![]() ![]() That doesn’t mean all books should start the same way-with some bang or shocking reveal or tantalizing tease. Remember the last time someone told you a new show didn’t get good until episode three or four? How many times did you make it that far? We all know how easy it is to say I’m just going to check Twitter real quick and then find ourselves scrolling, our precious reading time zapped away. So when your novel doesn’t really get moving until chapter three or four, you’re asking your reader to battle intense distraction for a long time. There are lots and lots of things vying for our attention these days. Many have blamed the population’s waning attention span on the internet and cell phones (they blamed it on TV, radio, movies with sound, and I don’t know, wax cylinders before that) and I’m sure they are, in part, correct. agents and editors) might see as problems in your work. It could bring to light some issues that other readers (i.e. ![]() But you should, I implore you, think farther down the line to your eventual, actual, regular-person reader and try to imagine how, when, and why they are reading your book. You might have had some thoughts about the reader in terms of will someone think this book is too long? Or what other books are my ideal reader reading? You may only be thinking about the reader in terms of an agent or an editor, the first readers you’re aiming to impress. You think about the reader buying your book and coming to your readings and screaming your name at big events and catapulting you to the best seller list, right? Lol. If you’re writing a book, someone, somewhere has told you to ~~ ThInk aBOUt tHe REadeR~~ and I’m sure you have. I’ve been working on something for Poets & Writers Magazine, (tk!) and it’s made me think a lot about the interplay between the writer and the reader.
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