How to Make a Novel Interesting and Easy to Read

Reading a novel or any other type of book is a difficult task for a lot of people, especially in Africa.

There is a saying, “When you want to hide something from an African man, keep it in a book.” Most people prefer seeing a movie to picking up a book to read.

Here are some of the reasons:

• Most books are without colours. They are boring and people would rather go for films than go for pictureless materials.
• There is lesser work to do while seeing a movie. Unlike reading, you don’t need a mental picture or imagination; everything is already there for you to see.

These contribute immensely to the bad reading culture of society.

In this post, I will discuss how to make a novel interesting and easy to read.

• For starters, you don’t need to start big by reading books as voluminous as a dictionary or reading too many chapters daily. You can set a goal for one, two, or three chapters daily depending on what you want. Since you are just starting, do not be too hard on yourself. You don’t want to get fed up before starting.
• Pick up a book with a few pages that catch your fancy. Before you start reading, try to create a picture of what you think the book is all about from the title. Be intentional and determined to read and see if you and the writer have like minds. That can serve as a motivation for you.
• Start reading, identify the characters, take in every detail. For instance, if the writer is describing a girl and writes “Alima is a very beautiful girl. So many people think of her as an older person, she is only seventeen but she is tall and a bit plump. Her eyes speak of her innocence and her black, always combed, silky hair, sitting on her shoulders is a sight to behold…”, this type of detail can help you create a mental image. The characters stay in your memory; even when you take a nap and come back to your reading, your characters wake up as well.
• When you discover your mind is drifting off, and you find out you are only reading the letters, the pictures are not forming anymore; at this point, stop and go back to where you lost track and pick it up from there.
• Do all these intentionally and religiously.

These are some of the few ways to enjoy reading a novel. I hope this article helps you find reading easier and more interesting.

Ajimuda Evelyn is a writer, a poet and a blogger. She is a creative who brings imaginations alive.