3 Powerful Ways to Hook Your Reader With Emotion

3 Powerful Ways to Hook Your Reader With Emotion

In college, I majored in communication, and the first thing I learned is that communication is a two-way street—it needs a sender and a receiver. As writers, we are senders, and our readers are receivers. But what are we communicating?

Stories, at their core, are a medium for communicating many things, but chief among them is emotion. That means one of the best ways to hook your reader is through emotion.

In this post, you will learn how to hook your reader with emotion, how people experience emotion through reading and three tips to cultivate that emotion through your writing. Then, we’ll end with a creative writing exercise you can use to apply these lessons right away.

How This Writer Changed the World With His Story

How This Writer Changed the World With His Story

Every writer has a dream. It’s what compels you to write in the early hours of the morning, after everyone has gone to bed, in the spare minutes you steal away during the day. It’s what motivates you when you’re stuck in the middle of a story, wondering whether the grueling work of writing is truly worth it.

Is writing worth it? Yes.

Are your stories worth telling? Absolutely, yes.

And if you pursue your dreams and dare to write, can your writing change the world? Definitely.

Why Quitting NaNoWriMo Hurts More Than Just Your Writing

Why Quitting NaNoWriMo Hurts More Than Just Your Writing

Writing a novel in a month is a wonderful idea. But it’s hard for a multitude of reasons, and the temptation to give up and just “do it over time” can be really appealing, especially as we approach Day 8 of the journey.

I know it’s hard. But quitting, or choosing to simply abstain, is the worst thing you can do right now if you have a passion for writing.

Write About Your City: Writing Prompt

Today's writing prompt challenges you to write about your city, no matter how big or small. Use this prompt to explore the particular flavor of a real city or a fictional city if you prefer. Years ago I had the opportunity to inteview poet Paul Willis when he was the...
6 Creative Ways to Strengthen Your Story Idea

6 Creative Ways to Strengthen Your Story Idea

Coming up with a story idea isn’t hard. Coming up with a story idea that hits it out of the park, fires on all cylinders, and has never been done before is. In fact, it’s the equivalent of winning the lottery—an unlikely event that can burn up your resources if you’re not careful.

Can Constrained Writing Make You a Better Writer?

Can Constrained Writing Make You a Better Writer?

Before we talk about the concept of constrained writing and tell you how it works, let me ask you this: Have you ever opened a new blank document to write, stared at it for far too long, and then realized you have no ideas, that your mind is as blank as the page you’re trying to write on? What if you could double or triple the number of ideas you have, not by doing something extra but by taking something away?

That’s what constrained writing is about: taking away options so that you can actually be more creative.