Of the thirteen books nominated to the 2011 Booker Prize longlist, every single one involved the theme of death.

Plot Lines of Booker Nominees

Infographic by The Slow Journalism Company. Thanks to @donaldmiller for sharing it.

Of the twenty best short stories in the 2011 Best American Short Stories, half of them involved a character dying.

Think about your favorites novels or films? How many of them involve a death?

If you want to give yourself a better shot not just at being published but at writing a really good story, apparently you should write about death.

Do you write about death in your fiction? Why do you think stories involving death are so popular?

PRACTICE

Write a scene where a character dies.

Write for fifteen minutes. When you're finished, post your practice in the comments section. And if you post, please comment on a few other pieces.

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

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