Is that you, Deb?
If you could magically transform yourself into any character you’ve read, written, or watched, who would you become?
Oh, me first?
Galadriel, of course!
Your turn . . .
Reader Friday-Who Am I?
35
Category Archives: #writerslife
How Much Does Your Environment Influence Your Writing?
You may have noticed my absence on the weekends lately. This summer, I vowed to take some “me time” and have fun away from the keyboard.
So, I’ve been spending my weekends on the seacoast of Massachusetts. I grew up two towns over from where I’m staying, so the area will forever have a special place in my heart.
When I first started writing, I focused on children’s books. Once I left the seacoast, I stopped writing for many years. Life, work, and bills got in the way. It wasn’t until I moved to New Hampshire that the writing bug bit me again. This time with a focus on thrillers. During my career, I’ve written psychological thrillers, ventured into true crime/narrative nonfiction, then combined my lifelong passion for wildlife conservation and veered into eco-thrillers, the genre I write in now.
As I stood on the seacoast that first weekend, staring at the same view of the Atlantic Ocean from my youth and young adulthood, I had an overwhelming desire to write children’s books again. With the wisdom and knowledge of life experience behind me, I decided to use the same theme as in my eco-thrillers only geared toward young, impressionable minds — Animals are guardians of ecosystems and caretakers of Mother Earth, but they can’t do their job if we keep destroying their environment (or hunting them to extinction).
*Side note: theme should organically emerge from the storyline. No one wants or needs the writer to stand on a soapbox. Let the characters actions and reactions reveal the theme.
The following weekend I outlined the story from start to finish, the salt air and melodic melody of waves powering my desire to help future generations by delivering an exciting plot with animal characters they can relate to, learn from, and love. When I drove home on Monday morning, and the seacoast vanished from my rearview, my mind reverted to action-packed eco-thrillers and vigilante justice.
A longtime friend asked how I could make the switch from kids to adults so easily. My response? Location.
The question made me wonder if other writers experience this.
How much does our environment influence the stories we write?
Would you write in the same genre if you lived in a different area?
If you’d stay in the same genre, would a different environment change the type of characters you create?
Lastly, if I hadn’t written children’s books when I lived on the seacoast, would the Atlantic Ocean propel me to write them now?
Maybe, maybe not.
After I wrote the first draft of a wild and fun adventure for kids, I researched some of these questions. And here’s what I found.
From the Ripple Foundation:
Your environment directly affects different aspects of your writing, from your style to the topics you write about. Through experience, your surroundings, such as location, atmosphere, and culture play a significant role in your writing.
Writing is an artistic medium which can change based on the environment you are writing in… Writing in places where you may have emotional and cultural ties can help you easily communicate your feelings.
That certainly held true for me.
The ambience of your environment is a powerful characteristic that can affect your writing. Your brain constantly picks up information from your surroundings, and your senses affect your thinking. Things like air temperature, environment, weather, and odours are processed subconsciously by you.
The human brain never ceases to amaze me. Salt air and the ambiance of the Atlantic reignited my passion to write for children.
From Brainly.ph…
The environment in which a writer lives can shape their perspective, attitudes, beliefs, and values, which can, in turn, influence the themes and messages in their literary works. For example, the Romantic poets were heavily influenced by the natural beauty of their surroundings, and their works often reflected their appreciation of nature and the importance of individual experience.
The physical environment of a region can also influence the literature that emerges from it. For instance, writers living in harsh, rural environments may draw on their experiences of hardship and survival to create stories about resilience and perseverance.
From Princeton.edu…
Scholars of great literature often are intrigued by questions that lie outside the pages of the text. For English professor Diana Fuss, one question that consumed her was: Where did my favorite writers write?
To find the answers, Fuss wrote “The Sense of an Interior: Four Writers and the Rooms That Shaped Them,” a study of the living and writing spaces of four well-known authors.
In the book, Fuss described the smoky ambiance of Sigmund Freud’s consulting room, the view from Emily Dickinson’s bedroom window, the inhospitality of Helen Keller’s house, and the claustrophobic atmosphere of Marcel Proust’s bedroom. The purpose of the book was to understand how the writers experienced their writing spaces.
“When these figures inhabited these domestic interiors, what were they seeing, hearing, smelling and touching?” Fuss said. “What was the full sensory experience of inhabiting that space, and how did the domestic interior shape the acts of introspection that took place there?”
