- Level:
- Novice
- Lessons:
- 6 Lessons
Promise to the Reader
When building your story, discover how genre, point of view, and pacing keeps your readers hooked from start to finish.
- Reading Time
- approx. 5 min
From the first sentence, you build up an expectation, a promise between yourself and the reader, about the kind of story they’re about to experience. Three pillars of this promise are point of view, genre and pacing.
The reader is giving you something very valuable—their time—so don’t break your promise.
Key Takeaways
- You make a binding promise to readers through point of view, genre, and pacing from the very first sentence - this implicit contract must be honored throughout.
- Point of view shapes how readers connect with the story. If you decide to have multiple POVs, make sure to establish that in the first 20%.
- Genre sets specific reader expectations that must be met or deliberately subverted early, never late.
Point of View (POV)
Your choice of point of view shapes how the reader engages with the story. Some perspectives put the reader in the center of action; others give the reader more detachment yet never to the extent that they lose emotional contact with the characters. You’ll learn about the two most popular points of view, first- and third-person, as well as the lesser used second-person.
As you’ll see, pronouns are often a clue to point of view. This applies to the narrative prose but not to dialogue, which is always assumed to be from the perspective of the character speaking.
We’ll continue to touch on point of view in future articles.
First-Person
When you write in first-person, the reader is invited into the intimate thoughts and feelings of a single character. They see the events unfold through that character’s eyes and experience the story as if they are that person. It’s easy to spot a first-person point of view because you’ll encounter the pronouns “I”, “me”, “my”.
I strode into the town library, pounding my combat boots against the wooden floor. The sound echoed through the quiet space, drawing glances from patrons nestled in cozy reading nooks. My earbuds blasted heavy metal, strains of growling vocals and thrashing guitars.
Marching past the circulation desk, I ignored the raised eyebrow of my cat. My black-painted fingernails traced along the spines of books as I made my way to the reference section.
“Excuse me,” a voice interrupted my musical reverie.
Yanking out an earbud, I stared at the elderly woman. “What?”
The woman recoiled. “I-I was wondering if you could help me find a cookbook on preserves?”
Third-Person
A third-person point of view allows the reader a broader view as they can peek into the minds of different characters and witness the full scope of events. There are two basic types: third-person limited and third-person omniscient.
- Limited, common in modern genre fiction, stays with a single character point of view for a given scene or chapter.
- Omniscient, common in 19th century literature, can jump from one character to another in the same scene.
In third-person you won’t come across the pronouns I, me, we, or you outside of dialogue but all other pronouns are at your disposal.
Milly Poppycock strode into the town library, her combat boots thudding against the wooden floor. The sound echoed through the quiet space, drawing glances from patrons nestled in cozy reading nooks. Her earbuds blasted heavy metal, strains of growling vocals and thrashing guitars leaking out.
She marched past the circulation desk, ignoring the raised eyebrow of her cat. Milly’s black-painted fingernails traced along the spines of books as she made her way to the reference section.
“Excuse me,” a timid voice interrupted her musical reverie.
Milly yanked out an earbud, staring at the elderly woman. “What?”
The woman recoiled. “I-I was wondering if you could help me find a cookbook on preserves?”
Second-Person
This article is written in second-person point of view. Although uncommon in genre fiction, it’s quite common in nonfiction and interactive fiction. The pronouns used for this perspective are “you” and “we”. Present tense is generally used for second-person point of view.
You stride into the town library, your combat boots thudding against the wooden floor. The sound echoes through the quiet space, drawing glances from patrons nestled in cozy reading nooks. Your earbuds blast heavy metal, strains of growling vocals and thrashing guitars.
Marching past the circulation desk, you ignore the raised eyebrow of your cat. Your black-painted fingernails trace along the spines of books as you made your way to the reference section.
“Excuse me,” a timid voice interrupts your musical reverie.
Yanking out an earbud, you stare at the elderly woman. “What?”
The woman recoils. “I-I was wondering if you could help me find a cookbook on preserves?”
Changing POV
If you decide to change point of view, make sure you establish this in the first 20% or so of the novel so that the reader expects different perspectives going forward. A good rule of thumb is to choose the point of view of the character with the most at stake in a given scene.
Genre
Just as important as point of view, the genre you choose sets certain expectations. If you’re writing a mystery, the reader anticipates a puzzle to solve, clues to uncover, and a conclusion that reveals the truth. A romance promises an emotional journey towards love and connection. Science fiction invites the reader to imagine exciting new worlds and ideas.
Your selection of genre tells the reader the type of experience they’re in for. If you happen to mix genres, make sure that it makes sense and that it’s presented early in the story. In a science fiction novel, you wouldn’t have a dragon suddenly appear in the last chapter. Well… unless it was a robotic dragon.
Certain genres tend toward certain points of view:
First-Person Genres
- Mystery/detective fiction
- Psychological thrillers
- Young adult (YA) fiction
- Horror
Third-Person Genres
- Fantasy
- Science fiction
- Historical fiction
- Romance
- Adventure
It’s fine to use different points of view for your genre, but do so consciously and choose the best point of view to suit your novel.
Pacing
The pacing of your writing also factors into the promise you make. Is this a fast-paced thriller that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat? Or a leisurely character study that invites them to savor the nuances of human behavior? Do you opt for short, punchy sentences that mirror the urgency of the story? Or longer, more lyrical phrasing that immerses the reader in rich details?
The rhythm and tempo of your prose directly impact the kind of experience the reader can expect.
Pacing also depends on the form of your story: is it a short story, a novella, a novel or an epic series? Some stories might last an afternoon for the characters, others can stretch to millennia. It’s important that you hint to your readers on the opening pages the potential scope of the timeline that you’ll be tackling.
Chapter Length
As part of your promise to the reader, establish a baseline chapter length and then vary it for effect. Use shorter chapters to quicken the pace and longer chapters to let the reader and the characters breathe a little.
Genres can also inform pacing. It’s common in fantasy to have longer, slower chapters with lots of world building. Science fiction and adventure often have shorter chapters.
Sentence Length
Varied sentence length gives you precise control over the immediate pacing of a novel. As with chapter length, establish a natural sentence length. Longer sentences will cause the reader to take a moment and reflect on what they’ve read. Shorter sentences will help emphasize a point. See?
Summary
Every choice you make as a writer, from your opening line to your closing paragraph, contributes to the promise you make. You’re inviting the reader into a world of your own and assuring them that if they accept, you’ll deliver a satisfying, coherent, and meaningful journey. It’s a tacit agreement, a bond of trust between you and your audience.
You’ve seen how point of view, genre and pacing form this promise to the reader. Fulfilling that promise is no easy feat. Your readers are sophisticated, with high expectations. Readers of romance might expect a love triangle, whereas horror lovers might be counting on that final surviving character. Readers have been disappointed by broken promises before, narratives that failed to pay off, characters that fell flat, resolutions that felt forced or unsatisfying. You’ll learn more about themes, developing compelling characters, dialogue, plotting and beats in future installments.
As a writer, you have to be intentional, disciplined, and above all, true to the vision you’ve established. When you get it right, weaving a story that truly honors the promise you’ve made, the payoff is incredible. Readers will emerge from your work feeling enriched, genuinely grateful that they accepted your invitation and let you guide them on a memorable journey.
This lesson was taught by:
Corey Ostman
After spending three decades writing science fiction for machines, he now writes science fiction for humans. His brain is almost entirely in the future, so if you encounter him, you’re likely experiencing a form of temporal rift.