It's all about the reader

I've been reading a wonderful series of articles by John D. Brown about creating suspense in your story and giving the reader what they're looking for, an emotional investment in your characters. He explains that the reader needs to hope and fear for the outcome of the main character(s). They want to feel the tension of the possible outcomes and end in a cathartic release at the end.

We want our readers to invest their time to read our book and they won't do that if they could care less about what happens to our hero. The reader must feel the hero is deserving of their sympathy and the bad guy our dislike.

I especially liked the latest installment about adding conflict to the plot. Conflict with self is the one that hit home while thinking about my character Sophie. If she wants two different things that are mutually exclusive, the inner conflict makes her decision that more interesting. It also helps me with my GMC chart for her.

Go here to read all of his articles. It's definitely worth the time. Cheers!