by James Scott Bell
@jamesscottbell
There were two ad campaigns in the last twenty years I truly loved.
The first was the “I’m a Mac and I’m a PC” spots. They featured Justin Long as the “cool guy” who was the Mac, and John Hodgman as the stuffy PC guy. Mac sales zoomed after this. Microsoft’s answer was to roll out Vista. We know how that went.
You can watch all the ads here.
The other campaign was “The Most Interesting Man in the World” for Dos Equis.
A typical spot featured “vintage film” of the man in various pursuits, while a narrator recites a few facts about him, such as:
- In a past life he was himself.
- If opportunity knocks and he’s not home, opportunity waits.
- He once had an awkward moment, just to see how it feels.
- The police often question him, just because they find him interesting.
- When in Rome, they do as he does.
The commercials finish with the man sitting in a bar surrounded by beautiful people. He looks into the camera and, with a slight Spanish accent, says, “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do I prefer Dos Equis…Stay thirsty, my friends.”
In both your fiction and your “author presence” on social media and email marketing, dullness is the kiss of death.
Fiction
I’m going to suggest that “interesting” in fiction is a category unto itself so it doesn’t get lost amongst all the other craft studies we do around here. Think of it as an added spice, a little extra that draws a reader further in. Specifically, it’s tied to what characters do.
Stephen King, in On Writing, says readers love learning about work, the details of a character’s vocation. You can start with what you know. My courtroom background allows me to show the ins and outs of trials, criminal procedure, search and seizure law, plea bargains and the like. But I also like to learn about other work (via research, interviews, etc.) and render it on the page. Yes, it’s an effort, but it pays off. If I’m interested and can convey that on the page, the readers will be interested, too.
A particular skill the character has can also be of interest, especially if it helps said character at a crucial moment. I love that device in the Ron Howard movie Willow. The hero of the story, little Willow Ufgood, is an amateur magician who, early on, does his “disappearing pig trick.” It goes comically wrong as the piglet squeals out from under the stage. But in the climactic battle with the evil Bavmorda, Willow performs the trick to save the baby Elora from her clutches.
Give us those kinds of details and the fictive dream will be all the richer.
Author Presence
Of course, we all have to present ourselves to the digital world now. And at each stage—from websites to blogs to podcasts, newsletters and emails—we need to find ways to hold readers’ interest because they are inundated with content competing for attention.
So…be interesting. Don’t just give us thinly veiled iterations of “Hey, my new book is out! I’m excited about it, and I think you will be, too!”
I have a newsletter on Substack that is purely for entertainment but also provides information I think many readers will find interesting. Our own Terry Odell offers travel and other nuggets on her Substack.
A little humor always helps. Dean Koontz’s newsletter always has a little fun before giving his soft-sell pitch. Here’s how one began:
Dear Readers,
I’m thinking of making a career change, taking on something that’s intellectually challenging like miniature golf or hot-dog-eating contests. I don’t know what it is, but I feel as if life is passing me by, as if I have less time remaining than I did when I was 20, which makes no sense. Maybe it’s the mid-life crisis I never had, coming on me later than it does with most men. That would make sense, because I held on to infancy until I was 25.
A personal story rendered in singular style is also gold. Our Reavis Wortham specializes in such tales. (I can’t help thinking of “most interesting man in the world” squibs for Rev, e.g. “His moustache has its own zip code”…”Stetsons line up to audition for his head.”)
Stay interesting, my friends.
Do you give details of work/vocation in your fiction? Have you gone beyond your knowledge base to find out about a particular line of work?
In your social media and newsletter, what do you do to keep things interesting?
With a background in psychology, especially forensic psychology, my first crime thriller novel, Shadows of Love, Betrayal & Murder, will be published in November 2025. It does center around a serial killer and many crime scenes. Even with my background, I did extensive research to make sure what I wrote was accurate. I also spent a few days with CSU techs and saw how they progressed crime scenes. I saw two dead bodies, murder victims, when I was out with them. That was interesting.
Oh yeah, that’s interesting by definition. And eerie. Good luck with the book.
I’m not active in social media, but my series leader Domicile 41 shows my protagonist at work building street rods and muscle cars for show. His plight is always being torn away from his love of resculpted cars (mine too) to solve a crime. There’s just a sprinkle of SoCal hotrod culture to show where his heart lies, but the main thrust is his second life as a certified marine investigator probing the seamy side of Los Angeles. (Is there a bright side anymore?)
I’ll keep looking, Dan.
Jim, I always appreciate interesting bonus info in stories, like your legal details. A former critique group partner calls these “value-added” tidbits. They aren’t necessarily the focus of the story but they often come into play in significant ways during the plot.
Part of the enjoyment of reading for me is learning something I didn’t know before.
Yes, I often ask for help experts in various fields from deep fakes, to fire lookout towers, to drones, etc. I used to be hesitant to “bother” professionals but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how generous and willing experts are to share their experience. Buy ’em a cup of coffee or a beer, and they’ll tell you everything they know about their area of expertise. Probably even things they shouldn’t tell you!
Yes, people do love to talk about their work. Even cops, but you have to gain their trust first for obvious reasons. I’ve had the good fortune to get to know several.
I had a blast putting in details about working in public libraries in my Meg Booker series, and showing what a juggling act it can be. Plus all the fun of using the library to find out useful information.
Being interesting to me is being yourself and sharing your own unique perspective and interests. It can be hard for many, because it can feel inauthentic if you feel you aren’t showing an interesting aspect of who you are.
Right, Dale. But even mundane details can be interesting in a story context… in the hands of a skilled author, of course.
In “Absence of Evidence,” my second story in Mystery Weekly Magazine, the bad guy used programming and workflow management principles to commit murder and ALMOST get away with it. It was a blast applying techniques from my own work experience.
