Write Like A Reader

Actually....Edit Like a Reader would be a better title but I like alliteration so I used Write Like a Reader instead. Tonight I went to the writers workshop. The critiques made me start thinking....

How would I feel about this if I were a reader?

As a writer and a self-editor, it is important to think like a reader. Readers are brutal. Readers have lots of choices, many, many other books and authors to choose from. Readers do not have to read or more importantly buy your book.

So I think as authors, we need to ask ourselves these questions.

• Would I turn the page? A reader needs to be hooked into the story. I, as a reader, have picked up a book only to put it down five minutes later because the story didn't intrigue me. When I edit, I read for hooks. I try to make sure the last sentence on the page is something that would make the reader turn the page.
  

• Am I bored? This is slightly different than making the reader turn the page. This is about having a compelling enough story that the reader wants to keep going. Key elements of a compelling story are characters that a reader can love or hate and conflict that is believable.
  

• Why do I need to know this? As a writer, I love to talk about my world or interesting bits of information. It is fun. You have created this elaborate mythology where witches masquerade as lawyers and the ocean is full of treasure hunting mermaids and vampires came to the American colonies on pirate ships. You want people to know about it. Unfortunately, when you write and you include this information, it slows down the story and you risk boring the reader and giving the reader a reason to stop reading. You must be brutal and cut anything that gives the reader a reason to stop reading.

It is really terribly painful for a writer to think this way. We all want to think that our novels are perfect and that every word that we've labored and agonized over is absolutely necessary. The cold, hard, bitter truth is that we write with the idea that someone is going to read our work and it is our job, yes, job, to insure that the reader enjoys our material. Therefore, editing like a reader is absolutely essential.