Fuss noted that Proust, who suffered from asthma, lived in a cork-lined room with heavy drapes to keep out natural light and air. The author of “Remembrance of Things Past,” a work suffused in sensory experience, “found it necessary to suspend the senses in order to write about them,” according to Fuss.
Her findings corrected some misconceptions. Dickinson, for example, has long been portrayed as a helpless agoraphobic trapped in a dark, coffin-like room in her father’s house. When in fact, Dickinson’s corner bedroom had the best light and views in the entire house.
“It was a room that invested her with scopic power,” Fuss said. “Far from being confined in her room, she in fact was a kind of family sentinel.”
TKZers, let me ask you the question I posed earlier.
How much does your environment influence the stories you write? If you’ve resided or spent an extended period elsewhere, did you write in the same genre? How did your stories change, if it all?
Reader Friday-Revisions
Ah, revisions, revisions . . . music to our ears, yes?
Maybe, but today we’re going to talk about a different kind of revision. Not the kind that produces blood, sweat, and tears. Not the kind that makes us want to throw our notebooks and laptops against the nearest tree and go for a long walk.
What, then?
Which path do I follow now?
All of life on earth is just one big revision. And for some of us, there came a time when we read something that changed us forever, sent us down a new path, or brought the next step we needed to take into clear focus.
Here’s the question for us to ponder, and hopefully share today:
Tell us about a book or story that changed your life, revised your thinking, maybe sent you down a new path you hadn’t considered before, or thought you could never negotiate.
(Mine will be in the comments.)
Reader Friday: It’s Intermission Time!
Can you see yourself here?
Summer’s here!
For some folks, life just continues to drift along on the same road, stretching off into the distance.
No change.
Or here?
But for others, it’s intermission time. What do I mean? If you look up the word vacation in your thesaurus (you have one of those, right?), one of its synonyms is intermission. You know, that break you get to take at the local arts theater, where you’re stuck in a slow-moving river of people heading for the restrooms or the snack bar? Oy!
Here looks good!
But for today, we’re going on vacation.
So, inquiring minds want to know–where are you going?
What is your perfect vacation spot? Will you write while you’re there? (You know I had to ask!)
Curiosity, Creativity, and Connections
by Debbie Burke
Mark Leichliter and Debbie Burke
A few days ago, my friend and writing colleague Mark Leichliter (who also writes as “Mark Hummel“) spoke to a group at a local active senior community.
Mark is a delightful, articulate guy who writes mystery and literary fiction. He also ghostwrites and teaches creative writing, although he finds the term “creative writing” redundant because he says, “All writing is creative.”
He’s the teacher you wish you’d had or would choose to teach your kids. He treats students as individuals, listening to their needs, encouraging them to pursue their dreams. Years after they graduate, students stay in touch with him.
I learned about Mark’s appearance at the senior community a short time before and on the spur of the moment decided to attend.
I didn’t expect his talk to lead to a post for TKZ. But here it is.
First thing Mark did was to rearrange the chairs from auditorium-style seating into a circle. “I want this to be a conversation, not a lecture,” he said. “I want to learn from you in the audience.”
His premise began that curiosity and creativity are linked. Curious people are also often creative. Curiosity makes them eager to learn and they create art, music, poetry, books, buildings, automobiles, recipes, etc. from what they learn.
I mentioned creativity was also the ability to take apparently unrelated ideas and find a connection between them.
Mark laughed and said I must be his shill because the concept of connection led into his next point.
He cited a friend who’s now writing a memoir. “Al” was a former mining engineer tasked with building a gold mine in Columbia. His employer was willing to pay top wages to attract workers to an area that was otherwise desolate. Al could have simply built the mine then moved on, one and done.
Instead, he was curious about the people and surroundings. He spent weeks exploring and talking with them, and learned there was no infrastructure, no water or power. Those conditions meant that workers couldn’t bring their families with them to the new mining jobs. A lucrative paycheck was a draw, but it wasn’t enough.
Al’s creativity took over. He connected the needs of the mine with the needs of the workers and projected into the future.
A mine would do well but was a finite operation—it lasted several years then shut down. He convinced mine owners to pay workers a little less and instead to budget that money to bring in electricity and water, leading to building a town with a grocery store to provide food, a school to educate their children, and other services. Mining would “do well” but building a lasting community would “do good.”
Al is now using curiosity and creativity to connect events in his life and solve problems as he writes his memoir.
