pmmg
Myth Weaver
Not saying this is wrong, just adding, that...Someone holding a book in their hand will probably afford more patience than 250 words. While it might be possible to lose them if something is just really bad, I think they will stay through a number of pages before they decide its not happening and not going to.Basic practice holds that you have 250 words to grab a reader's attention, and every 250 after that you earn. You want the reader asking questions and reading on for the answers. "What's this? What's this? There's conflict everywhere. What's this? What's this? Suddenly, I care." Get to this point, and you stand a much better chance of keeping their attention to The End.
That probably wont be true for on screen reading though
Funny, I started a book last night, and, while there was nothing wrong with it, the voice was kind of like Erma Bombeck, and reminded me much of stories aimed at a somewhat younger crowd. I probably grabbed that in about 50 words, and thought....I hope this is not how it all goes.