Walking into a coffee shop, I’m looking forward to a cozy visit with a dear friend. We’ll chat the hour away until our drinks get cold, but it’ll be a good visit. Glancing around, I see tables lined with young people, all glued to their so-called ‘smart’ devices. They’re texting each other, even those sitting right next to them. This is the extent of their ability to communicate and most likely the extent of their ability to read, too. Sad, but true. So, how do we writers reel in these non-readers? These glued-to-a-device generation? It’s not easy, but, like anything else, it’s a game of one word at a time. We have to hook these non-readers and make them into readers. We can’t allow these ‘smart’ devices (the same ones I call ‘stupid’ devices because they’re making this generation stupid) to dominate our lives. Reading and the joy of good literature could very easily be a thing of the past if we don’t take action – now! Granted, some of these so-called non-readers with ‘smart’ devices in their hands might be reading eBooks. What we, as writers, need to do is attract more readers to these devices for the sole purpose of reading, and perhaps, by inspiring them to read, we might even be able to entice them to pick up a real book.

First, we have to understand what we have done to create this non-reader curse. For one thing, we’ve made entertainment far too easy. Just pick up an electronic device and some form of AI will take over your life. And AI is taking over. Science fiction has warned us for years about this robot-like existence of non-compliance. Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” published in 1932; Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451,” where a ban on books challenges their very existence as one book after another is burnt; and Keith Laumer’s “The Walls,” where a woman is encased in a room, all four walls being video screens revealing a world beyond her own that she can’t fathom or integrate. These stories are haunting in themselves, but they’re not enough to hook in the non-reader.

Suggestions? Check out social media; become the techie surfer just like these young people. What are they reading about so intently? An opening line to hook them could be a headline on Twitter (now called X): “X is where people watch in real-time.” Or YouTube: “Most people have no idea what’s coming.” If you use a headliner that attracts young people online, it’ll potentially attract them to your story. Look for themes that’ll spark their interests: sports, rock stars, hobbies (if they have any), and even TV shows and movies. Keep it interesting, light, and not too literary. Keep the story short, as young people’s attention span is short. Use more dialogue to move the story along; a descriptive narrative can dull the senses. This generation needs entertainment. If they’re not being entertained, you’ve lost them. Just remember, you can inspire young non-readers to read.