“They blew up a Costco.”
That’s not a sentence you expect to read over your morning coffee.
Or ever really…
But there I was, half-awake, scrolling my phone, watching a Costco detonate like someone really hated capitalism.
I scrolled some more.
Then a gas station went up.
Just… boom.
That day, a cartel boss had just been killed in Mexico, and apparently, the response was: burn everything down and make sure people film it.
I should’ve put my phone down.
But I didn’t.
Instead, I did what any rational, well-adjusted adult does when confronted with global chaos and too much free time.
I opened Netflix and turned on Narcos.
Just one episode, I told myself.
Just one.
Then eight hours later, I’m in the same position, smelling sour, lying to myself, saying I’ll get my shit together.
That’s the power of a good story.
And somewhere around 5 PM in that strange, dehydrated, slightly ashamed post-binge clarity, it hit me:
The reason I couldn’t stop watching that show is the exact same reason people can’t put down a great book.
And it’s not because of some writing secret.
It’s not because of beautiful sentences or fancy themes.
It’s because good storytelling rewards your brain in very predictable ways.
And if you’re willing to pay attention to your own bad habits—like watching eight straight hours of cartel drama instead of being productive, you can reverse-engineer the whole damn thing.
The premise does 80% of the work
Here’s the truth most ivory tower film critics will hate me for:
Nobody commits to a show because of its execution.
We commit because we like the idea.
It sounds interesting…
That’s it. That’s the first hurdle to clear.
You’re telling me I can watch a show about a drug kingpin building an empire and becoming the most powerful criminal in the world before slowly self-destructing.
Yeah, I’m in.
Twice.
Because the premise sounds compelling.
It’s the same reason people would rather watch Game of Thrones instead of “A Quiet Show About a Doorbell Repairman repairing doorbells.”
Because one of these promises a story.
Which means if your book doesn’t sound interesting—if it doesn’t spark curiosity before page one—it’s probably dead on arrival.
And no amount of beautiful writing is going to save a boring idea.
You have about five minutes to matter
Every show gets a tiny window to prove it’s worth your time.
Maybe it’s a shocking opening.
Maybe it’s a character you instantly love or hate.
Maybe it’s a question that won’t leave your brain alone.
But if nothing happens?
You’re gone. I’m gone. Everyone’s gone.
Which is why most shows start fast.
But here’s the bad news: books are even more brutal.
Because reading takes effort. Watching TV takes sitting on your ass.
So you don’t get five minutes.
You get a page. Maybe two.
And if you don’t hook the reader immediately, they’re not sticking around for the part where it “gets good.”
Because to them, it already isn’t.
Momentum is everything (and most people screw this up)
The first episode is easy.
It’s the shiny object.
It’s the promise.
But the real question all us watchers want to know is… can you sustain it?
Does each episode make you more curious than the last?
Does the tension build?
Do things get worse in interesting ways?
If yes, we binge.
If no— we stop watching and start trying to find a new show.
This means we really need to care about the structure and pacing of our stories because books die in the middle all the time.
We read a great opening, then somewhere around page 120, it turns into a literary version of elevator music.
No urgency. No escalation. Just… pleasant words.
Which means as a writer, momentum isn’t optional. It’s the whole damn game.
Every chapter should make it harder to stop than the one before it.
Characters are the glue
Plot gets you in the door. Characters make you stay.
Take Jon Snow—he’s brooding, honorable, constantly screwed over, and somehow still compelling.
Or even someone like Tim Robinson, who plays characters that are completely unhinged but painfully relatable in that “oh God, I’ve acted like that before” kind of way.
In Narcos, you’re basically running around Medellín with Pablo Escobar—a violent, narcissistic criminal—and yet… you’re fascinated.
Why?
Because he feels real.
When we binge, we’re not just watching events.
We’re living inside someone else’s life.
And if we don’t care about the people we’re stuck with, just like bad company, we leave.
The same goes for your book.
Give us characters we can feel something about—love, hate, curiosity, even mild concern—and we’ll follow them anywhere.
Give us nothing?
We’re out faster than we can say, “wanna watch a movie?”
The only thing that really matters: “what happens next?”
This is the uncomfortable truth most writers don’t want to hear.
People read your book not just because of your prose.
Not just because of your themes.
And not just because of your symbolism.
We read because we want to know what happens next.
And all the other literary elements aid that goal.
That’s the entire game.
Every episode of a binge-worthy show ends with a question.
Every scene pushes you slightly forward.
Every answer creates two new problems.
It’s engineered curiosity, and great books do that at all times.
We don’t keep turning pages because the sentences are pretty.
