Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches us on page one. His bait? Oprah Winfrey.
A fisherman will spend hours throwing out into the lake one of the many trinkets he holds in his trusty tackle box "baiting" his catch-to-be. By trial and error, practice and perfection, the avid, alert fisherman builds strategy as to where his fish are hiding, when they eat, and what bait will draw his catch. Strategy produces success.
Dr. Phil? No different. A strategist. A master strategist from which we expect no less than expert strategy. And in his book, Life Strategies, we see this leader at work, both finding the fish and successfully baiting his catch-to-be. How, you ask?
Open this book and read. Page one, acknowledgments: Oprah, first sentence, third word, again in the second sentence and in the third. Introduction: Oprah, first sentence, second word, and a quick scan will give you almost thirty more. Chapter One: Oprah, twice in the first paragraph, once in the second paragraph, and fourth paragraph, Oprah, Oprah, Oprah. I'm drawn in and a bit curious. Who could be so lucky to have a hook like this one? It becomes a prosperous one as Dr. Phil "catches" enough to produce a best seller and an amazing career.
A "hook" is how you will draw your attention-deficit audience, and future fans, to continue reading your work.
Like the little fishes in the water, we need something to draw us. We swim around all day long ignoring the bits and pieces of rubbish floating around in front of our faces. But then, unexpected, we see a glimmer. It may be familiar or it may spark our curiosity. We swim over and nudge it here and there. If all else is going well--looks good, smells good, and holds our interest--we lunge at it. Set-the-hook success. Reel us in, cook us, sit back, and relax with your newfound fullness of a day well spent.
The first sentence in TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten reads, "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Our first thought may be, hmmm, familiar, I've thought about this too, or, unfamiliar, can't say I've ever wanted to kill anyone but, interesting, here's my chance to get into this head. "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Has one sentence set a glimmer through the muddied waters? Are you asking yourself, bring a gun where? Why? Has the sentence done it's job and propelled you to nudge the bait a little and read on?
"I thought about bringing a gun over there. Not just some little pistol. I had a statement to make. And a statement like this required one of those big shotguns..." Hmmm, one of those big shotguns? "One that would bring hell itself into the eyes of it's beholder." What? Why? What possibly could have brought on such horrid thoughts of revenge? These are the questions I hope you're asking because, like Dr. Phil and every other author out there competing for your time, I want to have at least tweaked your interest enough for you to lunge at my hook and read the book!
--------------------------
Tiffany Twist is the author of two books, TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten (June 2004 by Expert Publishing Inc.) and SOME DANCE: Hey Bartender, I'll take a decade of marriage on the rocks, a therapist straight up, and a fantasy guy with a twist (April 2005 by et al Publishing)
Tiffany has filmed for E! Television and Style Network's top rated "Diary of an Affair" to air in April and has currently been contacted by producers from both Oprah and Dr. Phil.
For more info and photos, visit http://www.tiffanytwist.com
reliable maid service Glenview ...IntroductionSince our early days of elementary education we have been... Read More
1. Write it fast, fix it later.2. Commit to writing... Read More
In the ten years that I've taught people how to... Read More
Self-examination sheds light on a writers motives, goals, and aspirations,... Read More
Freelance writer STANLEY BURKHARDT has a passion for animals. He... Read More
The works you've written are numerous, ranging from short stories... Read More
As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More
Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio... Read More
Weather posting a page to your Website, writing a letter... Read More
Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by... Read More
What to do when you get rejected.You've just finished your... Read More
You wrote a tips booklet. Maybe more than one. Oh... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Complete a character questionnaire for each of... Read More
In the beginning of your story you have to grab... Read More
Ever wondered how the most successful children's book writers get... Read More
Have you ever wondered how you can adapt your screenplay... Read More
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The... Read More
You are the only one who knows what being a... Read More
First impressions count in writing too! So it is always... Read More
ACCEPT, EXCEPT Not commonly seen even from unpublished writers, who... Read More
Sit back, and imagine what it feels like to be... Read More
What do you mean, you don't have a website yet?... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?By now you should have an idea... Read More
Picture this scene.Your hero is sitting in a bar. He's... Read More
I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms... Read More
Airbnb cleaning service Wilmette ...Making Money from Freelance WritingIt's the question that every aspiring... Read More
One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day... Read More
|| Graphology & Graphotherapy ||Everybody wants to know more about... Read More
Most writers are familiar with first and third points of... Read More
Around eighty percent of nonfiction books today are written by... Read More
About two weeks ago I received an article submissionthat immediately... Read More
Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an... Read More
In the words of Aristotle, "happiness is self contentedness helping... Read More
Is it possible to improve your writing instantly? The answer,... Read More
Writing papers and book reports has long been the bane... Read More
Readers often send me interesting and exciting e-mails about the... Read More
A few days ago, I critiqued a chapter for a... Read More
First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More
Choosing the wrong words can have a poor effect on... Read More
You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More
Complaint letters aren't always fun, but sometimes they need to... Read More
We all need a cheer squad.We all need people to... Read More
The tiniest things can be so useful when you come... Read More
Verb and SubjectIncorrect:"I bet you two had a fine time,"... Read More
1. Remember publication is a business; writing is an art.... Read More
One day in the mid-1970's a young man stumbled into... Read More
Punctuation, when used creatively, is powerful. Note, however, that when... Read More
Writing for the web is very different from writing for... Read More
How do you describe a scene without slowing down the... Read More
Self-examination is brutally honest. Self-indulgence is brutally maudlin.Writing requires the... Read More
Writing |