Triggering a reaction in your reader

Good writing is good writing because it triggers emotional responses in its readers. Readers say ‘I have been in that situation, ‘I know someone like that’, ‘what a terrible thing to be faced with’ etc etc.
If readers feel like that, it means that they are being drawn into the story. They stand next to your characters, they fear for what is about to happen, they simply must know what is on the next page.
If a reader does not really care what is happening in the story then you have lost them and your story has failed. But if they feel part of it, they are experiencing the sheer power of the writer. And that’s a terrific thing to achieve - and the way to impress publishers and competition judges.

John Dean