You've Never Been Here Before: Effectively Drawing Readers into Your Story World Video Download

The task of a novel's opening pages is to grab the reader's attention and not let go. But when you're writing science fiction and fantasy, sometimes the world you're presenting is so strange as to almost make the reader step back in confusion. The trick is to plunge the reader into your awe-inspiring world without making him feel lost or unpleasantly disoriented. The reader of speculative fiction has a wonderfully high tolerance for “weird," but you need to apply the secrets of brain chemistry to be sure he's not only wowed by your world but hooked by your story and characters.

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Jeff Gerke realized he wanted to be a storyteller about halfway through his first viewing of the original Star Wars, which came out when he was 12. He never knew a story could have such power. In college, Jeff realized he wanted to be a novelist about halfway through his first reading of The Fellowship of the Ring. He never knew a written story could have such power. Now, Jeff is a multi-published novelist,among his novels was a trilogy of near-future technothrillers,and is the founder and former owner of Marcher Lord Press, a small publisher of award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels with a spiritual edge. He has written five fiction craft books for Writers Digest, including Plot Versus Character, The First 50 Pages, and the forthcoming The Irresistible Novel. He is a popular teacher at writing conferences, where, when he can get away with it, he likes to teach in costume. Usually something from Star Wars.