Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Part Two

Welcome to Voices of Fiction.

We continue with our discussion of how to get the reader involved in the story.

Please welcome our guests.

Karen Cioffi is a multi-award-winning author, freelance/ghostwriter, editor, and online marketer, as well as the founder and manager of Writers on the Move. - Website, Website, Website

Jade Varden is the author of the Deck of Lies series, a collection of YA mystery books that show what happens when dark family secrets are exposed. Jade also provides professional writing tips to other indie authors on her blog. - Twitter, Blog, Amazon

Thea Landen writes erotic literature, frequently in a sci-fi/fantasy setting. When she's not writing, or thinking about writing, her hands and mind are occupied by either yarn crafts or role-playing games. Blog, Amazon, AllRomanceBooks

Author and editor, Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz has published more than 100 articles, 75 stories, six e books, a chapbook, one MG novel, a short story collection, and her stories have been included in two anthologies. She writes for both adults and children. She edits for two small traditional publishers. Website, Blog, MuseItUp


Welcome Authors! It's wonderful to have you back.

This week's question: How do you get your readers involved in the story?

Karen Cioffi: Having a hook beginning, something that immediately involves the characters, usually gets the reader’s attention. Then it’s a matter of bringing the reader along for the ride through action and dialogue. The story needs to be engaging.

Jade Varden: I try to create characters that provoke some sort of reaction – hatred, love, jealousy, any emotion at all.

Thea Landen: Both the characters and the plot have to be interesting and compelling. The most fascinating story in the world won't grab people if it's acted out by two-dimensional cardboard cutouts, and the most fascinating people in the world actually have to DO something. (Note that "interesting" does not necessarily equal "likable".)

Penny Ehrenkranz: With my short stories, I need to grab the readers’ attention right away. With a short story, there isn’t much time to develop characters, set the scene, and craft the plot. It’s important for a reader to be drawn into the story from the very first words and I try to do this with action scenes or intriguing dialog. With my MG novels, I created problems for my main character in the first chapter and hopefully developed the character so the readers would be rooting for her.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and photos submitted by authors.)