Three Tips to Create the "Page-Turner" Effect

Here are some tips to improve your novel:

 

Pacing 101-keep your prose moving by not getting caught up in redundant techniques. For example, I laughed with my author today that only so many facial expressions are available in the repertoire of descriptive opportunities. She puzzled on the comment. I chuckled, "Well, you can only 'smile, grin or frown' so many times before it's repetitious and unnecessary to keep saying it. When you take out what I'll call "the extended version of dialog" you'll notice something interesting-suddenly, your story is moving much faster. When trying to create the famous "page-turner" effect you'll want to expeditiously tell your story. Trim the fat, make it lean, but don't make it skinny (and that's a whole other tip in and of itself).

 

Redundancy, Redundancy What's Your 'Abundancy'? You'll notice a little play on School House Rock here (for those of you youngsters who have new clue about that one... well, what I can say. A super big tip is to not to describe something then turn around and re-describe it through the dialog. Your reader just read it. It's redundant, and it bogs down the pace. Plus, it's a sure way to send your reader into Rip van Winkle Ville. Again, if you don't know who that is refer back to another ancient cartoon with Elmer Fudd in it... sigh! I'm now so dated here that the AARP application that came in the mail just the other day is starting to seem less offensive.

 

Humor always makes even the worst book better. It's a drama, right? Why add humor? Truth is during particularly tense moments whether on the page or in real life, a good chuckle always feels better. So don't hesitate to add some humor to your story. Readers will appreciate the laughs.