What Writers Need to Do at the Start of Each Scene to Keep Their Reader Hooked

Season #2 Episode #40

EPISODE DESCRIPTION -Today we are diving into #7 in our series of “Aha Moments,” that I’ve had both as a writer, and as a story coach. One mistake that I see happen with a lot of writers, is that they wait too long to get into the action of their story. The story lags on and on without the reader or viewer knowing what the story is actually about.

That’s why today’s episode is about setting your scene sparingly. You must get to the pertinent details quickly so that your reader knows what is going on, and then you can reveal more things as you go. 

The second key to this is making sure you introduce your main character quickly. By page 5 the reader should already know who the main character is and what they are about. There are exceptions to this of course that have been done well, as in the film Witness

Listen now for a more detailed understanding of how to keep your reader hooked and engaged from the very beginning. 

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UP NEXT - Next week, I'll give you every trick you need on how to write clearly and avoid the ultimate kiss of death in story, confusion.

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