Mark then asked the group about their individual creative endeavors.
A woman related that she and her husband had traveled extensively, getting to know and live with residents of other countries. Their endless curiosity about other cultures led to broadening their knowledge and understanding, resulting in rich rewards they never could have anticipated.
Another woman said she quilted, using fabric from her grandchildren’s outgrown clothes and sports uniforms. She created quilts that reflected each child’s particular interest and favorite activities, a physical, visual canvas of the stories of their lives.
Another said she was creating an “ethical will.” Instead of leaving material possessions to her children and grandchildren, she wants to leave family memories, lessons learned, advice, etc. in written form. Her title is More Than Stuff.
Another said she’d published a family history without telling her siblings. When she eventually let them know, a sister revealed she too had published a family history without telling anyone. Not surprisingly, the stories were completely different, giving rise to disagreements: “That’s not how it happened!”
That led to group discussion of differing perceptions. The same event happens to each family member, but all have their own memory and interpretation of the incident that is often radically different from the others.
A genealogist commented that “a lot of family history is fiction,” which prompted knowing laughter in the group.
“Leaving a legacy” was the common theme among the audience.
Mark connected the legacy angle back to storytelling. Humans are curious about past events and why they happened. Storytelling is a creative way to preserve, understand, and pass down those events to educate future generations. Stories explore the reasons and causes behind life’s mysteries and strive to make sense of them. Stories also serve as vehicles to teach ways to solve problems and survive.
Mark made another point I hadn’t considered before. He said a book doesn’t fully exist without a reader. Other communication and entertainment forms like TV, films, streaming, etc. continue whether or not anyone is watching. They are one-way activities that don’t require participation.
In contrast, a book is a two-way interactive exchange. The author creates it but, until someone picks it up and starts reading, it simply sits there. It’s a repository of knowledge, waiting to interact with a person. When the connection between the author and reader is made, it opens the door to an entirely new world.
Curiosity, creativity, and connections.
Because I was curious about Mark’s talk, I picked up creative ideas from it, and connected them into today’s post. Thanks, Mark!
~~~
TKZers: Does curiosity enhance your creativity? Do such connections find their way into your writing? Please share some examples.
~~~
Curiosity leads investigator Tawny Lindholm into a creative deep fake trap. Can she connect clues in time to save herself and an unjustly accused woman? Find out in Deep Fake Double Down.
What’s in a Title – Guest Post by Jane Corry
by Debbie Burke
Today please welcome author Jane Corry, bestselling thriller author from the UK. Her books have sold more than a million copies in 20 countries. She’s also a magazine feature writer and columnist. For three years, she was the writer in residence at a high security male prison.
An important choice we authors grapple with is what to call a book. Jane graciously shares her experience in today’s guest post:
WHAT’S IN A TITLE?
‘Never judge a book by its cover.’ Or so the saying goes.
If I was re-writing this advice, I’d say, ‘Always judge a book by its title.’
At least that’s what many of us seem to do when choosing our next read (including me).
Before I got published, I never really thought about how titles were created. I certainly didn’t realise that they could take different forms and myriad conceptual stages between that first written line and the published baby.
They generally start off as a working title (the one which the author initially thinks of) and then metamorphosise during various meetings and edits.
Now, some 19 books on, I realise that THE title – the one which the book finally steps out in, ready for the ball – is a mixture of fluke, getting it right first time, and arduous, handwringing, plus increasingly urgent emails and discussions on behalf of both publisher and author.
To make it even more complicated, the various departments of the publishing company might well have different views. The sales team, for example, might like one title; publicity, another, and the editor yet a third. (Or 63rd as in the case of a friend of mine.) Then there’s the author who might well be feeling distinctly unsettled by the prospect of their baby being given a new identity. Who gets the final say?
Good question. In my experience, it may well be Sales because when all is said and done, it comes down to money. Sales have a feel for what they can sell which is why they are there in the first place. But are they always right?
You won’t know until the sales figures start coming in…..
Titles also often go through trends. First person has gone down well in the last few years. ‘I did this… I did that’ on the cover, can draw in potential readers by making them identify with that ‘I’. Two of mine were along those lines: ‘I Made A Mistake’ and ‘I Looked Away’.
Names in a title can also help because you feel you are going to be reading about a real person even though you know it’s fiction. Take ‘The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo’.
