Grounding the Reader - podcast

Writing coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan presents writing tips for authors from her workshops on self-editing. One important writing tip she gives writers is that you must ground the reader with the Ws—who, when, where, and what. A major component that is often missing is the "what." The reader must know why they are investing time in a book. So, writers should state their thesis in the first two pages. What makes a good book is when the story follows this basic formula: someone the reader cares about wants something badly and is having trouble getting it. You can engage the reader even more when the thing the character wants is something the reader wants too.