Use This Secret Fiction Trick To Make Your Writing 10X More Engaging

Ever read something so gripping you couldn’t stop (even when you tried)?

Maybe it was a novel. A sales page. An email.

Whatever it was, it pulled you in. Line by line. Thought by thought.

It’s not an accident.

Great writers use a simple cause-and-effect technique that makes their words feel like a conversation happening in real-time.

It’s a Fiction Writing technique called Motivation-Reaction Units (MRUs).

And today, I’ll show you exactly how to use them—so every sentence you write keeps your reader engaged.

What Are Motivation-Reaction Units?

This technique comes from Dwight V. Swain, a legendary fiction writer, who noticed that the best stories follow a simple rhythm:

1. Something happens (a glass shatters).

2. A character reacts (they spin around, heart pounding).

That back-and-forth makes stories feel alive.

The cool thing is you can use the exact same rhythm in your writing (even if you’re not writing fiction). Instead of a character reacting, it’s your reader reacting to your words. Every line you write creates a motivation. Your job is to predict your reader’s reaction and answer it immediately.

When you do this well, your writing becomes impossible to skim—because you’re inside the reader’s head, answering their questions the moment they arise.

How To Insert “MRUs” In Your Writing (And Enter The Conversation In Your Reader’s Head)

It’s a simple 5-step process:

1. Write a sentence. This is the Motivation.

2. Now pause. Imagine what your reader is thinking right now.

3. Write their thought as a question.

4. Answer the question in your next line. This is the “Reaction.”

5. Repeat.

That’s it.

Here’s how it looks in action:

Without MRUs (flat, one-way writing)

We start with a sentence:

"I thought I was terrible at writing. Turns out, I was just writing the wrong way."

It’s fine, but it doesn’t create a natural back-and-forth with the reader.

Now, let’s rewrite it using MRUs:

With MRUs (engaging, two-way writing)

Slow down, think like the reader, and anticipate their reaction to your writing.

See what’s happening here?

Each line raises a question. The next line answers it.

This pulls the reader forward.

Why MRUs Work

1. They make your writing feel like a conversation. Your reader never feels “talked at.” They feel like they’re part of the dialogue.

2. They keep attention high. When every line triggers curiosity, readers have to keep going.

3. They stop skimming. Most people skim because writing feels “skippable.” But when every sentence feels essential, they can’t look away.

This is one of the fastest ways to improve your writing.

All you have to do is raise and answer questions all the way down the page.Then when you’re down, edit out the “Reader:” questions to tighten it up.

By the time you finish, you’ll have a full draft that flows effortlessly.

“But what if you’re not sure what your reader is thinking?”

That’s where “The Mind-Reader Prompt” comes in.

This AI prompt helps you to reverse-engineer your reader’s curiosity—so you always know what to write next.

Here’s how it works:

1. Take any sentence from your writing.

2. Run it through The Mind-Reader Prompt.

3. Use the output to help you write your next line.

Here’s The Mind-Reader Prompt: