I’m at this hoity-toity coffeeshop, right?
Just trying to inject some sweet, sweet caffeine into my veins and wrestle with the squirming, otherworldly creatures of my next series of posts, ideas and books.
When suddenly, this starry-eyed, enthusiastic fan comes bouncing up to me like a sugar-rushed squirrel.
“Oh my word, are you Stephen Walker? THE Stephen-Walker?”
[Silence for a second]
I’m like, “You caught me, my friend. Resident silly goose, squirrel tamer, and creative mischief-maker, at your service.”
This guy starts singing praises about how my storytelling advice has transformed his writing game.
He’s all, “Man, your tips on crafting unforgettable characters and building immersive worlds have straight-up supercharged my fiction skills!”
We chat for a bit, geeking out over our favourite fantasy series and debating whether adverbs are the linguistic equivalent of a stale cookie.
He tries to buy my coffee, but I’m like, “Nah, dude, I got this. Gotta fuel the ol’ imagination machine somehow.”
As we part ways, it hits me: this guy felt like he knew me, like we were old pals trading tales over a cozy campfire.
But we’ve never met. Heck, we haven’t even swapped a single Twitter high-five.
So, how did he feel so connected to me?
It’s because I’ve been weaving stories and sharing my hard-earned writing wisdom with him (and you) through my tales, blogs, and mildly caffeinated twitter musings.
And yeah, that little coffeeshop encounter? Total fiction.
But don’t get your knickers in a knot. There’s a method to my madness.
This is a demonstration.
I want you to take a closer look at this tall tale. Can you see the strings I’m pulling, the emotional beats I’m hitting? Do you get why I’m weaving this particular web of words?
Do you want to learn how to do this too, how to craft stories that grab readers by the heartstrings and don’t let go until they’re begging for more (and maybe even throwing their hard-earned cash at you) ?
Well, if you stick around and keep reading these emails.
You’ll be creating your own propaganda in no time and people will line up to throw their coins at you.
Stephen Walker.
P.S. Check out Writing Dynamite Story Hooks by Jackson Dean Chase if you want to indoctrinate a few new tricks up your sleeve in the mean time.