Maybe this is why my one of my favourite childhood books is ‘What Katy Did Next.’ If it had been ‘What a Little Girl Did Next’ it might not have had the same personal angle.
A question in a title is often a good bait. ‘Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?’ is screaming to be picked up. Indeed, it’s been in the top ten charts for months
The titles, which I feel have worked best for my books, include the ones which just fell into my head. For example, ‘I Died On A Tuesday’ came to me when I was cycling down to the promenade for my daily swim in the sea and nearly got knocked off my bike.
This is exactly what happens to Janie, my heroine. (Spoiler – she survives.)
Ironically, I’d already written this scene in the draft of the as yet untitled novel I was currently working on.
My near-miss as well as the irony, really shook me up. My life could have changed in a second. It was scary. But also inspirational. This, I realised, was my way of getting fear into my title – usually a good bait.
I also wanted the reader to wonder how the unknown ‘I’ in the title could be dead, if the protagonist is still talking?
The specificness of a certain day hopefully makes the story feel more real and relatable. But why a Tuesday and not any other day of the week? My gut instinct told me that the word had a certain tuneful lilt which lifted the spirits to balance the word ‘Died’.
I was very relieved when the publishers didn’t even discuss my ‘I Died On A Tuesday’ title because they liked it. Phew! It felt like scoring a strike in bowling – something I usually leave to my grandchildren. Early reviewers even said lovely things like ‘Great title’. Fingers crossed for sales when it comes out on June 6. (Details at the end!)
Sometimes brainstorming can help. When I started writing crime (without an agent or editor), I came up with ‘My Husband’s New Wife’. Then I floated the title past a friend, who suggested “My Husband’s Wife.’
Technically this isn’t quite accurate because the fictional woman in question is the new wife. But it trips off the tongue better and sounds more intriguing. I will be eternally grateful to that friend. In return, I help other authors brainstorm their titles too.
Every now and then, a chance remark can inspire a title. For some years now, I’ve been swimming in the sea every morning with a friend who lives over the road. One weekend, she turned up on a new orange bike. I admired it. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It belonged to the dead ex.’ (Rather sadly, she’d had to clear out her former husband’s possessions after his death.)
‘Wow,’ I said. ‘May I use that as a title please?’ And so my third book ‘The Dead Ex’ was born.
If you are really stuck, you could try that old trick of putting words in different cups and picking some out at random. Or you could go through sayings/ proverbs/ favourite song titles and adapt them. Always keep your ears open for something that someone says which strikes a chord and has title potential.
Escapist titles are popular because it helps us remove ourselves from our everyday lives and problems. A friend of mine who isn’t a writer says she’ll buy anything with ‘sunshine’ or ‘mermaid’ in it.
Certain titles work even better when the ‘sell’ on the cover explains or amplifies the significance. I recently heard about a writer called Rebecca Paulinyi who’d had a stroke and went onto write a rom com. She called it ‘At the Stroke of 30’. The blurb explained that it was about a heroine who had to re-evaluate her life after having a stroke on the eve of her thirtieth birthday. Brilliant.
Alliteration is also catching. (‘The Secret Seven’ comes to mind as I write this sentence.)
So does a touch of menace. My current novel in the US and Canada is called ‘Coming To Find You’. It’s a time-slip set in the Second World War in a small Devon village and the present-day where Nancy is hiding in the same house, 80 years on.
Nancy’s stepbrother has escaped from prison and is about to break in through her kitchen window. My publisher, agent and I did have quite a lot of discussion about this title and I’m very grateful that they went for my own suggestion, ‘Coming To Find You’, which has, I felt, a combination of that sing-song childhood hide-and-seek game along with an underlying threat. That book got to number 7 in the Sunday Times.
Sometimes I think that maybe the best way to write a novel is to think of a really gripping title first before writing. Then use the title as a basis for the idea. It might certainly help someone who isn’t sure what to write about and will hopefully get some great sales!
Meanwhile, you can follow me at janecorryauthor on Twitter/X; Instagram; Tik Tok and Facebook. My website is janecorryauthor.com
The digital edition of I DIED ON A TUESDAY is out on June 6th. If you wanted to make my day and order, just go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Died-Tuesday-gripping-thriller-bestselling-ebook/dp/B0CNT62W14
The paperback edition is out on June 20th. You can find me in bookshops, supermarkets and online.
