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Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

22 Oct

The ABDCE Story Framework:

• Action
• Background
• Development
• Climax
• Ending

Here's how it works, and how it can help you write stories readers can't help but get lost in 🧵👇

Action

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

This is the first sentence of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.

It immediately drops you into a moment of action. There is no build up, no need to "set the scene."

Boom. You're there.

And you're hooked (whether you like it or not).

Background

Only once you have the reader's undivided attention should you even *consider* giving them the background story.

Remember: it's hard to care about characters or ideas before you see them in action.

So start with a moment of surprise, then explain why it matters.

Read 8 tweets

Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

21 Oct

Fun facts about The Art & Business of Online Writing:

• I wrote it in 4 months, right at the start of the pandemic.
• I beta-tested the manuscript with 25 readers (via Twitter)
• I did the final proofread at my girlfriend's parents' house in AZ (in 100 degree heat)

👇👇

• Almost every chapter/main point in the book I've written about elsewhere on the Internet (validating that's what readers wanted to know more about).

• I intentionally designed the cover to look like an "online article" (which many industry pros told me was a stupid idea)

@craigclemens

• I workshopped the subtitle with my good friend @craigclemens who said the "how to beat the game" component spoke to my history as a gamer, and my POV that writing online is like a video game.

Read 5 tweets

Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

20 Oct

I studied fiction writing in college.

But I always tell people I didn't learn how to write in college.

I learned how to read, and I learned the importance of reading my work out loud.

Here's a mini-masterclass in what to HEAR in your own writing 🧵👇

1/ Listen for tone.

As soon as the words start to come out of your mouth, you will feel what tone you were writing in.

The big question is: was this tone your intention?

If yes, you'll hear what gives this tone its quality. Do more of that.

If no, you'll hear why not.

2/ Listen for wordiness.

"And so it was then that..."

Anytime you hear lots of tiny words next to hear other, you'll feel your mouth fumble over them.

Don't ignore this.

Cut them. Compress them.

Your writing will be sharper.

Read 8 tweets

Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

19 Oct

How To Be A World-Class Reader 101

Reading, in and of itself, doesn't make you a better writer.

To master your craft, you have to ready CLOSELY.

You have to study the language.

These are the 5 key things to look for in everything you read 🧵👇

1/ "What is the author really saying here?"

I annotate constantly when I read.

In the margins, I write what the author is saying—below the literal.

"She walked into the room without hesitation." OK, what's REALLY happening here?

The unspoken is the loudest narrative.

2/ "How did the author create this image/feeling?"

Don't just watch the movie.

Ask how the writer got you to see or feel what you did.

Study that language closely.

Then keep it in your back pocket for when you want to illicit a similar image in your readers' minds.

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Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

15 Oct

I started writing online when I was 17 years old.

The year was 2007.

Since then, I've written thousands of articles online, accumulated 100 million+ views, written 6 books, built 3 companies, etc.

If I was starting all over again, here's exactly how I'd do it 🧵👇

@dickiebush

Step 1: Take a personal interest and become the expert of curating experts in that personal interest.

This is how @dickiebush built himself on Twitter.

• He was an avid listener of @tferriss podcast
• And curated his best episodes, lessons learned, etc.

Here's why:

When you're first starting out, you are probably not the go-to expert of any singular domain.

So, how do you become one?

By curating other experts.

When done successfully and consistently, these experts will (on occasion) share your work.

Which is the ultimate growth hack.

Read 18 tweets

Nicolas Cole

@Nicolascole77

15 Oct

In 1995, a writing workshop professor wrote a book about what it means to be a writer.

It was called "Bird by Bird."

The book became an instant best-seller, and today continues to sell hundreds of thousands of copies.

Why?

Because inside are 10 timeless pieces of advice 🧵👇

Lesson #1: Just start.

"As the story begins, you are learning what you AREN'T writing, and this is helping you to find out what you ARE writing."

Writers rarely know where things are going when they begin.

This is the fun of putting pen to paper.

As you write, you discover.

Lesson #2: You can't love being published. You have to love creating.

Lamott, the author, taught many writing workshops for eager-eyed students.

Their questions were always the same: "How do I get a book deal? How do I find an agent?"

But the writing has to come first.

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