This morning on my way up to my office, I stopped to read an flyer posted in the stairwell of our building. Someone here is looking for a new home for his cat.

This story may not seem unusual or even very relevant, but that’s because I haven’t told you I’m allergic to cats. I could never live with one. I don’t even know anyone looking for a cat. So there was really no reason to keep reading. I could have just glanced at the flyer and continued on my way.

But you know what? That flyer was really well written. In the space of a few bullet points, the writer had created a little narrative that made it clear why he could no longer keep the cat while also highlighting the cat’s many good qualities.

This is what good writing does. It engages readers. It makes a person who is never going to own a cat read through an entire flyer. And then write a blog post about it.

If you’re a writer, take a look at your current project and ask what someone who already is interested in the topic of your book would think. And then think about ways to engage the reader who doesn’t even know that she wants to read your book.

photo credit: (cc) hkase via Flickr