by Michelle Sass Aleckson, @MchelleAleckson
One of the reasons I became a novelist is because I love getting lost in a story. But I haven’t had the luxury of time to do so in a while until recently when I looked to my TBR pile for a much needed respite.
The first three stories I picked up didn’t grab me. I tried another. Finally, a novel I gobbled up and could hardly put down.
Now, I know some authors who can read and analyze at the same time but I’m just not one of them. When I get lost in a book nothing else matters. But once I finished the story with a happy sigh of contentment, then I wondered. What did this book have that the others didn’t and how can I add that to my stories?
Looking at the story elements of the four books, they all had things I typically enjoy: romance, interesting character occupations, cool settings, and a good hook. After all, I bought all these books for a reason. And I’ll be the first to admit sometimes, it’s simply the mood I’m in. But this last book, the one that pulled me in and didn’t let go, it had the essential ingredient to keep me turning pages.
It made me worry.
Silly, huh? And as a student of novels, it sounds basic. But for better or worse, that what was missing in the other stories. As writers, we need to make the reader worry.
How do we do that?
- We have to care. Somehow, someway, we need the reader to connect with the character, even if it’s someone very different from ourselves. Keep this in mind as you introduce your hero and heroine. This is why having a likable character is important because if the reader doesn’t care, they won’t worry. Likable doesn’t mean perfect or that they can’t have their flaws. (Please, don’t get me started on my rant about having believably flawed characters!) And sure, not every reader will like every hero you write. But give your lost and broken guy some redeeming qualities too. Also, putting your hero in a situation as you open your story where the reader can feel sympathy for them or understanding, is a great way to start off. Connection is the key!
- We have to know what they want. If the reader isn’t sure of what your heroine desires, they won’t lose any sleep. This is what the whole story is about. Your heroine should be pursuing something. We call it a Noble Quest. Desires and goals can change throughout the story, but make sure the reader knows without a doubt what your character wants and make sure there’s a good reason for it. Once the reader is behind the heroine on her Noble Quest and cheering her on because she knows exactly what she wants you can add the next essential piece.
- We need obstacles. There has to be believable and seemingly insurmountable reasons that our poor hero might not win the prize he’s after! If it’s a romance, a hero and heroine with compatible goals and some sweet dates will not make the reader worry. Now if she’s the daughter of a rival business and he’s trying to prove himself to his own family and find a way to take over said rival business, then we have a very big obstacle to these two ever finding true love. See? Now, the reader will worry if that happily-ever-after will happen or not.
Make sure that each scene as well as the overall plot has your character wanting something for a good reason yet running into problems and obstacles to getting it. Don’t end a scene or chapter with everything neat and tidy and all the problems solved. It’s better to end in the middle of the problem or in a situation creating a new problem so the reader will worry so much she has to stay up and find out what happens.
Sometimes with all the story craft study I lose sight of the basics. If you want to write a true page-turner, make your reader worry!
Sled dog musher and outdoor adventurer Nick Dahlquist doesn’t mean to be a loner—he just feels at home in the woods, with his dogs, and online in his vlogging world, where he’s amassed nearly a million viewers. But he’s just a simple guy, with simple goals—care for his dogs, teach people how to survive the cold, and run the Iditarod. Unfortunately, life turns cold when his lead dog is injured, and he’s low on funds. Good thing he has LadyJHawk to chat with. She’s become an online friend he can turn to, and he’s starting to need her more than he’d like to admit. But the last thing he wants is for some random woman to show up on his doorstep…
Chopper pilot and Texas gal Jae Lynn Washington has been following Nick’s DogQuest videos and Get Lost in the Woods vlogs since she inherited her deceased boyfriend’s military working dog. Two years later, his online friendship has made her wonder if he could be more than a friend. What if she moved to Deep Haven? Would that be considered stalking, even if she got a bonafide job on the Crisis Response Team?
When Jae shows up in Deep Haven—and on Nick’s doorstep—he’s not at all the man she met online. And when Nick is tapped to train the team, he’s pretty sure petite, summer-loving Jae won’t last a moment in the brutal cold—a fear he pours out to LadyJHawk. As their training takes a personal turn, their chilly start begins to thaw. But what will happen if he discovers that Jae and LadyJHawk are one and the same?
When a blizzard strikes, and the CRT is called out into the storm, more than just their relationship is at risk…
Cozy up to this delightful twist on You’ve Got Mail set in the snowy escape of Deep Haven.
After growing up on both the east and west coasts and traveling the world, Michelle Sass Aleckson now enjoys living the country life in central Minnesota with her husband and four children. She loves rocking out to 80’s tunes on a Saturday night and playing board games with family and friends. She’s a graduate of Novel Academy’s Storycrafter course, and she won the 2018 Genesis Award for Romantic Suspense and the 2018 Cascade Award for Contemporary Fiction.
She writes contemporary stories full of romance, grace, and, yes, a little sass too. You can connect with her at michellealeckson.com!