Tip for March 26, 2010; Anticipation

I had been waiting two years to read a certain book.

It was The Dark Foundations, by Chris Walley. I had read the first book in his Lamb Among the Stars Series, although then it was two books, The Shadow at Evening, and The Power of the Night. Both were well written, Christian sci-fi books.

I was disappointed that he hadn't written any more books in the series, even though the second book had ended at a crucial point.

It was a year later when I discovered he had moved to a different publisher and written another book. I was elated. It was late January of the year before last year, and I didn't get a chance to get the books until my birthday the next year, that is, last year.

I recieved a gift card from some of my relatives on my birthday. I had almost forgotten about Chris Walley's books, but I remembered as I pondered on how to use the money.

I went and bought a shiny, hardcover first edition of The Dark Foundations. I waited for several days as Amazon shipped it. Finally, it came.

But there was an obstacle. I had to do a large amount of schoolwork (I'm homeschooled) before I could read it. I worked hard for several days, and finally, that weekend, I picked up the book and opened it to read.

That book was one of the best books I had ever read, sweetened by the wait and work I had put into it.

What does this have to do with a writing tip, you ask? Everything. And nothing, depending on how you look at it.

Anticipation is one of the powerful tools I sometimes use when writing. Anticipation in a novel sweetens the end and helps your reader think, "Wow, this was worth buying." Anticipation, along with a combination of other tools, makes a book memorable. The most memorable books are talked about, written about, recommended, and so on.