Why You Can't Stop Reading

How bestsellers hook readers and never let go.

- MICHAEL LA RONN

Some authors know how to draw readers in effortlessly. They make it look so easy.

You probably remember what it felt like the last time your favorite author grabbed you by the collar and pulled you deep into another world. Everything the characters felt, you felt, too. Their every heartbeat echoed in your own chest. You heard the soft splash of footsteps in that rain-slicked alley, smelled the damp earth rising from cobblestone streets. Later, you gripped the wild dragon's scales, ridged and sharp as broken rock, as the beast rose into the sky over a lush valley ...

Fast forward to 3 a.m. As your eyelids burned with exhaustion, you knew you had to work the next morning, but you kept reading anyway.

How did the author make you feel so alive?

The trick is in the setup. Set your scenes correctly and you will increase your chances of charming readers. Do it incorrectly and they will check out (without realizing why).

The secrets to setting your scenes aren't mystical. You won't find them in the halls of a university MFA program or in a smoke-filled room of writers whispering in hushed tones. The secrets are hidden in plain sight.

The best way to spot them? Studying the works of the mega bestsellers—the top 1 percent of authors who sell millions of books every year, the authors who grab millions of readers by the collars and don't let go until The End.

In studying how mega bestsellers set their scenes, we can learn their secrets.

Who Are the Mega Bestsellers?

There are too many to name, but let's start with a few you'll recognize: John Grisham, Clive Cussler, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Jodi Picoult, Nora Roberts, and Danielle Steel. These are the titans of their genres—their books dominate bestseller lists, they've mastered their craft through sheer volume, and they're household names.