The Happy Hooker...

One of my dear writer friends paid me an extreme compliment weeks ago--one I'm still processing. She read what's available of my current work in progress and told me that each chapter ended with such a strong hook that had to read on. Isn't that what we want as writers? To write the book that won't let you go to sleep 'til you've finished it? I was tickled when she said that to me, but thrilled when I read her edits of my work. Now I must share why I love her critiques so much.

She is a screenwriter. What that means to me is that she has what seems to me an innate ability to remove fluff. I've tightened a lot of my work because of her recommendations. After my first manuscript, which she read, incidentally, I dropped the adverbs. Okay, so more like tamed them, but for me it feels the same. You'd never know by the way I write this blog that I can string sentences together in a cogent manner. This is my free space, so I indulge.

In my dreams, I possess the material of a screenwriter. The ability to write succinctly, yet rich with vivid detail. In my waking existence, I know I am a novelist. I feel as though I need all those words to paint a picture, so I guess I do. Being around my dear friend has taught me how amazing the craft of producing a screen or stay play is. I know at this point that is not my gift. Someone once told me that we admire in others those qualities we do not possess. For me, that is truth.

For a second I was tempted to think she was just being nice, but as I read her comments from page to page, I realized that she was being honest. She hasn't minced words or sugar-coated her critique to the point of oblivion. Have I mentioned lately how much I appreciate people telling me the truth? So when she told me she was hooked from one chapter to the next, I squealed, "I'm a hooker!" She laughed. I think I stunned her for a moment; an accomplishment if I do say so myself. I always wanted to be a hooker. That should be every writer's goal, right? I mean really, not everyone is going to read a book that doesn't captivate them from word one. Time is precious, so why waste it doing something you don't benefit from.

It's funny how this writing principle finds itself in other parts of my life--like say, work. One of the things we talk about on the job is what's in it for the customer. If you don't see the value of my service, you aren't going to buy it. Logical when it's put in words. So what's in it for the reader when they sit with my book? Shouldn't they find something compelling to keep them there, nose tucked in the pages? I know there will be people who don't "get" my writing. There are authors out there I don't enjoy, but I have this compulsion that makes me finish what I start. Every book on the shelf or in the remainder bin holds a lesson. More than a story, I am learning to to see that quality that differentiates one novel from another. Regardless of what happens to my books, I will always hold a deep regard for wordsmiths. I don't know if it's talent or training that makes a writer. I don't know that it matters, but I intend to keep on hooking.

What do you do to keep your readers reading?