As I anticipate The Exile’s release in April, I thought it would be fun to share how an author tells a riveting story. This fast-paced novel tells the story of Leila, a mortgage broker whose professional and personal life spins out of control during the 2008 recession. Her story is a perfect example of how you can use storytelling techniques to hook a reader, keep them engaged and build romantic suspense through a character’s journey.
6 Storytelling Tips From a Published Author
Develop the Entire Character
Well-developed characters lead to strong storytelling. Before you begin writing your novel, create dynamic individuals to drive the story.
In addition to a protagonist that is relatable to the reader and interesting enough to carry the story, it’s important the secondary, third and even smaller characters are three-dimensional enough to support the main character. What are each person’s motivations? What makes them tick?
You may not include every aspect of each character you build, but as the author of a fast-paced novel, having depth and insight into each character will allow you to include subtleties unique to each individual and make them more genuine and relatable to the reader, especially if you use them to build romantic suspense.
Create a Realistic Backdrop for Your Storytelling
A big part of my writing process is research. For my historical fiction novel, Love of Finished Years, I learned a lot about what life was like 100 years ago. For The Exile, I needed to immerse myself in Colombian culture, both in Colombia itself as well as for immigrants living in the Southwestern United States.
There are a few reasons it’s important for an author to conduct so much research up front.
- Learning as much as you can about a location allows you to bring it to life as you describe it through your character’s senses.
- Understanding a cultural perspective drives your character’s viewpoint, reactions and motivations.
- Setting your characters in a realistic context allows the reader to escape into the pages; inaccuracies can pull them out of the story.
Begin Your Fast-Paced Novel with a Compelling Hook
What will grab your reader’s attention right away? The Exile begins with Leila being deported to Colombia. The reader doesn’t know anything about her, but right away they see and feel the experience right along with her. Once you provide a reason for the reader to care about the protagonist right away, you are able to go back and fill in the rest of their story’s details.
Effective Storytelling Isn’t Bound to Chronological Order
In The Exile I bounce around a bit, moving from Leila’s deportation to events a few years prior, then back even further as the story goes on. As an author you can take your readers through the protagonist’s journey however you see fit; jumping around the timeline can be a helpful way to continue to drive interest in your fast-paced novel or build romantic suspense.
Introduce Questions, Wait to Answer Them
One effective storytelling technique to employ as an author is to hold readers’ attention with lingering questions. As you fill in the story’s details, introduce more questions that you slowly answer over the course of the novel.
You don’t want to wait to the end to reveal everything because that often frustrates the reader, causing them to lose interest. However, slowly answering some questions while simultaneously introducing more alongside them is an effective way to capture and keep readers’ interest until the last page.
Let the Characters Drive the Story
Don’t try to control your story too closely, even though you’re the author. When I’m writing a novel, I find it delightful when the characters start to take over and tell the story themselves. Even in fast-paced novels, I never plan the end of my story too tightly in advance because if I allow them to, the characters may take the story in a surprising direction.
Do you want to see these six storytelling techniques in action? Pre-order your copy of The Exile today, and keep an eye out for these tactics when you read it this spring!