The challenge of writers is to create a story others will be interested in. You won’t find a more honest or brutal group of people than your readers. The family loves you, hopefully, so they will like whatever you create for them to read. But, that doesn’t guarantee that the publisher won’t find the story worthless.

First and foremost, nothing that you create is worthless. All of a writer’s ideas have merit. Don’t sell the readers short with a dazzling light show to hide the fact that the actual story fell short of expectation. If you value your Muse and yourself, go the distance and produce a story that delivers.

What do interested readers like to see? They love a believable story that follows a logical pattern. According to the laws of physics, each action has a reaction. For your characters, that means consequences for the actions taken by your characters. That is definitely true in life and it must be true for your characters, no matter how harsh the outcome.

Speaking of narrative, there are two kinds: Sustained narrative and cheating narrative. Unless you want an audience of one for your second book, choose the former over the latter. Sustained narrative takes readers along a logical mapped out route they can follow. Cheating narrative has the reader watching your left hand while your right hand pulls the rug out from under them. A satisfied reader will search for more of your work to devour.

Creating characters and situations plays into both types of narratives. The scene unfolds in this world or an alternate one and the reader begins her journey into the character’s mind.

Now it’s time for the sharp bend in the road. Complications are bound to weasel their way into everyone’s life. For humans, the rice will burn and the toilet overflows at the same time. Your characters also get to deal with two or three disasters at once. While the situations can be as sticky as syrup, proceed in a logical order and your readers will stay glued to the page.

Resolution comes when a character finds a way out of the complications you have created. Just because a character finds a solution doesn’t mean it can’t come at a high price. Even happy endings can be fraught with regrets. Bringing the story to a conclusion can include plot twists that keep the mind wondering about the characters after the last word is read.

Life sometimes leaves us hanging. Do your characters deserve any less? Whether they are holding on by their eye teeth or content as they can be in the circumstances, don’t snow your readers to get there. Take them on a fantastic journey and gain a following.

Want to create compelling characters that help sell your writing? Holly Lisle is a full-time writer who has sold 30+ novels to major publishers and is the creator of the “How to Think Sideways Career Survival School for Writers”. Go to http://howtothinksideways.com/members/ and access 3 free lessons that teach you how to write a novel that sells – straight from her highly-acclaimed course.

Last 5 posts by Holly Lisle

• The Four Thinking Barriers that keep you from being a Successful Novelist - February 28th, 2009
• Effective Character Descriptions for Novel Writers - February 26th, 2009
• Assessing your Novel Writing Progress: Check These Four Things - February 21st, 2009
• 4 Steps to Finding the Market for your Novel - February 19th, 2009

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