Monday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

CREATING STORY FLOW: THE SECRET POWER OF CAUSE AND EFFECT

By:  Karen Schravemade

I call the law of cause and effect a “secret power” because many writers have never stopped to think about it.

But I guarantee that each time you pick up a book, your reading experience is dramatically influenced by this one natural law.

We’ve all read books where the writing doesn’t seem to flow. Often you can’t put your finger on why. All you know is, the writing feels choppy, the phrasing awkward. You struggle to maintain your focus. Your mind continually wanders away from the page.

When you pick up a different book, however, the author engages your attention from the first page. The words flow so naturally and smoothly that you cease to think about the author’s voice at all. The story becomes an unstoppable current and you let yourself be swept along for the ride, fully immersed in the fictional world.

As authors, we all desire this second experience for our readers. And so we study diligently about how to hook our readers from the first line, how to escalate conflict, how to deepen characterization.

All of which are good, and immensely important.

But the whole shebang falls apart – and the reader will be wrenched from your storyworld without even knowing why – if you ignore the law of cause and effect.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

1. Writer Unboxed » 9 Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Promote Your Audiobook http://ow.ly/CieNK
2. Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Question: spending money on a publicist http://ow.ly/Cifb8
3. Confessions of a Mystery Novelist…If you only knew http://ow.ly/Cifgz
4. Defining Your Characters (Or Who Are These People, Anyway?) - Live Write Breathe http://ow.ly/Cifkd
5. Insecure Writer's Support Group: Adding Flesh to our Characters' Bones & IWSG Anthology News http://ow.ly/CifnM
6. Fiction University: Blessing Or Curse? The Modern Writer’s Dilemma http://ow.ly/CifuO
7. Author, Jody Hedlund: 3 Techniques to Keep in Mind When Setting the Stage http://ow.ly/Cifwr
8. The Ultimate Plotting Tool for Pantsers: Your Novel in 12 Sentences | Someday Box http://ow.ly/CifyE
9. NaNoWriMo Prep: Brainstorming the Hero Before You Start Writing | Writers In The Storm http://ow.ly/CifDQ
10. What the Editor Sees (That the Writer Does Not) | The Review Review http://ow.ly/CifHu
11. Read Memoirs to Understand Character Motivation http://ow.ly/CifJW
12. The Writers Alley: Creating story flow: the secret power of cause and effect http://ow.ly/CifMn
13. Four Ways To Win at the Book Selling Box Office! - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/Cii70
14. Emotional Description: 3 Common Problems with Show & Tell - WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS http://ow.ly/Cio6G
15. Writers on the Reality of Book Covers - Writer's Edit http://ow.ly/Cio90
16. Fallen Heroes – Creating characters by looking at real people - Writers Write http://ow.ly/Cioki
17. The 5 Attributes of a Successful Ghostwriter | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/CiolH
18. Writing fast and hard http://ow.ly/Cioow
19. How to Plan Your Book - Writer's Edit http://ow.ly/CiorC
20. Self-Editing Redux: Spot Checking » Writeonsisters.com http://ow.ly/CioG6
21. Writer Unboxed » Everything You Need to Know About the @Reply http://ow.ly/CioIW
22. 10 Twitter Tips for Authors (Infographic) - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/CioLs
23. 3 Things Your Novel’s Narrator Needs to Accomplish | WritersDigest.com http://ow.ly/CipVk
24. Writing Scenes v. Narration: Know the Difference | Linda S. Clare http://ow.ly/CipXb
25. WOW! Women On Writing Blog: How to Critique http://ow.ly/CipYG
26. Facebook Relaunches Atlas: This Week in Social Media | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/Ciq18
27. Anne R. Allen's Blog: Do Authors Obsess Too Much About Book Reviews? http://ow.ly/CiH1o

Happy writing and running, Kathy