Has your story got a spine?
Spine? What kind of spine? Narrative spine, of course. If a novel is going to keep the reader hooked and reading it needs to have a backbone.
Your novel's spine should be built around the problem or challenge that the main character faces. It's a good idea to know what the theme of your book is. When you're editing that can guide you towards what emphasis to put on which parts of the story - and what to cut out.
Readers want action in stories, but they also want to see how the characters react to the things that happen to them, i.e. their reactions. And those reactions will in turn reveal who they are. We'll find out who has moral courage, and who doesn't have the guts to take action.
Characters have to be motivated to take action in a story. It's far more comfortable for all of us to stay in our cosy everyday worlds, and if we're to be jolted out of them we must be motivated to do something. So our story spine must show why they are motivated to act. The way they choose to tackle a problem or challenge might not be logical, or it might not be the way we would resolve the problem in our lives, but perhaps that makes for a richer story.
The spine of your story also has to contain the different sub-plots, weaving them together in a way that leaves the reader satisfied by the story, and just as importantly, understanding how the various parts of the narrative fit together. I've just finished reading the second book in a young adult series that failed to hold me because I couldn't remember where each of the four different viewpoint characters was.
Give your story a spine and keep your readers hooked and engaged with your narrative,
Your novel's spine should be built around the problem or challenge that the main character faces. It's a good idea to know what the theme of your book is. When you're editing that can guide you towards what emphasis to put on which parts of the story - and what to cut out.
Readers want action in stories, but they also want to see how the characters react to the things that happen to them, i.e. their reactions. And those reactions will in turn reveal who they are. We'll find out who has moral courage, and who doesn't have the guts to take action.
Characters have to be motivated to take action in a story. It's far more comfortable for all of us to stay in our cosy everyday worlds, and if we're to be jolted out of them we must be motivated to do something. So our story spine must show why they are motivated to act. The way they choose to tackle a problem or challenge might not be logical, or it might not be the way we would resolve the problem in our lives, but perhaps that makes for a richer story.
The spine of your story also has to contain the different sub-plots, weaving them together in a way that leaves the reader satisfied by the story, and just as importantly, understanding how the various parts of the narrative fit together. I've just finished reading the second book in a young adult series that failed to hold me because I couldn't remember where each of the four different viewpoint characters was.
Give your story a spine and keep your readers hooked and engaged with your narrative,
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