Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence

he theme, is what your story says about human nature. Theme tends to be reflected in how your characters treat each other, so it defines what is possible and what isn’t in the world the story unfolds in.

The story isn’t about whether or not the protagonist achieves her goal per se; it’s about what she has to overcome internally to do it.

Here are just a few telltale signs that a story is going off the rails:

“Joel Campbell, eleven years old at the time, began his descent into murder with a bus ride.”

we need to meet the protagonist as soon as possible—hopefully, in the first paragraph.

the three basic things readers relentlessly hunt for as they read that first page:
1. Whose story is it?
2. What’s happening here?
3. What’s at stake?

being curious is necessary for survival

what we’re hoping for in that opening sentence is the sense that something is about to change (and not necessarily for the better).

It’s said people can go forty days without food, three days without water, and about thirty-five seconds without finding meaning in something

the regions of the brain that process the sights, sounds, tastes, and movement of real life are activated when we’re engrossed in a compelling narrative