Avid readers know what they like in a novel. If a reader is new to your writing, the story must be compelling and captivating enough to hold the reader’s attention. Beyond that, it must be good enough to make the reader want to read more of your stories. The last thing you want is for your Christian fiction books to be boring.
You might be a good enough writer when it comes to grammar, punctuation, syntax, and other technical skills. Perhaps you’re able to create ideas and string them together into story form, which is a basic skill for an author. However, if that story doesn’t hold your readers’ attention, they might become bored before they reach the last page. If this happens, it’s unlikely they’ll want to give any of your other books a try.
Avoid boring readers when writing Christian fiction books
You’ll want to avoid the following issues when writing Christian fiction books, all which place readers at risk for boredom:
- Underdeveloped characters: Your readers want to be able to relate to your characters or, at least, love or hate them. Underdeveloped characters are boring.
- Storyline is too predictable: Even Christian fiction books must contain elements of suspense or surprise to keep readers wanting more.
- Protagonist with nothing to lose: Nothing will bore readers faster than a story with no emotional stakes.
- Action without reaction: You can write about a series of events in a detailed, interesting manner, but readers will lose interest if you don’t include descriptions of how the characters interpret and respond to said events.
- Too many storylines: While it’s okay to feature multiple storylines within the same plot, switching back and forth too frequently throughout the story may cause readers to feel distracted and disconnected, which can lead to boredom.
Avoiding these pitfalls helps to ensure that the Christian fiction books you write will not only capture your readers’ attention but will inspire them to want to read more of your stories.
Are all readers the same?
The people who buy your Christian fiction books may have some things in common. For example, many readers of this genre enjoy stories that do not include gore or profanity. By the same token, however, each reader has unique preferences, which is why one person might have a favorite book that another person dislikes. Most readers will become bored if a story contains one or more of the problematic issues mentioned in the previous section. Authors who want to avoid writing boring books do well to keep this list in mind.