If you’re in the US or Canada, you can order on the following links:
Canada: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/735469/coming-to-find-you-by-jane-corry/9780385697880
US: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735469/coming-to-find-you-by-jane-corry/
Meanwhile, good luck with your next title. I hope this helps……
~~~
Jane, thanks for these great tips! Best wishes on a successful launch!
~~~
TKZers: How do you choose a title? Do Jane’s suggestions inspire you?
Reader Friday-Let’s Work Out the Bugs
Today we discuss . . . yep, you got it . . . bugs!
Some of my favorites: Here we have a box elder bug, an earwig, a grasshopper, a four-eyed spidery guy, and a praying mantis.
By far, my absolute favorite is the praying mantis–known sometimes as the most fearsome killer in the insect world. A black widow spider is scary, but it has to sit on its prey to kill it. A mantis can reach out and grab its lunch. And sometimes mantids even work together to bring down, say, a hummingbird! Each season we have lots of the little green guys in our yard, and they will even let me hand feed them.
Another favorite of mine is the Monarch butterfly. In my novel, No Tomorrows, one of the thematic elements is a Monarch. The main character, Annie, has a collection of Monarch pictures and nick-knacks because . . . oh, can’t tell you. You’ll have to read it!
Now, we’d like to hear about your favorite buggos. And why in the wide world are they your favorites? Do you ever include bugs in your writing?
***
Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ThriftBooks, bookstores and libraries.
Sugar Daddies: Sweet Treats or Sticky Situations?
By Elaine Viets
Long before “sugar daddy” was a popular term, rich, older men gave pretty young women money and expensive presents for companionship or sex.
Call them protectors, benefactors or Santa baby, sugar daddies have been celebrated in operas, pop songs, movies, and television.
Puccini’s 1898 opera, La Boheme, has two sugar daddies. The Viscount is Mimi’s protector and rich, old Alcindoro keeps the brassy Musetta in fine clothes. Movies from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Pretty Woman,” are variations on the sugar daddy theme.
Where did the term come from?
The Ginger website says, “The word ‘sugar’ has been slang for money and luxury since the mid-19th century, and defines the nature of the relationship between the couple. The word ‘daddy’ was slang among prostitutes for an older man since the 16th century, and refers to the age difference between the two.
“Sugar daddy” has been used since the beginning of the 20th century, supposedly when Adolph Spreckels, heir to the Spreckel’s sugar fortune, married a woman 24 years younger, who called him “Sugar Daddy.”
That’s one theory, anyway. In the 1920s, a candy called Papa Sucker, (no, I’m not kidding) was born. In 1932, the sucker was renamed Sugar Daddy to suggest “a wealth of sweetness” according to Tootsie Roll Inc.
Yeah, right. I’ll ignore the fact that a Sugar Daddy is a sucker
The company didn’t try to explain the smaller, chewy Sugar Babies.
By that time, it was pretty clear that sugar daddy and sugar baby had nothing to do with candy.
About ten years ago, sugar daddies went online, and there are many sites where wealthy, older men can meet sweet young things. It’s called sugaring, or sugar dating. Some young women claim they’re sugar babies to pay for college, or enjoy luxury travel.
Is sugar dating prostitution?
Depends. A Texas law firm says, “Dating partners of all ages often exchange gifts or help each other with financial obligations. This does not break the law. However, many sugar baby relationships do blur the lines between relationships and prostitution. In Texas, it is illegal to offer sexual conduct for money. It is also illegal to pay a fee for sexual conduct.”
I use this modern twist on sugar daddies in “A Scarlet Death,” my new Angela Richman mystery. Selwyn Skipton, a rich, respectable old man, is found strangled on black satin sheets.
Turns out Selwyn had a secret life. He was a sugar daddy. Here’s a section from “A Scarlet Death” where death investigator Angela Richman tried to explain sugar dating to a sceptacal Det. Jace Budewitz. They are in a Chouteau Forest coffee shop, reading the late Selwyn’s computer files.
Jace brought another round of coffee, and we read in silence for about half an hour until I hit pay dirt. “Jace, you won’t believe this. Selwyn was a sugar daddy.”
“You mean like in the movies? A rich old guy who buys diamonds and gifts for pretty young women?”
“Sort of. Sugar daddies don’t have to wait by the stage door to pick up blondes any more. Now they can find them on the internet.”
“Of course they can,” Jace said.
“Selwyn used a site called DatingDaddies.com. From what I can figure out, he’s dated several sugar babies. The website says, ‘Sugar babies are young, attractive women paid to provide “companionship” to their daddy.’
