The 5 Core Ingredients of an Unputdownable Novel

I have a confession to make. I love to stay up all night with a book. I’ve welcomed many a sunrise while furiously turning the final pages of a novel. 

(25 Plot Twist Ideas and Prompts for Writers.)

So when I started writing my own books, I knew I wanted to tell stories that grabbed readers from page one and kept them hooked until the final sentence. Is there any better recommendation for a book than someone exclaiming “I stayed up until 4 am. I couldn’t stop reading”? I think not.

Here are five tips for writing a book that readers can’t put down.

1. Leave them hanging.

Much ado is made about cliffhangers at the end of books. But whether you love them, hate them, or just tolerate their existence, cliffhangers belong in your book. That is, they belong throughout your book. 

Always leave your reader on a cliff at the end of scenes and chapters to force them to the next page. This can be done through the plot (something happens!), through dialogue (someone says something!), or through emotion (someone feels something). If a character realizes they might want to kiss their infuriating enemy in the last line of a chapter, readers are going to keep reading to find out if they do.

2. Get a hook in them.

To keep someone reading you have to convince them to start. That’s the job of the hook. The hook is that irresistible moment that starts our characters on their adventure. 

For example in Filthy Rich Fae, my heroine, Cate is working in the ER when a gunshot victim arrives. It’s her brother. Cate soon learns he’s in deep with a local crime family. He’s the only family she has, so the first chapter ends with her leaving the hospital to confront the powerful man in charge. Most of us would do anything for our families, so we can relate to her. But what she’s doing is dangerous, which makes us want to keep reading.

3. The hook snags them, but the characters keep them.

One of the reasons I love writing series is getting to see characters develop over time. There’s nothing like experiencing the growth of a character over three, six, or even more books. But even if you’re only writing a single title with your characters, it’s vital to show character development for both your main characters and the secondary ones. 

Using deep POV is one way to get your readers into the heads of your characters and make them care deeply. Another crucial element is to give secondary characters page time with the main characters that is focused on developing their friendships or even their rivalries. This helps readers stop seeing them as simply characters and start seeing them as people they wish they knew.

Check out Geneva Lee’s Filthy Rich Fae here:

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4. Take a trope and mix it up.

The novel has been around for centuries, so making it feel fresh can be daunting. One of my favorite methods is to twist tropes, especially in genre writing where tropes can sometimes feel a bit cliché. This might mean turning it on its head or mashing it up in unexpected ways. 

When I set out to write a twist on the classic vampire romances for my Filthy Rich Vampire series, I actually looked to historical romances and created a social season where vampires go on the marriage market… except it’s modern day. It doesn’t feel as old-fashioned when the characters are several centuries old and the playful nod to a tried and true trope delighted readers.

5. Fictional life is a roller coaster.

Holding tension in a story is no easy feat. It’s easy to do when the stakes are high, your characters are in mortal danger, and the clock is ticking toward doom, but what about the rest of the time? Keeping our characters on an emotional roller coaster can keep the pacing tight. Why not follow that long awaited kiss with a devastating revelation or betrayal?

6. Surprise! It’s a twist.

Did I say there are five ingredients to an unputdownable novel? Then I bet you didn’t see a number six coming…which is kinda the point. Always deliver one extra twist just when your reader thinks they’ve got it all figured out. They won’t be able to stop reading. And if you’re writing a series, this is the perfect place to set up your sequel.

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