Engaging the Reader Through ‘Prime Real Estate’

I read an interesting article last night called Prime Real Estate. The articles looks at the key areas you need to pay special attention to so as to keep your reader engaged. The prime real estate areas are:

• The first page of your novel
• The first paragraph of a new chapter
• The last paragraph of a chapter

I’d always kept the first page and the last paragraph of a chapter in the back of my mind as important sections, but somehow I’d never put much thought into the first paragraph of a new chapter, but it makes sense. Your last paragraph of a chapter will only keep the reader reading if the first paragraph of the new chapter is equally engaging. Otherwise, the reader will just put the book down, the last thing you want. I know I’ve put several books down and never returned. Now I feel like I should go back and reread the prime real estate parts of books I’ve abandoned along with books I couldn’t put down so that I can see how other writers handle their prime real estate.

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Posted in On Writing
Tags: Writing, Writing guides