Writing Tip: ADD INTRIGUE TO YOUR STORY by KYM BRUNNER

Sounds hard, but it's not. Here's my tip in a nutshell:

Make a list of things that intrigue you. Yeah, that’s right. What was something you encountered recently that YOU thought was cool, interesting, gross, unbelievable, extremely weird, or compelling? Go ahead…think of two things now. I’ll wait.

You see how easy that was?

Incorporating things you hear and see every day that interest you probably means it will interest someone else too. Not that you have to build your entire story around that one thing, but you could give that quality to one of your minor characters.
 
I often see something on TV or overhear a conversation that makes me say, “Whoa. What's that all about?” Like a few weeks ago when I was watching the Lisa Ling show, Our America, when she had a story about a little boy who was definitely 100% "girl-brained."

I'd have to say that story definitely intrigued me.

Now I might not be the person to write a transgender story, but perhaps I could use this information in some other way in a story I'm writing. Maybe the daughter of a co-worker is considering a transgender operation, or maybe a sibling has been playing with dolls...who knows?

In any case, I write down any tidbits on my NOTES on my phone, so they I can use those ideas later in a future story. I might jot down a funny line I’ve overheard, like recently when my college-aged daughter said that a cheese sample at the grocery store tasted like regurgitated gym shoe. (I mean, tasting like a gym shoe is bad enough, but a regurgitated one? Ick!)  Could be a funny line for a character to say some day.

A word of advice: write clear notes. Sometimes I look at my intriguing tidbits and think, "Huh?" Like the note that said: THE ANGEL AND THE MAN IN THE MOON, which I guess I thought was super interesting but have absolutely no idea what I was referring to. If you know, please tell me because I'm curious, too.


Kym Brunner

Wanted: Dead or in Love, Merit Press, May 2014
One Smart Cookie, Omnific Publishing, Spring 2014


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Bio:
Kym Brunner's method of creating a manuscript: write, procrastinate, sleep, repeat. She's addicted to Tazo chai tea, going to the movies, and reality TV. When she's not reading or writing, Kym teaches 7th grade full time. She lives in Arlington Heights with her family and two trusty writing companions, a pair of Shih Tzus named Sophie and Kahlua. She's repped by Eric Myers of The Spieler Agency.