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Wednesday, March 4, 2015

HOW TO WRITE A TALE THAT OTHERS WANT TO READ





“I  write only because

There is a voice within me

That will not be still.”   

- Sylvia Plath


Everyone can write words on a computer screen.

Most people have ideas.  

Few can spin a story from that idea in such a way that people want to read it. 


How can you become one of those few?


1.) DON'T SAY WHAT EVERYONE CAN SAY.  WRITE WHAT NO ONE ELSE CAN PUT INTO WORDS.


"The moon was bright."  NOT!

"Moonbeams glimmered from the shards of broken bottles and shattered dreams."


2.) FACTS AND TRUTH DON'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH EACH OTHER.


That's not just in the world of politics but in all of life.  

Each of us has a grid upon which we stick isolated bits of our lives.

That grid is shaped by parents, experiences, geography, our appearance

(Read  the non-fiction psychological study, SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIEST, if you want to get depressed)


our education, our jobs -- so many things.

Grids change from person to person, economic status to economic status, from nation to nation.

Every fact you pick up is seen through the perspective of that grid. 

 We don't write facts.  We usually write prejudices masquerading as facts.



3.) FOCUS ON THE READING -- NOT THE WRITING 


Focus on the sound and flow of your page so that it sounds natural, devoid of robotic rhythm, and stream-lined.

Be Other Aware.  

Imagine a particular person you're telling the tale to as if by a campfire or intimate dinner and frame your words accordingly.


4.) GIVE THE READER A DREAM FULFILLED


Ever been flustered by a bully and thought of the perfect come-back hours later?  

So have most people.

Give your reader the pleasure of living through the persona of your heroine in those common dilemmas that afflict us all.

Why do you think Apocalyptic stories do so well?  

Most of the characters in them are just average citizens.  We can imagine what we would do in such a situation.


5.) DENIAL IS NOT JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT.


What your heroine most wants is snatched from her 

and dangled in front of her all through the story, just maddeningly inches from her grasp. 

 Each chapter brings it close only to snatch it away at the last minute.


6.) GRAB THE READER'S HEART IN THE FIRST FEW PARAGRAPHS.


It's called SAVING THE CAT from the book of the same name by Blake Synder.

The reader meets the main character in a simple scene 

that snags the reader's heartstrings, drawing him into investing in the hero:

A hungry street kid puts a stale hot dog bun to his lips, 

spots a starving puppy in the alley to his left, 

and instead feeds the bun to the little dog.

Grab them early and don't let them go.


7.)  MAKE IT INTERESTING

Give the heroine an occupation that most know little about 

but is crucial in the lives of us all and spin a wild take on it:

The Presidential Press Aide finds the DEAD body of the president in the make-up room before a press conference.  

In horror, he races to tell the First Lady not to go in, only to find her talking to the President!

It turns out the President has four clones of himself --

 all raised together from birth, trained in different areas to become the perfect president.

Only trouble is that one of them wants to be the ONLY husband to the First Lady!

Does this help you guys 
in some small way?


9 comments:

  1. I've been meaning to read Save the Cat for a long time, but have yet to do so. I need to put it on my list as the next craft book I get. Great tips all around!

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  2. That's right - Save the Cat early!
    You are so right about that grid. Our views are shaped by so many factors and what we consider facts may only be truths to us.

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  3. Hi, Roland,

    Nicely said. You really know how to turn a phrase, SIr. I'm not surprised.

    Hope all is well, my friend. Settling back here in the freezer zone again. I am playing catch and hopefully by next week I will get to your intro. SO SORRY it's taking me so long. Live is just a whirlwind for me and has been for months. I never seem to have enough time for anything.

    Time slips aways like the veils of mist hovering the ice- cubed Lake Michigan in the early morning hours.

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  4. Shannon:
    You won't be sorry if you read SAVE THE CAT.

    Alex:
    Sadly, what we think we know is true is based upon illusion and misconceptions. :-(

    Michael:
    I understand completely. Life is a harsh mistress, always seeming to demand, seldom rewarding!! :-)

    I hope it warms up soon for you. I look forward to your intro of RETURN OF THE LAST SHAMAN. :-)

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  5. As always, well said, Roland. And I really, really needed to read it today. Hope you are well.

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  6. Canyons:
    I KNOW you are having dental woes. That is hard to cope w with and write. Life sometimes plays rough. I pray that life let's up on you very soon. my own teeth are a source of pain. Now my insurance has lost my records! Ouch!

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  7. A hungry street kid puts a stale hot dog bun to his lips,
    spots a starving puppy in the alley to his left,
    and instead feeds the bun to the little dog. Later at the park, he and his friends eat the puppy.

    Hate the kid now? Do you really have to like the main character, or can being interesting be enough?


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  8. Thank You, Walter:
    You gave me the topic for my next post!! :-)

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