Body Language - Eyes
Looking Sideways
People who look to the sides a lot are nervous, lying, or distracted. However, if a person looks away from the speaker, it could display a level of comfort or indicate submissiveness. Looking askance generally means the person is distrustful or unconvinced.
Looking Downwards
If someone looks down at the floor a lot, they are probably shy or timid. People also tend to look down when they are upset, or trying to hide something emotional. People are often thinking and feeling unpleasant emotions when they are in the process of staring at the ground.
However, some cultures believe that looking at someone in the eyes is a sign of disrespect, or is only done with intimate friends or family, so this could explain why someone is avoiding eye contact with you.
Wide or Dilated Pupils
Dilated pupils mean that the person is interested. Keep in mind, however, that many substances cause pupils to dilate, including alcohol, cocaine, and LSD others. Don’t mistake having a few drinks for attraction.
If their eyes seem focused far away, that usually indicates that a person is in deep thought or not listening.
Twinkle in the Eyes
When you talk to a person about something that interests them a lot then you will notice a twinkle in their eyes.
Source for Image and information
(Source: writerswrite.co.za)
How to write a synopsis
Most writers dread writing query letters and synopses. We hope this infographic makes it easier for you.
From Writers Write
1. Complete a detailed biography of your protagonist and antagonist.
2. List the changes you’re going to inflict on these two characters.
3. Start your book when something meaningful happens. This is called the inciting moment. It should be shocking, exciting, and interesting.
4. Never start with back story.
5. Create conflict from page one. Your characters need problems and reasons to solve them.
6. Show motivation. Great characters want to achieve their goals more than anything and will pursue them at any cost. What are your characters most afraid of losing? Make them fight for it. Desperately. Irrationally.
7. Tell a story in scenes. Scenes hold a story together. The number of scenes depends on your chosen genre, and your novel’s length.
8. You should have one plot, and one subplot.
9. Fiction needs a Dark Night of the Soul. Move your story to the moment when things look impossibly bleak for your protagonist. This is usually a few pages before the end of your book.
10. Create an outline. It doesn’t have to be detailed but everything in life works better when you have a plan.
from Writers Write by Amanda Patterson.
Quote from The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith Jr.
The hero of the story – understanding antagonists
One of the problems with plotting…
Many beginner writers struggle with plotting. This is because they don’t have an antagonist. In Writers Write we teach that the antagonist is not necessarily a bad person. The antagonist is the character whose story goal is the opposite of the protagonist.
This diagram illustrates this perfectly. Each of these characters is the hero of his or her own story. Without an antagonist your hero will wallow in his or her thoughts for 80 00 words.
Source for Image
From Writers Write - How to write a novel by Amanda Patterson
The ghost writer provides an interesting service to the world of stories. After all, a book is written by the ghost writer but someone else gets the credit.
‘The book just seemed to write itself,’ the author will tell the press and adoring fans. And, the ghost writer will sit in the wings, the Cinderella of the literary world.
Writing Tip:
The easiest person to kill in a novel is the love interest. The main purpose of the love interest is to show your hero’s character. Many novelists use this technique as it creates sympathy for your protagonist and motivates him, or her, to act.
From Writers Write
We are often asked if characters should describe themselves at Writers Write. We are asked how they could describe themselves. When we came across this post by Stephanie Orges, we wanted to share some of her ideas with you. (If you want to read the full article, follow the link at the end)
Six Ways First Person Narrators Can Describe Themselves
By Stephanie Orges
1. Don’t describe him at all
Do your readers have to know what the protagonist looks like to understand the plot? If not, consider leaving it out altogether.
2. Give it to your reader straight
If you are actually telling the story with frequent quirky asides to your “dear reader”, your hero can simply describe himself during introductions. But be warned: don’t try to force it if this isn’t your style.
3. Embarrass them
Make them self-conscious about a physical flaw. She only smiles close-mouthed because she’s embarrassed by the gap in her teeth. He wishes he had biceps like the head jock.
4. Compare and contrast with another character
‘My daughter has my crooked smile, but her father’s blue eyes’. These can even create a poetic effect, as you can simultaneously compare and contrast personality traits as well.
5. Use dialogue
Her best friend gently explains dark roots are out of fashion. His father remarks he really ought to cut his hair (he looks like a hippie). Her enemy asks if she’s a natural redhead. Use compliments and nicknames.
6. Show, don’t tell
If they are short, have them struggle to reach something most others could get. If tall, have them duck through doorways. If they are unattractive, make them self-conscious around people of the opposite sex. Your hero’s appearance is reflected in the way other characters react to it.
Read the full article: Source
Source for Image
Analysing Agatha - How to become the best-selling novelist of all time
Agatha Christie wrote 85 books that sold between two and four billion copies.
The Agatha Christie Code
According to UNESCO, she is the most translated author in the history of the world. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized her as the Best Selling Author in any genre of all time. See the list of the Top 10 Best-Selling Authors here.
Note: Shakespeare was left out of this comparison, because he wrote plays and not novels. Even so, the best he can do is match Agatha Christie’s sales numbers.
What is Agatha Christie’s secret to success?
There is a link between the success of Agatha Christie and Plain Language.
The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. ~Thomas Jefferson
Dame Agatha seems to have mastered that talent. In The Agatha Christie Code, a team of professional linguists in England analysed Dame Agatha’s way with words.
The experts agree that she has a hypnotic style, but it is her use of patterns and plain language that make her so readable.
In Plain Language
Dr Pernilla Danielsson explains her success by her use of Plain Language.
An excellent example is that Christie almost exclusively uses the word ‘said’. (Novice authors often try to use silly synonyms when said is the perfect choice.) She doesn’t introduce new words, but makes the reader comfortable with her use of everyday language. She doesn’t challenge the reader with big words, and long convoluted sentences. She doesn’t bore the reader with unnecessary descriptions. The reader is free to enjoy the story by focusing on the plot.
Her books also follow a formula
They are all similar in style, word length, and sentence length. Take Evil Under the Sun as an example. This novel follows her classic formula:
- There is a body, very early on
- There is a closed group of suspects, either because of setting or social group
- The detective arrives
- We are taken through a series of red herrings
- There is a solution, and closure
Excerpts from The Agatha Christie Code
But how many other best-selling authors use plain language?
Agatha Christie is not the only author to have realised the value of using Plain Language. In Fiction Writer’s Brainstormer, James V. Smith explains exactly how the best-selling authors succeed.
A Writing Standard
After studying authors like Stephen King, John Grisham, Danielle Steele, and Elmore Leonard, he came up with this as an ideal writing standard (if you want to sell your books).
You should have (on average):
- no more than four characters a word in any scene
- no more than 5% passive voice
- no less than 80% readability on the Flesch-Kincaid scale
- no higher than a 5th grade readability level on the Flesch-Kincaid scale
This is writing in plain language. If you want to communicate, I recommend you try it. If you want to sell lots of books, I recommend you apply this formula. On our creative course, Writers Write, we teach you exactly how to do this.
by Amanda Patterson from Writers Write
