Young Writers Society

So I've noticed alot on many writing websites that the writer starts off a story good and gets many reviews but as time goes on the reviews go down and instead of getting 7 likes for your stories, you get 2 or 3. I was thinking what are some ways to keep a reader interested in your stories?


1. Don't use bland words or sentences like instead of, 'The man in front of me was old', use 'The elderly man stood wizened with age, his white hair laid back as he looked up to me'.

2. Use cliff hangers at the end of chapters. Well, kind of self-explanatory.

3. Make sure there is always action or something going on, don't talk about your MC's exact morning, about how she brushes her teeth, exactly how many steps she takes to get back to her bedroom. Stuff like that bores the reader.

4. Don't use adjective or adverb dumps. They get really annoying and make me personally, just want to skip those parts which is never a good thing.


That's all I've got for now, anyone else have any ideas?

Put action in it! For example, I don't like, "The elderly man stood wizened with age, his white hair laid back as he looked up to me." Too many descriptions of what he looks like and not enough emphasis on what he does! I would rather have something more action-packed...

"He groaned and stretched his shoulders back, his joints creaking loudly. With one bony finger, he gestured to the cane beside me. He wanted it."

So a lot more verbs, and yet you still have the sense that he's old, even without knowing his hair color or that he's elderly or that he's wizened. That all gets conveyed in the description. And there is involvement with this man and the main character... he notices him and wants the main character to do something rather than just acknowledging the character's presence with a look.

Yay!

Jasminebells, your stories should not be cheap Goosebumps novels. Yes, I am looking at you R.L. Stein. Do not have action for the sake of action. Do not have cliffhangers without purpose and plot. Chapters are meant to divide POV and scenes, not to serve only as hooks to get the reader into the next one.

Secondly, you need description. I don't care what the excuse, I'd prefer (and let's use the old man one).

"Though gaunt with a fixed grin upon his wrinkled face, the old chessmaster's eyes sparkled with challenge. With a shakey hand, from Parkinsons', he motioned for a friendly game of chess, "Pwway?"

I am describing a friend of mine, yes, but it does more justice to his nature. There is only one action and no still useless descriptions of his age. Groaning, stretching and joints creaking are redundant to show age because they don't show specifics. I've introduced his physical and mental appearance, and still managed to place a defect which is overcome to further reason how lively he really is.

Describing is a skill, 'Show what you must and hint at the rest!' I always say. Since what is not written can be inferred from description.

Don't go on and on and on. But if you do, split it up, you'll get more reviews.

A quick update time is essential. Even if a reader really, really liked your story and wants to read more, if you take forever to put it up, they might just plain forget about you.

This is actually something I ran into a lot on some other writing sites I was part of (and YWS a little bit) and my solution is: write your whole story before you start posting, or at least write most of it. The problem with posting chapters of a novel as you write them is very often things change as you are writing and it's tempting to go back and edit the chapters before. Novels naturally evolve in the writing process. The problem with that is you keep editing the beginning chapters and then the things that follow and then nothing new gets written. This isn't as much of a problem with short stories, but starting to post before you've finished a work is very often asking for trouble.

I think a lot depends on your plot and story line.

Make sure there is always action or something going on, don't talk about your MC's exact morning, about how she brushes her teeth, exactly how many steps she takes to get back to her bedroom. Stuff like that bores the reader.

I think you need to describe everything but in a limit. neve exaggerate!!

What you posted is whta you like to read and what is essential for a good story. But everyone has different views. But atleast you bothered to do his which is nice.

Avoid similes, I say!

But that's only because I tend to think logically.
If I see a simile, I think "Well that's beautiful."
And I forget about it. What one needs in description is
a little bit of all five senses,plus the narrator's reaction.

Do not have action for the sake of action. Do not have cliffhangers without purpose and plot. Chapters are meant to divide POV and scenes, not to serve only as hooks to get the reader into the next one.

Thank you. I hate authors who cliffhang for the sake of cliffhanging, because at some point the plot always seems to dissolve into "then this happened, and it is shocking! And then something ELSE suspenseful happened!" and so on. Chapters, in my opinion, should be so subtle as to be noticeable only by the scene or POV change. In almost all of my favourite books I will blow through 90% of the chapters without noticing, and my other favourites don't actually have chapters.

As to description, I think the only way to find an appropriate balance is to experiment a bit. Part of it is individual style, as some people are actually pretty good at pulling off borderline purple prose, whereas others are definitely not. Also, for me anyway, I find that the amount of acceptable description varies a little between each story, depending on the tone and theme that is being aimed for, and that what works for one story will not necessarily work for another.
That being said, I think the main thing about description as far as keeping the reader interested goes is to know when to stop. Recognize what is important to the scene, and identify what is not, and only describe the important stuff in detail. Sure, give passing mention to the irrelevant details, but don't let them overshadow what's necessary.

3. Make sure there is always action or something going on, don't talk about your MC's exact morning, about how she brushes her teeth, exactly how many steps she takes to get back to her bedroom. Stuff like that bores the reader.

Addendum: If something like counting steps is something important to your character, make a note of the number of steps it takes her to get places. Some people (like me) do obsessively count steps. Try to do it in an interesting way, however, with the character actually counting and not just presenting a figure. Also, don't make a mention of it every time the character walks somewhere, just when you can work it in without it being awkward.

The best way to get likes is to review other stories and make friends. I don't think you should tailor your story to keep people interested (like, overusing cliffhangers and using action just for the sake of it). A story should be written the way it's supposed to be. If readers aren't interested in it, then your story sucks. No point tricking them into staying with cheap tricks.