Welcome to the fifth installment of “Becoming a Better 
Writer” An investigation into the art of creativity – in 
ten easy lessons!

ASIDE: Before we go on, I want to mention quickly that 
I’ve released another book. (I think I’ve already 
mentioned I’m a writing junkie!)

This one’s about Internet Marketing – specifically about 
writing and selling ebooks on the web. People tell me 
they love it.

Now, I know not everyone is interested in this kind of 
thing, which is fine with me!

However, if you’ve ever thought about writing for profit 
go to: 
http://www.howtobeaninternetguru.com 

No obligation, but it does have a *320%* guarantee! 

Check it out. Thanks.

“The first step toward having your own bestseller is to 
write it!”
Go to: http://www.easywaytowrite.com/novel.html

Lesson 5:

An Act of Magic.

You have thoughts. You write them down as words. 
Later, others read them and your thoughts become 
theirs. Spooky, eh?

I’m sure it was once, when the Druids roamed prehistoric 
Europe, exchanging information in the form of archaic 
symbols. 

I imagine the illiterate masses looked on with awe 
and not a little fear, convinced these markings the 
magicians called “words” had power in themselves.

It’s interesting that the echo of the magical context 
of writing is still with us, contained in the word 
“spell”, with its double meaning. 

If you think about it, the question, “How do you SPELL 
that?” literally means, “How do you conjure that image 
with symbols?”

The science of semiotics is a broad subject – one that 
is way outside the scope of these lessons, but I want 
to share with you its basic premise:

Ahem. The human brain needs to NAME something before 
it becomes REAL. 

The idea is that, before something is named, it doesn’t 
really exist because either our awareness of it is too 
dim to understand it, or, if we haven’t noticed it yet, 
it might as well not be there.
 
BTW, I’m not making this up, honest, this is Major 
level philosophy! 

Anyway, the important thing is that once named an object 
can then “exist” to someone who hasn’t actually seen it!

This is a pretty neat trick, unique to the human race, 
but also one we take completely for granted. 

It’s only words that make this possible.

And it’s also why writing works.

Your job as a fiction writer is to place invented objects, 
images and emotions into other people’s heads. Do this 
well and your career will prosper. 

Good writing is a form of hypnosis. You use the rhythm of 
words to put your readers into a kind of trance, so that 
they are more receptive to your ideas. 

When a reader is happy to experience this, they are said 
to be in the “fictive dream”.

In order to keep your reader “entranced”, there must be 
nothing in your writing that might startle them out of 
this dream. 

Your reader must trust you and be able to give over 
their imagination to you. You, in turn, must honor 
that trust by playing by the “rules” of good storytelling. 

I cover the “rules” in detail in “The Easy Way to Write 
a Novel” but in general terms, anything that jars the 
reader out of their dream is bad. 

There’s one technique in particular that can destroy 
a reader’s confidence in your storytelling skills.

“Authorial intrusion” is where you express a personal 
opinion about a character, situation or scene. Or 
where you describe anything your characters could 
not be aware of. 

Although you, the author, is considered to be an 
omniscient viewer and recorder of events, you must 
also be seen to be objective – and invisible. Though 
it would seem to contradict common sense, the reader 
should be unaware of you, the writer.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase, “Willing 
suspension of disbelief”. This is the state of 
consciousness you’re after. 

The reader “knows” that they’re being told a story 
but, because, they like and trust you, they are 
willing to make a slight shift in their minds and 
accept what you’re saying as the truth - for the 
time being.  

Therefore, during storytelling, you must never break 
the spell - that word again – by offering witty asides, 
stating your views or commenting on the action. 

Of course, rules are made to be broken. There are times 
when authorial intrusion does work.

Some authors use it as a way of introducing a story but 
quickly retire to the sidelines. A technique as old 
as storytelling itself! 

Others use it at the end of a story, to wrap up events 
like some movie voice over. It works sometimes - as long 
as you don’t sound over smart or condescending!

But if you really want your reader’s trust, keep them 
in the fictive dream. Let them live the characters and 
situations without distraction. Let them enjoy the 
feeling of being swept along by a story and taken out 
of themselves for a while.

They’ll love you for it.

2004 robparnell

This is the fifth of ten short lessons on “Becoming a 
Better Writer.” They arrive weekly. You may unsubscribe 
at any time – but of course, I’d much prefer if you 
didn’t!

Also, you may like to forward this email to writers 
and colleagues who might find it interesting, fun 
and educational. No problem but - no editing please!

Best regards and keep writing.

Don’t forget, you can contact me for advice, information 
and indeed, for any reason at
rob@easywaytowrite.com

PS: Next time, the secret key to making your books 
“unputdownable”! 

Till then, keep well and happy.

Ciao

 

One-Click Safe Un-Subscribe
http://secure.MakeBuyingEasy.com/r.cgi?ID=55590

Powered by MakeBuyingEasy.com
 http://MakeBuyingEasy.com/x.cgi?id=730






       DeleteReplyForwardSpam Move...