Top 10 Checklist for your Story

1. Be aware of the length of #books in your #genre. Different genres have different expectations.
2. #Pacing. A #suspense #thriller will have shorter scenes and sentences to speed up the pace. But a literary novel will slow it down.
3. #Dialogue. Make it authentic. Use the character's voice, not yours.
4. #Openings. Open with depth. Read the opening page of your favorite books. Study them. How do they pull the reader in?
5. #Tone. Let the tone of the book be known early, so the reader knows what to expect.
6. Does page one hook the reader? Is the first line memorable?
7. How does your protagonist enter the story? Why do we care about him or her right away? What are they trying to do? What are they facing?
8. Make sure all your characters, even the small ones, are unique with their own voice.
9. Title. Coming up with a title for your book can be very difficult sometimes. But the title and the cover are the first two things you have to grab a reader's attention. Make them count!
10. Look for strong setups and their payoffs. Planting seeds and clues to the story and characters is essential. Think about every little thing in the story. Make it count!

Want a story where you unravel the #mystery with the main character? Try my THE DUTIFUL DAUGHTER, book one of the Desert Rose trilogy. Women's fiction with a pinch of the #paranormal and a dash of romance.