Readers crave books that put them into the action. They want
to leave their white-walled homes and enter a world of color, dark or glowing
bright. Even the smells that you conjure up in your book can rival that of a
dead skunk on the road, readers will dive in because they just want to
experience something outside of them; to live in a way that they can't without
your imagination. Don't be afraid of exaggeration and eclectic ideas -- those
are the recipe for wonder. Hurt your
main character, it will make the reader love more deeply and care so much about
the story that they will dress up as your characters when they see the movie
based on your book.
Introduce your character in action to display the
protagonist’s strong devotion and passion. This allows the reader to find
empathy for the character. Trigger further empathy by showing how other characters
in the book treat your protagonist. If the protagonist is swarthy and
attractive, then other characters must show their attraction to his/her wit and
physical beauty. If your protagonist is a warrior, then show him/her using the
skills needed to win a battle.
Place an advantage on the antagonist. You protagonist is the
underdog, the hero, who is willing to lose everything to keep family and
friends alive. Right before your protagonist is going to face a huge trial,
twist the knife one more time so that he/she enters the trial wounded emotionally
or physically to show that she/she still motivated to fight for a cause.
The attention you give to portraying your protagonist in the
best, most empathetic, light will allow your book to be a thrill to read.
Readers want to care about the protagonist. They want something to fight for,
even if it is in the confines of the reader’s imagination. You drive that
imagination, you decide on the intensity of feeling that will take the reader
out of the mundane world and into a world unlike anything they have experienced
before.
