Speed Reading—Not.
When I lived in Austin, Texas, I belonged to a book group. We took turns recommending books. When my turn came, I recommended a recently released book by Pat Conroy, who is one of my favorite authors. I looked forward to discussing the book at our next meeting and prepared a list of stimulating questions.
On the night of the meeting, while waiting for the rest of the members to arrive, one woman pulled me aside and asked if I ever skipped over parts of a book. I wasn’t sure if her question was sincere, or if this was her subtle way of telling me she thought the book was boring.
My answer was no, I read every word. Otherwise, if a book is not to my liking, I just don’t finish it. When I read, I hear an inner voice reading the words aloud to me. If a sentence or paragrph does not sound right, I reread it until it does—until I hear the voice clearly. But skipping over parts of a book seems sacrilegious. What if you were reading a mystery and missed a vital clue?
You might not write like Pat Conroy, but here are a few clues to keep readers from skipping:
Hook them immediately. Don’t bog your readers down in unnecessary background information. If you’re writing a biography or memoir, start with a compelling anecdote. There’s no rule that says the story must be written in chronological order. The day your subject was born is usually not significant—unless she was born in the middle of the Kalahari Desert during a solar eclipse, and her mother left her to the jackals because eclipses are bad luck. Now, that would be a great opening paragraph for a memoir!
Move the plot forward with everything you write. Sprinkle in bits of background information or humor, but keep them short. A writer-friend in my critique group went on a ten-page tangent about searching for buried treasure—even though his book was about sailing through the Panama Canal. I asked how this section fit the plot. My friend said it didn’t fit—he just thought it was exciting, and he needed to increase his word count. He said this seriously.
Develop a voice that connects you with your reader. Your voice tells your reader who you are, speaks to them on their level, and persuades them you have an exciting story to tell. Don’t try to impress with expert knowledge or big words. I once questioned a writer’s overuse of medical terms. His response was that he wanted his lazy readers to look up the definitions. My response was that having to do this interrupted the flow of my reading.
Don’t editorialize. Writing about a topic you’re passionate about is one thing; lecturing your readers is another. Allow them to contemplate your views, even sympathize or empathize with them, but to come to their own conclusions.
Make ’em laugh. Do this even if you’re writing a sad, fearful, or thrilling story. Comic relief adds balance and keeps your reader from becoming emotionally exhausted.
Finally, end each chapter with a cliffhanger. One of the best compliments a writer can receive is that the book was a page turner.
