One of the pleasures of eating is the texture of your food. It may be the crunchiness of a cereal or the silkiness of a cream filling. We come with expectations about what a food’s texture will be, and that directly affects our perception of its taste.

In much the same way, one of the pleasures of reading is the texture of the writing. It may be the crispness of the sentences or the power of an image. Readers come to your story with expectations – based on their past experiences with your writing, based on the genre you’re working in, based on variables such as their mood – and that affects their perception of your writing’s quality.

In short, your word and image choices combine to create “texture.” The more palatable your texture is, the more likely readers will stick with your writing and pick up another one of your books.

How can you create “texture” in your books? The answer involves mastering the craft of writing.

To make crisper sentences, choose the right words, employ tight writing, eliminate ambiguity, cut adverbs and repetition and clichés, vary sentence length and rhythm, use active voice, avoid overused verbs, and stick to one verb tense.

To make a more powerful image, be descriptive by appealing to various senses, integrate symbolism and allusions into, and avoid purple prose as well as pushbutton words.