How to hook a reader throughout your novel.
pull them in and wants to keep reading. learn how to get them reading to the end.
It’s called the “carrot theory.” Dangling a carrot in front of a horse to make it walk forward. Something Stephen King does well in every short story or long novel. You’re never bored when reading anything he writes. You always feel a need to read on.
You may not know what it is but you sense something in his stories. He is fully aware of the “carrot theory.” Try reading one of his short stories. within a few lines, you’re already pulled in.
In this blog, we will be looking into how to hook your reader throughout your novel…
HOW TO HOOK YOUR READER THROUGHOUT YOUR NOVEL
Table of Contents
Your goal as a writer is to keep everyone reading your book from the first paragraph to the last page. You achieve this by giving them a reason to do so. You want your reader to ask “what will happen next?” Make them wonder, make them question. Worry for the protagonist.
Any novel you stopped reading are the ones you sense “nothing is happening”. The story isn’t moving, no danger, no threats. Nothing is lingering in the background. Like a car standing still. Stephen King makes you feel as though something bad is standing behind you. Something unknown is lingering in the air. A feeling of dread is approaching.
YOU KNOW THE SHARK IS OUT THERE
When you watch the movie “Jaws” you don’t have to see the shark to know it’s out there. Even when humans are standing on dry land talking you’re still thinking of the shark in the water. It lives in the back of your mind. You wonder how will it be stopped? Anytime the camera is pointed at the ocean you look for the shark, knowing it’s “out there.”
Imagine the movie “Jaws” where the shark does not attack anyone for over an hour. Just island people hanging out talking. You would be watching wondering, “Why am I watching this?” However, the movie “Jaws” has someone attacked right at the start, hooking you in throughout the movie. But we do not see the shark, it lingers in our mind.
IT CAN BE APPLIED TO ANYTHING
It’s not only action/suspense novels that have “the carrot theory” apply to it. It can apply to any novel written, be it romantic, horror, science fiction, drama, comedy. Even a family drama can have conflict. In fact, family dramas can have the most amount of conflict and “carrot theory”, more than an action novel.
We relate to family drama novels because they happen to all of us. We fight with family members all the time. As we read we wonder how will this be resolved?
THE NOVEL WOULD HAVE BEEN BORING
In the novel “Terms of Endearment” the mother is the carrot throughout. We wonder what she’s thinking and how she’ll react to whatever her daughter is doing. Even when the mother isn’t in the chapter we’re still thinking of her. Imagine “Terms of Endearment” without the mother being how she was. Imagine her nice and loving from start to finish. The novel would’ve been boring. No reason to turn the page, but she’s always on our mind. Right from the start she the carrot throughout the novel.
In Stephen King’s “The Shawshank Redemption” the carrot is hung in front of us from the start. We may not even notice it consciously. What is it? It’s Red speaking of Andy Dufresne in the past tense. The story is not Andy’s point of view. Keep in mind the whole story takes place in a maximum-security penitentiary. Leading the reader to ask, “where’s Andy?” “Why is Andy not telling us this story?” The answer is not given to us, making us turn the page to find out.
WE CAN NOT STOP READING
In the novel “Psycho” we wonder about Norman Bates’s mother. Even though we never see her, nor does she speak. But the talking about her makes us wonder about her. She lingers in our minds, as though right around the corner. “Who is she?” We feel the need to keep turning the page to answer the question. We can’t stop reading.
Shakespeare’s plays are filled with “carrot theory.” We wonder how Romeo and Juliet will be together. Imagine the play without the families fighting with each other. Just a simple play about two teenagers in love. It wouldn’t mean anything. There would be no reason to turn the page. But the families fighting makes us wonder how it’s going to turn out. We sense something isn’t right. We know something bad is going to happen from the start, even though it’s a love story.
IT MAKES US WANT TO TURN THE PAGE
Imagine “Hamlet” without Hamlet trying to solve his father’s murder. Or him not seeing the ghost of his father. Imagine it being a play about a guy walking around his castle thinking to himself. There would be no reason to read on. We could put the book down with the mindset of returning to it later, but never actually doing so. But the unsolved murder is the carrot that lingers in our mind that needs solving. Making us turn the page.
In the movie “Titanic” we know from the start the boat will hit an iceberg and sink because it’s based on a well-known true story. Therefore the iceberg floating in the water does not have to be shown at the start. We already know it’s out there. The audience is waiting and watching for the iceberg to arrive. But imagine if the movie was made up. Imagine if we didn’t know the boat was going to sink at some point. It would’ve been a movie about two young people on a large boat crossing the ocean. We would’ve had no reason to keep watching. in order to “dangle the carrot” the director would’ve had to show the iceberg floating in the water at the start of the movie with the caption mentioning how icebergs can sink a boat for the viewer to worry.
IT MAKES THE READER “WONDER”
Sometimes in a novel, all you have to do is mention something bad could happen making the reader worry or wonder about what might happen down the road. Chances are if you’ve stopped reading a novel it’s because you were not shown any carrot to make you “wonder.” You felt the book standing still. There was no incentive saying “keep reading.”
If you’re reading a novel where one character says to another “let’s enter that empty old house.” there’s no reason to worry. But if you were told at the start there’s a ghost in the house now the idea of entering is creepy. Even when the protagonist walks past the house chapter after chapter you worry about it. It lingers in the back of your mind. You know there’s something not right about the house, making you wonder, making you read on. A small carrot was placed in front of you at the start.
HOW CAN I MAKE THE READER FEEL COMPELLED TO READ
Create a lingering feeling/thought throughout the story. A sense of wonder and movement. When writing you should always look to add a “carrot” to your story asking, “How can i make the reader feel compelled to turn the page without giving away the answer too quickly?” Maybe a bomb counting down. A killer getting closer to the victim.
You don’t want a novel feeling like it’s “standing still” chapter after chapter. Have your reader concerned about the antagonist even when the antagonist isn’t around. The best “villains” are the ones we think about even when they’re not in the chapter. Well over 95% of the time the shark in Jaws is not around but we wonder about it.
IT CAN BE ANYTHING THAT MAKES THE READER TURN THE PAGE
But remember, the villain doesn’t have to be “bad.” They can be an antagonist in a comedy, romance, or science fiction. Don’t feel the “carrot” has to be something life-threatening or mean. It can be anything that makes the reader want to read on. A “feeling” to carry on reading.
Read any Stephen King novel or short story and you’ll notice the “carrot theory” happening right away. Within the first few paragraphs, you’re hooked to read more. This isn’t luck, he knew what he was doing. It was on purpose. You can’t sell tens of millions of books without knowing “the carrot theory.”
you might be interested in these blogs…
THE PROBLEM WITH FLASHBACKS IN YOUR NOVEL
UNDERSTANDING CHARACTER ARCS IN YOUR NOVEL
WHY SOMEONE GIVES UP ON YOUR NOVEL AND HOW TO STOP IT
