Does your story jump in character and time?

Think of the ideal reader - one who gives rapt attention to your story. No problem then, for the reader will compensate for any confusion.

But now think of today's readers. They listen on audiobook or attend to your story in a switchable environment, containing perhaps four stories at a time.

For those readers, does your story confuse them, basically "scaring them away" with jumps in time? Does it switch characters in successive sections, "teasing" the reader to discover how the characters relate to each other later in the story?

I recommend doing all you can to make time progression consecutive and to let the reader quickly understand how the characters relate to each other.

Perhaps it's old fashioned to refer to Strunk and White's Manual of Style. But it's possible we are confusing (and losing) readers when we forget to "prefer the standard to the offbeat," which was the strong recommendation in Strunk and White.

You are the writer, so you can decide. But, for me, readers are too few as it is, and I don't want to lose any of them!

--Bruce Cook, Publisher, Reservebooks.com

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Publishing New Writers,

June, 2022 (vol. 23, no.6)

Publisher:

Dr. Bruce L. Cook
1407 Getzelman Drive
Elgin, IL 60123

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