“That word, ‘companionship’ is in quotes,” I added. “Here’s the rest: ‘Daddies may give their sugar babies presents or help pay their rent. The degree of intimacy is between the daddy and his sugar baby.’
“I can almost see the wink,” I said.
“Here’s an ad Selwyn saved for a sugar baby named Tammi.”
I read it out loud:
‘“I am twenty-one, a sweet, fun-loving business major. I want a Daddy with a kind heart. I prefer mature Daddies. I don’t smoke, but I do enjoy champagne and good conversation. Color me passionate about art. I love to talk about it, especially nineteenth-century artists. Or, if you want to have a quiet evening, Daddy, I’m a terrific listener. I’ll do my best to make you happy. I would love to find a business-savvy Sugar Daddy. In my free time I like to read and go for long walks.’
“Get this, Jace. Her username is Clover Honey.”
“Is this for real?” Jace asked. His eyes were round.
“Definitely. There are a zillion sugar baby websites. Tammi uses a pretty standard headline for her bio. It says, ‘Let’s have a secret.’ I see that one a lot.”
“What’s the difference between a sugar baby and a prostitute?” Jace asked.
“Not much,” I said. “But I’m old-fashioned. Sugar babies who charge outright often have ‘P2P’ in their ads. That means ‘pay to play.’ Most just want gifts or rent money.”
“If those men give their sugar babies money, that’s prostitution in my book,” Jace said.
“I’m not arguing with you, but sugar babies seem to be good at rationalization. Supposedly, many of them are college students trying to avoid student debt.”
“Right,” Jace said. “And strippers have hearts of gold and only take off their clothes to help their sick old mothers.”
Jace was usually more open-minded. I shrugged and said, “Just passing on the information.”
“Any photos of this Tammi sugar baby?”
“Yes, but her face is either hidden or in shadow in all three photos. In one photo she’s hugging a big chocolate Labrador, and all I can see is her long, blonde hair. In another, she’s wearing a teeny red bikini, and her face is shadowed by a big straw sunhat. In the third photo, she’s peering through palm tree fronds. About all I can see in any of the photos is long blonde hair, long legs and a big bust.”
“How can a sugar daddy make a decision, if he can’t see the woman’s face?”
“From what I’ve read, if a daddy is serious, the sugar baby will send photos so the man can see her face.”
Jace shook his head. “Sounds dangerous for both parties.”
“It is,” I said. “Sugar daddies have been blackmailed and some were murdered when they quit forking over cash. Sugar babies have been raped when they didn’t put out, and even killed.”
“That’s what I thought,” Jace said. “So these sugar babies have the same risks as hookers.”
“Seems like it. The sugar babies are paid well for it,” I said. “This file says Selwyn paid Tammi $85,000 in six months.”
Jace whistled. “I bet none of the women in the Forest are sugar babies.”
“Ha. You’d be surprised. I’m guessing some are. Sugar babies can be rich, bored, young women who want a short walk on the wild side, or their real daddies have cut off their allowance and the women want designer clothes.”
“That’s just greedy,” Jace said.
“May I ask why you seem to hate sugar babies?”
“I don’t hate them,” Jace said. “I have more respect for women who just say they’re sex workers. They don’t play games.”
What do you think about Sugar Daddies and Sugar Babies, TKZers?
Reviewer Cynthia Chow calls my new Angela Richman mystery, “an outstanding procedural that depicts Angela’s death investigations while also delving deep into class structures and the behavior of the entitled.” Win a copy at Kings River Life. https://www.krlnews.com/2024/06/a-scarlet-death-by-elaine-viets.html
Emotional Trigger Words + The Id
A trigger word is a word that evokes a strong emotional reaction to compel someone to act. The reaction could be anything from clicking an article, opening an email, or buying a product. Like with most things in life, we don’t want to abuse trigger words. If used ethically, trigger words can help our books/newsletters/blog/articles reach a wider audience.
How are Emotional Triggers Formed?
The same way we trigger emotion in readers—tickle the senses. Some of our most powerful memories include the smell, sound, or taste of certain things when associated with a positive or negative connotation. But trigger words work differently.
All decisions made by us or others consist of multiple conscious and subconscious emotions. By delving into the psychology behind human behavior, we can increase sales and visibility.
