I happened across the minimalists blog. (very interesting in itself) one guy is a huge writer and here is a recent blog entry:
http://www.theminimalists.com/tell/
Quote:
As far as I can tell, there are no magical writing secrets....
There are, however, ways to hone your focus:...
The three things I look for in my own stories—whether fiction or nonfiction, essay or short story, novel or scribbling on the bathroom wall—are…
Urgency. The first sentence has one job: make the reader want to read the second. ....
Details. God is in the details. But so is the devil. Details, even minute ones, are incredibly important; ....
Fun or funny. Every good story is either fun or funny (or both). Said another way, a story is fun when it is engaging, when it has a payoff, when it makes you think differently. ...
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I wouldn't call the third one "Fun" myself, but maybe "Provide a Payoff" - maybe that's fun, a laugh, a life lesson, insight into another's life, etc. etc.
Thought?
What are your "tricks?"