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Tension proves just how engaged readers can be with literature. To take words on a page and translate them into that urgent, nail-biting worry requires great writing and a true emotional engagement from the reader. Tense scenes leave the reader both desperate to turn the page and afraid to. Tension is the most immediate form of reader engagement and one of the most visceral. But how do you …
[Read more...] about 10 Facts That Tell You How To Use Tension In Your Story
At university, we used to call it “WABing”—Work Avoidance Behavior—all the random excuses we would think of to avoid studying. Let’s see, there was washing the dishes before they were removed by cleaning staff in haz-mat suits, cooking up gourmet meals with a packet of rice, a lemon and some cheese and, best of all, removing the gherkins from Big Macs and throwing them onto the ceiling to see if …
[Read more...] about Writing Avoidance Behavior: Here’s How To Overcome It
Your book’s opening is a strange hybrid, being both the last threshold of the sale and the beginning of the story. It can be difficult to strike a balance between writing something that gets a book bought and also works as the start of a novel. The key in both cases is to write your opening as a ‘hook’: a passage which grabs the reader’s attention and makes them want to read more. Of course …
[Read more...] about The Four Story Openings That Put People Off (And How To Avoid Them)
Every reader has had that ‘wow’ moment when they put down a book. The moment when a story’s climax is so stunning that it can’t be absorbed right away. Such stories are few and far between but when they come along, they stay with your for days. Trying to write that kind of climax is difficult and risky. Like an extreme sport there’s the thinnest of margins between being rewarded for your daring …
[Read more...] about Here’s How To Write A Killer Climax That Leaves Readers Breathless
There’s nothing quite like a murder mystery, with its blend of high stakes, high tension, and the ability to personally involve the reader as a detective. The best murder mysteries blend the feeling of a great read with the feeling of playing a game. Can the reader figure out the solution before it’s revealed? But with any game, it’s essential that both sides know the rules. For all the variety …
[Read more...] about Understanding The Essentials Of Writing A Murder Mystery
It’s generally agreed that humor is the hardest thing to write. There is no other area of writing less forgiving of error or more readily derided by dissatisfied readers: It takes a genius to make people laugh. - Stephen King And yet comedy is such a useful tool for a writer, no matter what genre you work in. Characters with a sense of humor are more interesting and relatable, and otherwise …
[Read more...] about The 3 Types Of Humor Your Story Needs
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