How Do Smart Writers Keep Readers Engaged in their Stories?

These seven effective ways can help increase reader engagement and reading time.

Photo by Matias North on Unsplash

As with any of your writing endeavors, keeping your readers satisfied so they continue reading is a huge writing challenge. But difficult as it may seem, it’s not impossible.

After reading the writing tips I provide below, you may think of other effective ways to try and increase reader engagement.

If so, by all means, feel free to share them here with your fellow writers. Keep in mind, finding the most effective activity or method to engage your readers may take more than one try.

In my experience, if something fails to give you the results you’re hoping for, just continue trying other methods. For instance, I posted a single story to alert readers about any upcoming stories I have that are awaiting publication. This was supposed to be a way to try to keep them engaged and anxious for pending stories not yet published.

While “Be on the Lookout” may have seemed like a good idea at the time (it sure did to me), it turned out to be counter-productive in the long run. I couldn’t remember to go and update the information, on a regular basis, and when I did, it took more time than it was worth.