3T Writing Tidbit - One simple lesson for nailing the page-turner

I learned something important yet simple with my very first published book, Biting Nixie. I thought it was genius at the time then forgot it a few years later and beat myself blue trying to remember.

Finally, I did. It's not necessarily genius, but it's hella important for writing a page-turning story.

What's amazing is that it's so super easy. Here it is:

Find places that go, "I'm hunting vamps. Oh, look. A vamp."

One of my favorite authors starting feeling stale. Lots of antics but it seemed too easy.

That was the problem. The heroine would bop here and bop there and nothing ever subverted the reader's expectations.

When you have action, you must go A-B-C or risk the reader losing track of the action.

But when setting emotional or consequence expectations of a scene, go A-B-Z or better yet A-B-!@#$!!

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.