If the author has a blast, it’s more likely the readers will have a blast, too.
“Programming and workflow management principles to commit murder” – I need to read that story.
I appreciate that, Kay. It appeared in the April, 2021 issue.
Is it available online?
(I can’t help thinking of “most interesting man in the world” squibs for Rev, e.g. “His mustache has its own zip code”…”Stetsons line up to audition for his head.”)
Snort… 🙂
Being the novice that I am, and not a crime/thriller writer, I can’t present anything I’ve written as examples of this subject…BUT, as a reader I appreciate an author who gives the character an interesting skill.
JSB and Mr. Gilstrap, and another author I’ve recently added to my list, Andrew Turpin, are fine examples of that.
Thanks for teaching me and keeping me entertained at the same time…
Have a great Sunday!
Thanks for giving us a reader’s perspective, Deb. And I appreciate the positive snort.
Great post—thanks for the reminder that “interesting” isn’t just a nice-to-have, but essential both on and off the page.
In my fiction, I absolutely lean into work details. And again, thank you for giving me something to think about as I go about the craft.
Thanks for stopping by, Ben. We love talking craft here at TKZ.
Do you give details of work/vocation in your fiction? Yes. From software developer Kathryn to pilot Cassie to 10-year-old, tree-climbing novelist Reen, they’re all areas of my past life that I loved and want to write about.
Have you gone beyond your knowledge base to find out about a particular line of work? Yes. Policemen, firemen, and military veterans have been very generous with their time and information. I’m grateful.
Experts like that are pure gold.
I recall reading a Big Pub Thriller that has a SWAT team in the opening chapter doing things a SWAT team would never do in a scene they would never be called to. When I had a SWAT scene I ran it by a police captain who sent me straight.
Since I don’t write series mystery fiction, I give my main character a job that allows him/her to have the free time to have an adventure. One heroine was a teacher whose summer job as a nanny turned into a rescue mission when the kids are kidnapped. Really rich characters have far more freedom than an office drone. I will also use knowledge from the job to help in various situations. Another character was an architect who figured out the safest place to be when her mountain cabin exploded. Figuring out jobs that fit the story possibilities is a lot of fun.
I used to refer to a great big database of occupations to find something obscure but interesting. That was fun. I’d really like to write a thriller about a pyrotechnication sometime.
Do it before sparkly drones take over.
I usually give my hero/heroine a career I would love to do…like the cat burglar in my Memphis Cold Case novels who was a rock climber and climbed buildings to break-in, all in the name of security of course. On that series, I had the actual Memphis cold case detective on speed dial.
I love for my villains to blow up things so I get to research that because they must have the knowledge to know how to do it. Writing is such fun when I’m not pulling my hair out…
Larry Block had a series featuring a cat burglar who ran an antique bookstore. He obviously had a lot of fun with those.
Unlike Jonathan Goldsmith’s “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” I never freed an angry bear from a bear trap, or bench pressed two young women, or managed to slam a revolving door.
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No angry bear story to tell. Though I did free a dog’s tongue from a dog food can that the attached lid had been pushed into. Quickly found that I would lose a finger or two if the dog remained conscious. After sedating the dog with an ether soaked rag using an aerosol can labeled “engine starting fluid.” Piece of cake. Well, except for the girl who thought I killed her dog. Got pummeled rather severely. Eventually the dog came to and walked like a drunk. The girl laughed and forgave me.
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Haven’t had the pleasure of bench pressing two young women but I did “Date 25 Girls in One Evening” on more than one occasion. Wasn’t my idea. They needed a way to escape the confines of their finishing school which was determined to keep these top shelf girls away from guys like me, commoners. Has to be told as fiction because no one would believe it and my IP lawyer says I will get sued otherwise.
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Never managed to slam a revolving door, but I did calm down a lynch mob. Residents of 3 little towns were very unhappy about being forced from their homes due to an explosion and fire at a nearby chemical plant. I was supposed to be the sacrificial goat, but I was able to calm them down and who would have thought, by the evening we were all best friends.
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My dust jacket author bio from my first novel:
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Intrigue seems to have a way of finding B. L. David. A peaceful airline flight landed with him in the aisle on top of a hijacker, both bloodied.
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A 3 a.m. phone call reported a coup halfway around the world. Marshal the forces to deal with it.
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National security breach at LAX, plug it.
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Relaxing family vacation, drop everything to fly a thousand miles and face down a lynch mob.
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After moving 32 times, troubleshooting and traveling across the U.S., parts of Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, he now calls the Northeast U.S. home.
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Growing up in Oklahoma and Texas, he earned an arts degree, supplementing it with creative writing classes taught by notable authors such as James Scott Bell, Dan Brown, James Patterson, and Amy Tan, among others. BS and MS engineering degrees were acquired along the way.
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On Dating 25 Girls in One Evening is his first novel. And no, speed dating wasn’t a thing a half century ago.
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Note to Dr. Bell, if you don’t want to have your name associated with my first novel attempt, please let me know and I’ll remove it. The reports and beta reader feedback are very promising but without some luck, this “experimental plane” may not clear the fence at the end of the runway and just crash and burn.
Now there is a writer having fun. And being interesting. Nicely done, Lars. And thanks for the shout out.
My sweet wife gifted me a copy of your Great Course “How to Write Best-Selling Fiction.” It remain prominently placed on a shelf above my writing space. The DVD set and book were instrumental in putting order and structure to my 737,000 words that found their way onto the page. The first book weighing in at 130,000 words due to initial world building. Others in the double trilogy will be shorter.
Marketing research has been completed as well as beta reader feedback, both very positive. Several other ducks to get in line and then we’ll see what happens.
You sound like Dr. Ronald Chevalier, author of all ten Cyborg Harpy trilogies.