. Let the readers see it. Once you’ve mentioned a school of witchcraft and wizardry, it would be stupid to not let your characters explore it, right? So give them a promise of an awesome setting, which will play a major role in your story, and then deliver on it. They will have a hope for satisfaction.

By making promises about character, setting, and conflict, you are allowing your readers to hope for something. If you give them enough hope for satisfaction, they WILL continue reading.

The most dissatisfying stories out there are the ones that set up something major and then don’t deliver. I won’t name any names here but I’m sure we can all think of a few. Don’t do this!

Hope is what drives all aspects of a story because it’s also what drives us as human beings. Hope for a better world; hope for resolution; hope for a better person; hope for a happy ending; hope for satisfaction. If your story has this, the readers will return again and again.

~Liesel Hill

Liesel has her debut novel releasing soon!  Here is the cover and synopsis:

How to network online to promote your book

I chose this topic for two reasons:

•             It is perhaps the biggest problem facing all authors today,

regardless of whether they are published by traditional houses, or

independents.

•             It is the single most difficult problem for me. It’s like facing my

own worst fear, so perhaps writing about it will help me as well as

others.

This is not a “how to” for social media. I’m not qualified to do

that. This is more of a sharing of my stumbles and mistakes. Maybe it

will help someone else.

I have no problem writing. I’m fortunate in that I never get writer’s

block. I don’t run out of stories to tell, or plots to work on. My

‘blogs to write’ list is endless…but…I have a terrible time with self

promotion.

This has been a rude awakening for me. I’ve been in sales of some

sort all my life. For the past thirty years I’ve been a headhunter,

and when you run your own business you are always a salesman, always

promoting yourself. But when it came time to promote myself online, as

an author, I froze up. I waited until the last minute to even get a

Twitter account. My Facebook page consisted of a few relatives and

friends. And I had never even heard of Pinterest. I still don’t know

how to use Google + or Tumblr.

So why was I uncomfortable selling my book? I was confident of the

writing. I knew it was a good book. It got great reviews,

but…selling the book was like selling me. It was too personal, too

close to me. And it felt too much like bragging.

A few weeks into the launch I ran across the World Literary Cafe, a

group run by Melissa Foster. They have several wonderful programs that

help authors learn, and get comfortable with, social media. I have to

say, it was a lifesaver. They have Tweet teams that allow an author to

market other people, while the other people market you.

This fit my style perfectly. I don’t mind marketing the heck out of

someone else; I just don’t like doing it for myself. So while I’m

touting these other authors, they are telling their followers about me

or my book.

They also have programs to help with Facebook and Goodreads, and many

other areas.

So right now, here’s what my social media strategy looks like:

Twitter: I use “Tweet teams” to help get the word out. I dedicate 20

minutes in the morning to adding new followers and tweeting, and

another ten in the afternoon or evening to sending tweets.

Facebook: I spend ten minutes each day, interacting with people on

Facebook and liking other pages. Most ‘like’ back.

Pinterest: I’m just building this network, but I am mostly posting

pics about the animals from our sanctuary.

Google +: I haven’t done much here yet, but it’s on my list.

Goodreads & Library Thing: I believe these two have the most

potential. I think reviews are the single biggest issue (after

visibility) facing authors. Every author needs to have a substantial

number of reviews if they are to be taken seriously. Reviews are

difficult to get, but places like Goodreads and Library Thing make it

easier. Authors can sponsor giveaways in exchange for (hopefully)

reviews.

Being sociable: This is perhaps the most important, and one that

might take the most time. I believe you have to truly interact with

others over an extended period of time, and develop relationships.

Once you have a network of true relationships, you can start helping

each other. That’s when things will click.

Other things: Blog, Linked in, Tumblr, etc…

Results:

After three weeks of using Twitter, when I never thought I’d ever use

Twitter, I am slowly getting more comfortable with it. I still look to

retweet other authors’ tweets more than I do my own content, but

that’s okay. The way I look at it, it all comes back to you in the

long run.

On my blog I do the same kind of thing. I’m not comfortable talking

about writing, or telling others what they should be doing. Who’s to

say that what works for me is right? Not me. So I talk mostly about

the animals on our sanctuary. And I try to tie the stories into

writing, or reading. Mostly though, I just tell stories in hopes that

someone will enjoy them. Not much different than writing a book.

Does this strategy work? It’s far too early to tell if what I’m doing

will have any benefit. Ask me next year and we’ll see.

~Giacomo Giammatteo, author of Murder Takes Time