What Makes Us Keep Reading?
The Art of Withholding Information
The best books are the ones that you don’t want to put down.
You start reading and realize you NEED to finish.
Everything in your life is now second priority — you’re fully invested in the story.
How does the author do this?
By withholding information.
Remember this:
Readers keep reading because they have questions, not answers.
Too much information can hurt the reading experience.
We want to be presented with questions that ignite our curiosity and hold our attention.
A smart author will create questions in the minds of readers as early as possible.
That’s what hooks us.
We want to discover the answers, so we keep reading.
The Master at Creating Questions:
Dan Brown’s novels have sold over 200 million copies.
That doesn’t just happen by accident.
He’s most famous for The Da Vinci Code, but all of his novels follow a similar style.
A lot of people criticize the quality of Dan Brown’s prose. But it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t structure his books masterfully.
From the very first pages, Brown presents questions that make you frantically keep reading to discover the answers.
These include questions relating to the overall plots of the novels as well as minor elements that may be resolved on the same page.
Also, almost every chapter ends on a cliff hanger.
His books are hard to put down.
The Lost Symbol:
I’m currently reading The Lost Symbol and have been amazed at how it’s drawn me in.
The way Dan Brown structures the story is incredible. He follows multiple characters and their storylines are woven together throughout the novel.
A character will make a discovery and the chapter will end, then the story will jump to a different character for a bit. You’re strung along looking for answers until you finally look at the clock and realize you’ve lost track of time.
To me, that’s the sign of a good book.
- C.S.M.
What was the last book you read that you couldn’t put down? 🤔
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