Ask a male author about your male character traits or thoughts.

Amazon links to my stories: The Chess Master, Cinnamon & Sugar, Autumn Breeze, A More Perfect Union, Double Happiness, The Wolves of Sherwood Forest, Neanderthals and the Garden of Eden can be found down the right side of the blog. Another site very useful in categorizing books in their proper order is: https://www.booksradar.com/richard-rw/richard.html


Visit my website at: https://rwrichardnet.wordpress.com/

Sunday, July 8, 2018

Grandpopasaurus


I got out of the shower, dressed but didn’t comb my hair. A scary sight. I Facetimed my 10-year-old grandson who is visiting New York City. I introduced myself as a Grandpopasaurs and immediately intrigued him. I asked him what his favorite dinosaur at the natural history museum was. "Ankylaurus." "Why?" Kai said, “he has all these things coming out of his head (like you).” I asked him if the dinosaurs were running all over the place like in the movie? "No," but in his mind, they were tearing up the place and some were eating tourists.

It dawned on me that we should be doing that* up front in our novels. *Intriguing, turning on the reader’s imagination, fantasies. This transports them to your world. Books on writing all talk about developing empathy in the first chapter. I say don’t forget intriguing your reader as well.

This type of writing happens all the time in song. Lyricists must capture us during a 2 or 3-minute song.
Here's an example from song:
Shut Up and Dance, by Walk the Moon, 2014
I say, “this (newly met) woman is my destiny.”

She says, “shut up and dance with me.” Wow, you can read into this statement that she wants to dance, is attracted, doesn’t want him to put the horse before the cart, see where this leads naturally (in an earthy situation, etc. etc,). 

Two examples from novels:
Example 1 is from Neanderthals and the Garden of Eden, by RW Richard, 2006

EVENTS CONCERNING AND ON THE MORNING OF MAY 27 1942 PRAGUE.
Doctor Siegbert Singer, chief archeologist for the Reich and SS group leader used every advantage he could to stay alive in a world built on paranoia and literal backstabbing. The Nazis found his initials, SS, a sign of destiny. It helped his longevity. Therefore, he didn’t need encouragement when he pushed his only friend and fellow SS officer off the sheer southern cliff of Twin Summits Mountain. …“you should try skiing today, Max. Auf Wiedersehen.” 

 Example 2 is from Natural Born Charmer, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips, 2007]
It wasn’t every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of the road, not even in Dean Robillard’s larger-than-life world. “Son of a…” Dean slammed the brakes of his brand-new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her. 

I’d love to hear your intriguing, engaging hook.

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