17 Ways To Make Your Novel More Satisfying

Discover 17 ways to make your novel satisfying and keep readers emotionally invested long after they finish reading.

Why do some novels leave us feeling satisfied after we’ve finished reading them? It takes more than a good story to make a book memorable. After years of writing about novels, writing techniques, and writing routines, I know that some things about good stories never change.

17 Ways To Make Your Novel More Satisfying

1. Make sure your protagonist drives the story. Build your plot around the decisions you want your protagonist to make—and the consequences of those decisions.
2. Structure your book as a roller-coaster ride. It should be like a physical journey that forces readers to vicariously experience a series of emotions. Pace it. Give us moments of respite, and then throw us back into the action.
3. Tell the story in a linear way. Make sure you have a clear beginning, middle, and ending.
4. Write from your heart. Don’t pretend to be something you are not. Readers will sense if you’re not being authentic. You do not have to know what you are writing about. As Nikki Giovanni said, writers don’t write from experience. They write from empathy.
5. Start your novel at the end of the backstory you’ve created. Begin with a breathtaking inciting moment. Something should happen that leads to a revelation of a shocking fact, a surprising insight, or a unique perspective. The protagonist’s status quo must change, and they need to act or react. Move your story forward.
6. Include only the most important parts of the story. Your novel is like a highlights package of an episode in a person’s life. Cut out the boring bits. Move us from one exciting scene to another. Don’t constantly review your characters’ actions and feelings. They need to take action.
7. Always remember the end. Where are you taking your characters? You should keep them on the path to that finale. If you don’t, you risk losing your readers along the way. As Mickey Spillane said, ‘Nobody reads a book to get to the middle.’
8. Learn how to describe effectively. Use body language. Use simple descriptions with lots of sensory details. Describing through the senses ensures that you show and don’t tell. Show how other people see your character.
9. Remove excess slang and buzzwords from your manuscript. Words that seem so ‘with it’ now will age your book in a year’s time.
10. Limit gimmicky viewpoint techniques. Stick to three or four characters’ viewpoints for an 80,000-word novel. It is also a good idea to use a point of view that works in the genre and that you are comfortable writing. Some people like first person, others prefer third person.
11. Practise techniques to keep your readers on the edge of their seats. How do you keep the suspense going? Use cliffhangers. Make them want to turn the page.
12. Check your abilities well in advance. Have you learnt how to write? Have you completed at least one year of daily writing practice? Have you practised writing dialogue so that your characters sound different? Have you learnt how to structure scenes and sequels?
13. Never let your protagonist remain a victim for long in your novel. A passive protagonist is not a good idea. Most readers feel powerless enough in real life. They want to read about characters who make a difference. Characters who could be them if they decided to act.
14. Do not add unimportant bits and pieces to the plot just to fill in gaps. Rather, decide if you need to revise your plot. Are your characters motivated enough? Are your characters strong enough?
15. Give your protagonist and your antagonist story goals. These story goals should be in conflict with each other. Tell a story where your readers can empathise with both your hero and your villain. Make both of them interesting.
16. Don’t drag out the ending. Once the question that started the story has been answered, let your characters and your readers get on with their lives.
17. Polish the end product. No matter what, revise and rewrite your manuscript at least three times.

I hope these tips help – whether you’re starting a novel, stuck in the middle, or finishing one. I wish you hours of happy writing.

The Last Word

We looked at 17 ways to make your readers feel satisfied, from building your plot around your protagonist and creating an emotional roller-coaster ride to keeping readers engaged and getting your ending right. We also looked at the importance of revising and rewriting your manuscript. Good storytelling never goes out of fashion!

Image by Agata from Pixabay

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2. The Ultimate Rewriting Checklist For Authors
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4. How To Use Secrets To Create Suspense
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6. What’s The Difference Between A Commercial And A Literary Plot?
7. 7 Secrets To Writing Happy Characters Without Boring Your Audience
8. What Is A Phobia? How To Write Characters With Phobias
9. 3 Simple Ways To Make Your Hero Fight Back
10. 7 Reasons To Write The Ending Of Your Novel First

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