4 Emotional Triggers
#1) Belonging
It’s human nature to want to belong to something. The writing community, a family, book clubs, critique groups, a religious organization, or other social groups. Giving people a sense of belonging works remarkably well. For example, I write “join my community” rather than “subscribe (which has a negative connotation) to my newsletter.” That little tweak makes a huge difference in how the message is received.
Trigger words for belonging
- Community
- Join
- Become a member
- Mutual
- We
- Together
- Society
- Neighborhood
#2) Fear
I can’t see why authors would want to use a fear tactic, but it’s listed as a marketing ploy. Though you could use fear triggers as keywords or in a book description.
Trigger words for fear
- Worry
- Anxiety
- Concern
- Terror
- Death
- Toxic
- Mistake
- Embarrassed
- Nightmare
- Doubt
- Phobia
- Horrific
- Disastrous
- Plummet
- Warning
- Danger
- Looming
- Shattered
#3) Guilt
Guilt is a powerful emotion, right? Charity organizations overuse this tactic. For us, triggering a guilt response would not be an effective way to market books. But we can use the trigger words in book descriptions or as keywords/key phrases for better targeting.
Trigger words for guilt
- Goodwill
- Humane
- Disgrace
- Shame
- Disgusting
- Charity
- Donation
- Mercy
- Kindness
- Empathy
- Generosity
- Compassion
- Bleed for
- Sympathize with
- Feel for
- Grief
- Sorrow
- Understand
#4) Trust
Trust is important for building a long-term business. When readers trust you to deliver the same quality in each book, article, or newsletter, you’ll build a loyal audience. Don’t try to fake this emotion, or it’ll backfire.
A few ways to show you’re trustworthy
- Be transparent
- Display reviews from other readers
- Be genuine
- Show you’re human, not perfect
In one newsletter, I wrote, “I have no words of wisdom for you today. The well is dry. I left all my emotions on the page.” I never once tried to fake it. And y’know what? I received the sweetest responses. Being emotionally spent is something we’ve all experienced, so we relate. We empathize.
Trigger words for trust
- Caring
- Fair treatment
- Quality
- Competency
- Apologize
- Sorry
- Change
- Never
- Always
- Privacy
The Pleasure Principle
In Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, he described the pleasure principle as the instinctual force that motivates people to seek pleasure, to satisfy biological and psychological needs, and to avoid pain. The id resides in a primitive part of the psyche and is the only part of the personality that’s present at birth. Which explains the terrible twos. The ego doesn’t develop till age three or four.
Three major components of personality
- The id – impulsive part of one’s personality that is driven by pleasure and repulsed by pain
- Ego – conscious part of one’s personality that mediates between the id and superego and makes decisions
- Superego – judgmental and morally correct part of one’s personality
Freud conceived the id as the unconscious mind’s primary source of motivation for all human behavior, from basic wants and needs (think: hunger and thirst) to emotional expression, impulses (think: aggression), and sexual desires. The id acts according to the pleasure principle — it seeks to fulfill its needs and desires in any way possible while avoiding pain or discomfort.
We live in a world of immediate gratification. No longer do we need to wait for the stores to stock a new album or novel. We can download it in seconds.
Can you guess how social media might affect the balance of the three components of personality? Likes, comments, and shares feed the id while making it difficult for the ego to mediate the feud with the superego. Hence why some people feel the need to condemn others and cast judgment.
TKZers, have you considered using psychology in your marketing? Do you use trigger words in book descriptions, keywords, and/or marketing?
Please note: I’ll be on the road today and will respond to comments later this afternoon. Hope you all have a fabulous day!
Reader Friday-What’s Your AKA?
Doing just a cursory search on the internet of the word nickname yielded some doozies–especially those from the middle ages. It might be worth a laugh or two for you to take a look.
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
I came across Benjamin Siegel, AKA Bugsy. I tried to discover why he acquired that moniker, but couldn’t find the origin. I did find out that his killer was never brought to justice.
I guess a cool nickname doesn’t mean much when you’re a bad guy.
***
I had a couple when I was a wee lass. My siblings called me Debo (pronounced Dee-bo), and my dad called me Housemouse–because I preferred being in the house reading instead of out of the house playing. My dad and brother still call me those names on occasion.
Or, just these . . .
And this one from a way long time ago!
How about you, TKZers? Did you ever have a nickname growing up, cool or otherwise? Does anyone still call you by that name? And, do you give your characters nicknames?
Do tell . . .