Weird tip for novel writers: give your readers a place to take a break.
We all know and love the feeling of being glued to a book. “One more chapter, one more page, one more paragraph.” But absorbing whole novels in 1 sitting isn’t the best. We forget loads of stuff that happen!! It just happens.
Every 5-10 chapters I leave it at a good stopping point. A character goes to sleep with no imminent threat waking them up, a good conversation ends with well wishes, a part of the story is wrapped up, and it’s a nice place to put the bookmark and close the cover.
This is good!! This isn’t a bad thing at all!! Some people only have the attention span or ability to read 5 chapters or so. Some people have to work early and want to sleep and not feel obligated to finish a book in one sitting. Some people need to pee!!
Brains will be given the chance to absorb things. Did your character just start a romance?? Win a battle?? Deliver a speech that would win Emmys?? Let your readers take a minute (or day) to process it. To savor it. To think about your characters and story while they go along their daily life.
“Boy I sure hope Alexandria and her girlfriend start a good adventure in the next chapter.”
“The Battle of Darenzal ended on such mixed terms. We lost two names characters but still prevailed. I hope it’s talked about more in the next part.”
“The Queen’s speech about her husband’s death, and the shoutout to our protagonist was lovely. I hope after the ball we see more of her.”
The best books that I’ve read have given me places to stop. To take a breather, to get a glass of water and stretch and THINK about the things that JUST HAPPENED in the last 5-10 chapters. Willingly giving your readers a rest doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing a page-turning best seller, it means you want people to turn pages a bit slower, take it a bit calmer, and have time to think and formulate about your story.
So let your protagonist nod off in safety around a campfire with their dog. Let them have a party where they laugh and dance with friends and relax in a big rose garden outside a castle. Let them accomplish something, and let your characters take a well deserved break. Knowing what we put them through, they deserve it just as much as our readers.