We keep turning pages because stopping feels worse than continuing.
That’s why we love good books.
Full Circle
So the next time you sit down to write and start overthinking it—
The structure.
The voice.
The deeper meaning of it all—
Don’t.
Just ask yourself one uncomfortable question:
Why the hell couldn’t I stop watching that show?
Answer that honestly.
Then write that.
Please like, comment, share and tell me what you think. Do you agree.
Follow me on substack here: (1) Tonysbologna | Anthony Robert | Substack
I agree. Mostly. The initial hook is critical. But the craft still matters a lot to the reading experience. The anticipation of a great slow-burn, the careful build-up, and quirky, sharp prose are often exactly what keep people glued to the page. You definitely need a great story, but telling it well is what makes readers stay.
I agree! All of the literary elements are important but at least to me, they’re tools that serve the story. Not the core reason you start // finish the story
Either way, I appreciate you reading!
We don’t keep turning pages because the sentences are pretty.
We keep turning pages because stopping feels worse than continuing……100!
So glad you enjoyed
Great reminder! Thanks!
No worries! I appreciate you reading!
I think this is true, but my attention span dropped; a lot of shows, like a lot of books, seem promising, but my attention span drifts, even though things are good from the start or get better later on. Before, the only time I’m sitting down to watch something was when my dad was halfway through a series and he’s actually watching it, instead of the tv watching him sleep. That’s when I knew that if the show was interesting for him, it would be for me.
Books haven’t had that same external signal for me. I’ve been trying to read the entirety of The Witcher novels by Andrzej Sapkowski, but since I’ve played 2 of the main 3 major game installments (The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt), they give you the history and run down on important characters and life changing events prior to each game in real time. And that reading the books feels like I bought the series to just to fill my bookshelf.
I gotcha – great games btw- yeah it’s hard to find the balance!
It depends. There are different types of readers, and writers. But yes, first it’s the “cover”, then the idea, the story, the characters, voice/style, setting. Those six elements all factor in. With shows you get music and pictures, too. Direction.
People are different; but yes, there are things that are generally true. Like – what happens next? Then again, sometimes you know, but it’s the why that holds your interest. Or, the setting, or the voice/style is just so damn good.
Yep! Subjectivity will play a key role in all of this – but yeah that’s why they have the saying” don’t judge a book by its cover…” because we do!
Appreciate you reading
True! I read really fast so I give a book a chapter or two. But no matter how curious I am, once an author jumps the shark I feel I can’t trust them anymore and I lose interest.
I’m the same way! That’s why it’s so hard to find a truly great book
Funny how world events do that to us. I have just been rewatching all the episodes of New Tricks. Love the show. Last night I lay in bed thinking about it. I decided that the next episode I watch I will watch with a critical eye. Why is the show so damn good? How does it get me hooked? Why am I invested. Your blog was very timely!
Thank you so so so much!
I hear you. Watching “Lincoln Lawyer” reintroduced me to the exaggerated rise from the initial problem to the final gasp of the climax. All of those ups and downs last an entire season. It’s a far cry from 50s fiction, but its what viewers know. I apply it to my blog fiction currently, and I have to admit, it’s a fun process.
Ahhh I need to see that show!! Thank you feeding my friend
Ha, love this, Tony. When I think of the series’ I have enjoyed (including Narcos) that’s what they were all about. I watched a couple where the plot was good, but I couldn’t care less about the characters. So for me Taylor Sheridan is the top of the list at present.
It’s the same with books. Which for the first time ever I’ve had a few DNF because I didn’t care about anyone in the book, not sure if it’s because they were written by AI or the author was more interested in telling a story than creating a character I can either identify with, love, or hate.
Anyway a great insight once more, thank you 😀
Thank you so much for the kind words and thoughtful post my friend, I appreciate you
This is a great point, although I do sometimes appreciate great wordcraft enough to give the plot breathing room to pick up the pace.
Thank you so so much
I agreed,
totally.
I’ve had moments of a good movie promising my self just few minutes but those minutes gets to hours.
The ability for a writer to hook people like this would cause a real traffic on their books.
Couldn’t agree more my friend
Great piece. That happens to me all the time while watching Netflix. I never really thought deeper into it, but now I see it. Really interesting point of view you have taken.
Hahah it’s fun to ask why!
Netflix is great to watch but need discipline.
Yep I agree
I started to read what you wrote because you liked one of my posts. I continued to read because you write smoothly and so reading it is easy but it’s also about the payoffs you gave me scrolled. Then you ended with a nice summary. Boom, job done. Then I wrote this so that you can decide if I agree with you or not. You didn’t have characters so I guess the answer is ye, I agree.
