Why The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a Bestseller

The Heath brothers released a book a few years back called MADE to STICK. In it they detail what makes ideas stick dubbed their SUCCESs Model: Simple Unexpected Concrete Credible Emotional Story I’ve not read the book or seen either version of the movie, but I have heard of it and am glad Michelle blogged [...]

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11 WRITERS LATER: How 20th Exec Alex Young Lost Control Of ‘The A-Team’

Source: 11 WRITERS LATER: How 20th Exec Alex Young Lost Control Of ‘The A-Team’ by Nikki Finke. Wow. Just read it. And if you’re a writer, weep. Here’s the money quote (which is not from this article but quoted in it): Beginning with the sound era, studios and films producers have longed for a way [...]

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Why I Write

Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4 (NKJV) This verse doesn’t necessarily mean you get what you want, that God is purely in the business of wish fulfillment. It can also mean that God puts a new desire inside you. I think the [...]

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More Tips For A Great Storyline

Sources: The One-Sentence Summary, WINNERS: The One-Sentence Summary Contest, and One-Sentence Summary Critiques & Tips by Rachelle Gardner Rachelle Gardner offered the following advice for constructing good storylines on several recent blog posts. A one-sentence summary (also called a storyline) is about 25 words that capture the essence of what your book is about. It [...]

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Plutchik’s Eight Primary Emotions And How To Use Them (Part 2 of 2)

[Guest-posted on Forensics and Faith by Brandilyn Collin] Last time I introduced you to Robert Plutchik‘s emotions. Today we’ll talk about blending the eight basic emotions and how to use them in our writing. The color wheel (GIF Image) from last time doesn’t show any blending beyond neighboring emotions. These are listed between the “petals” in the [...]

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Plutchik’s Eight Primary Emotions And How To Use Them (Part 1 of 2)

[Guest-posted on Forensics and Faith by Brandilyn Collin] Randy Ingermanson once said that people read books because they want to have an emotional experience. While that’s certainly true of “Twilight”, I think it holds true for all books. Even books about negative characters can be interesting to us because of their emotional content due to [...]

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How To Write Deceptively Without Being Deceptive

[Author's Note: This post is now outdated. Read the expanded and updated version.] It’s an age-old problem: How to share information in a novel without readers picking up on your clues until the reveal at the end. Here are some strategies I’ve picked up on: Hide clues in plain sight. Duh. Most people are not [...]

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How to Write (Fantasy) Slang

Adam Heine at Author’s Echo recently published a series of 4 posts on how to write fantasy slang. They are: Fantasy Slang: Origins of Slang, Part I Covers: Euphemism, Metaphor, Reverse Meaning Fantasy Slang: Origins of Slang, Part II Covers: Jargon, Shortening, Swearing Fantasy Slang: Building a Lexicon Covers: Building a Lexicon, Understanding the Culture, [...]

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