What do you want your readers to do?

Answer that question before starting to write, otherwise the end result may be another "crossing-the-desert" story that exhausts rather than inspires readers. Don't take this wrong; rich details are wonderful. Agonizing, obsessions are not. Vintage rocket fin caddy with faded red paint is enough. Don't park there to reveal every dent, bump, traffic ticket and back seat make-out session that makes the car special to you. Faced with TMI (too much information) that fails to enhance the story, and I'm done. So are many readers.

If you want me to read on, entice me. One of the best compliments I have heard for my novel, Taylor Kendall:Evil Inc, came from a psychotherapist colleague who said; "I was tired and planned to stop at the end of the next chapter, but there was another hook that kept me reading. By 4am, I finished the book; exhausted yet satisfied." That's what I wanted to do, get the reader so involved in the story, the characters and the suspense that continuing to read was the only option.

Signing for book buyers!

When writing a business article, do you want the reader to buy, subscribe or attend an event? Does your web copy grab attention and cause the reader to hit the "sign up now" button? Will your poem touch heartfelt memories so that the reader recommends your work to fellow poetry lovers? It's like the old saying, "begin with the end in mind." That's good advice for writers. Know what you want your reader to do and you are more likely to communicate that as well as motivate the reader to act.