Really appreciate the thoughtful post and I do agree
I get what you mean by “A Quiet Show About a Doorbell Repairman repairing doorbells.” But my brain went on a tangent and a leap and thought I would watch this show if the doornail had a quiet yet sinister agenda 😆
“You never know who’s knocking”
🤣
The Postman Always Rings Twice was one of the biggest clickbait titles I ever watched. There was not even a postman in it. /s
Hahaha yeah that sounds like a mystery for sure
All I’ve ever wanted to do with my novels is entertain people. If along the way, there is a reader who appreciates the care I put into the prose, that’s a bonus. But all I want is for someone to read something I’ve written and feel satisfied with the experience.
If you’ve published it I’m confident people have
Loved this. The idea that the premise does most of the work really stuck with me. It’s kind of uncomfortable to admit that we’re all just chasing curiosity loops more than ‘beautiful writing’ sometimes, but it’s so true. Makes me rethink how I approach not just writing, but even the content I create and consume.
I know right! At the same time tough – it’s also good to know what thread we need to pull. Just information
You have about five minutes to matter..thank you for sharing this line. I want my five minutes as a person and a writer to count.
Brilliant, sir! I’ve always believed that characters ARE fiction. My takeaways from here are “The premise does 80% of the work,” and “We read because we want to know what happens next.” Will this improve my writing? I can only hope, but this is an amazing deconstruction of the things that bring us in and keep us in. Great blog you’ve got here. I’m in!
Thanks so much Jack – I really appreciate the kind words
Great advice! I remember reading an incredible story on Twitter once. It was a super long thread with terrible grammar, terrible spelling, and all sorts of colloquial words and slang. And yet, I just couldn’t stop reading because I NEEDED to know what happened next. It was very well told.
On the flip side though, Netflix and new media does weird things to our brains. It elevates our dopamine so much that it sets a very high bar for reading. I’m sure we’re missing out on a ton of good books because we just can’t focus as well anymore.
Is funny what we excuse when we’re invested in a story and I think you’re 100% right – our attention span is under attack
I heard a lot about Narcos. But never really watched it. I guess this is my sign. You got me at ‘they blew up costco’. Like really. I love Costco. Why would someone do that?
I love Costco too and yeah check it!!
Books are really important. So is television but you just really got to pay attention nowadays. Burning up places Costco whatnot. Hahaha. Thanks!
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Thank you!
You’re right, if a show doesn’t grab me in episode one, I’m gone. But I’m a little different when it comes to books. I’m an avid reader…so if I’ve bought the book? I’m committed to slogging at least a third of the way through even if I’m not thrilled. Some are just slow burns and happily surprise me.
😊
I understand your point, but I’m not with you 100%, maybe because I learned to read before TV whittled our attention spans down to an hour minus commercials, and the internet further eroded it to 280 characters. I love beautiful prose. I also love finding out what happens next. As a pantser, that is why I keep writing. I guess I am saying that yes, we want a show or book to grab us, but they grab in different ways, not necessarily by splashing blood or sex all over the screen or page in the first chapter.
I agree completely! Some of my favorite books like Catch 22 start slow but I love the writing and it’s fun to read!
You have a point sir. The story should grip you in the first couple of pages and then you are hooked. However, I have read books with not much of a story but the writing was riveting. I just could not put it down. Have you experienced anything like that ?
Excellent points, especially if you are writing thrillers, suspense and in similar genres.
Absolutely spot on! The idea that readers or viewers stick around for what happens next is so true. A gripping premise, momentum, and relatable characters make all the difference. Beautiful writing alone won’t save a boring story. Great reminder for anyone creating content!
So happy you enjoyed! Thank you for reading
I think you’re right!
Absolutely. The trick is to not start watching in the first place! If I start watching and i want to know what happens, then I am hooked. Job done!
My first post I’ve ever read here. Hehe now I am hooked:)
Love it! Happy you’re here
According to Nancy Pearl, there are plot books, character books, place books, and language books. Most best-sellers are plot books, which are all about what happens next, but there are other kinds of readers and other kinds of books, including those readers who do look for beautifully written prose.
Oh man I’m the worst for bailing on a show if it doesn’t catch my attention immediately!! Books I will persevere with but movies or shows get zero leeway lol. Thanks for posting I enjoyed it… and read all the way to the end 👍🏻
So happy you enjoyed, thank you for reading!
Absolutely! Storytelling is all about curiosity and momentum hook us fast, make us care about the characters, and keep the tension rising. That’s what makes both shows and books irresistible.