The Rules of Engagement...
No, I’m not talking about Prince William and his new fiancé, winsome commoner, soon-to-be-royalty, Kate. Or is it now Katharine? Actually, I could talk about the subject at length because I write romance novels and a tale of a Prince and a commoner falling in love and living happily ever after is a great story. But I won’t because you’ll soon hear more than you ever wanted to hear about the royal couple from the media...and because that’s not what I wanted to talk about. Besides, the Pygmalion/opposites attract theme sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? Cinderella, Sabrina, The Way We Were, Pretty Woman, My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Overboard, The King and I, African Queen and even Shrek are all variations on that theme, so really, it’s been done to death, hasn’t it.
Actually not. Those stories are, in a way, exactly what I was planning to talk about. The opposites attract/happily ever after stories, while seeming cliché, are timeless. They win readers’ (or movie fans) hearts. They win hearts because they contain certain elements that appeal to wide audiences. They win hearts because the authors followed The Rules of Engagement…and that is what I wanted to talk about.
Never heard of those rules? Me either, at least not formally. So, I’ll go ahead and create that rule right now. The way to make your story win readers’ hearts is to follow The Rules of Engagement.
Readers choose to buy a book because something about it interests them, be it an evocative title, stunning cover, an enticing back cover blurb or can’t-put-it-down first paragraph. Usually, it’s a combination of all of the above, and when that happens, the reader becomes engaged. But only temporarily. Our job as writers is to continue engaging…and that’s where The Rules come in.
I’m not a fan of rules in any art or craft…other than you have to know them in order to break them, but I absolutely believe certain elements must be present at the beginning of a story in order to engage the reader. Hence ... The Rules of Engagement. Not being a rule lover, I confined my rules to only those I feel are absolutely necessary. In order to engage a reader immediately, your story must have:
1. A sympathetic character the reader can identify with, worry about and root for
2. Empathy – universal emotions that the majority of readers can relate to
3. Emotional urgency – important action that hooks the reader instantly. The reader must know up front what’s at stake...what stands to be lost? In other words, conflict happens immediately.
4. An interesting setting – the setting enhances the emotion and tone of the story.
Notice anything about the above rules? They all involve eliciting emotions from the reader. Feelings are what keeps us engaged. In order to be truly engaged, the reader needs to be actively concerned about a character’s sanity, safety or soul. The reader must be interested in the story outcome. If that doesn’t happen-–if the reader doesn’t care what happens to the character, why read on? When I find myself reading a story I normally wouldn’t read, it’s because I care what happens. My emotions have been engaged. As authors, it’s our job to make the reader care about what happens.
Think about the best books you’ve read recently. Do they have all the elements above in...say...the first three to five pages?
7 comments:
Hi Linda!
This is a great blog to follow up the Fall workshop and a great reminder too. Right now, I'm reading Dark Fever by Karen Marie Moning. It hooked me right away for all of those reasons. Right now I'm editing and you make me want to read each chapter and triple check that the rules are followed!
Linda, I thoroughly agree about breaking rules, but only if the writer knows what she's aiming for in breaking them. And definitely any rule must aim at involving the reader's emotions. Excellent post.
Linda, excellent topic! I just finished reading A Cop In Her Stocking by Ann Voss Peterson and the first chapter hooked me immediately. It had all four of your Rules of Engagement.
Hi Donna,
Thanks for stopping by. I always double check when I'm revising. It's sometimes easier to see what's missing "after" writing the first draft. :-)
I wish I could have made the Fall workshop. I heard it was great!
Hi Susan,
Nice to see you here. You're right about knowing why we want to do something different. It goes back to the writer having a working knowledge of novel structure and why stories contain certain elements. It's one of those chicken and egg things. :-)
Hi Sheila. Thanks for popping in to chat.
Good example! I love Ann's books, and I agree -- the beginnings are compelling ... and it doesn't stop there. She continues to engage the reader through to the last page.
I've been saving the link to this to come and look at, because the title was intriguing. I agree. A month ago I read Celeste Bradley's DUKE MOST WANTED, which concluded her Heiress Brides Trilogy, and when I said I was starting it, someone else said she'd figured out what was going to happen within the first few chapters, skimmed, and found she was right. I read all the way through, because I really cared bout the hero and heroine, and I found that while I knew certain aspects of the ending--like that somehow the hero and heroine, whose match had been hinted at in the second book, would defy obstacles and be together--I didn't know how, and various things caught me by surprise, sometimes in a huge way that I guessed only a short time before they happened, if I guessed at all. Sympathy and my uncertainty about how they would overcome both their internal conflicts and those who didn't want them together drew me on through the book very quickly and brought me to the end feeling glad. I agree that when I read a book that somehow doesn't fit my usual preferences--a sea story, for example--it is because I care about the main characters; I care about them more than I care about what I usually like, like when you take part in an activity you normally wouldn't (miniature golf, say, if golf bores you) because you want to spend time with certain friends, and that's what they want to do. Sorry about my longwindedness.
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