Make Your Writing Sizzle!

 Make Your Writing Sizzle!

A yard panda's advice on writing 

You may be asking yourself, why should I take writing advice from a yard panda?  The answer to this is simple: because yard pandas have an innate sense… and a paw on the whimsical pulse of the reading public.  What do people want to read about?  Easy. They want to read about the same things they’ve always read about: love, sex, greed, violence, magic, and adorable puppies.  So how do you make these subjects sizzle? Just add bacon.

Here’s an example:  He got out of bed, shivered as his feet hit the cold planks of the floor, and carelessly draped the plaid around his naked body.  It was gaping, she noticed, in all the right places. “Sun nearly up and I’m for a swim.” He turned to the bed and, delivering a very intimate grin, whispered, “Come join me.”  But here, as the reader, we just shake our heads and ask ourselves why?  Why would anyone want to leave the warmth of their bed for a freezing pre-dawn swim? 

Let’s look at the same paragraph again, this time making one small addition.  He got out of bed, shivered as his feet hit the cold planks of the floor, and carelessly draped the plaid around his naked body.  It was gaping, she noticed, in all the right places. “Sun nearly up and I’m for a swim.” He turned to the bed and, delivering a very intimate grin, whispered, “I’ve got bacon. Come join me.”

Bacon? Hell yes! Now there’s a reason to get out of bed and brave the cold.  The reader, while not at all certain what the naked man was getting at, will certainly be able to identify with bacon. 

Lesson: The mere suggestion of bacon can put the sizzle back in any situation.

Think of how much better some of these beloved titles would be if we only added bacon.

 Fifty Shades of Grey, with a side of Bacon  (It doesn't even matter if we don't know what this is about, it’s got bacon in the title.)

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer, Bacon Master  (Who wouldn’t vote for this guy!)

 The Bacon Games (Makes more sense, doesn’t it?  Kids killing for bacon is a premise we can all get behind.)

Pride and Bacon Prejudice  (Can a bacon snob ever be charmed by a common bacon eater?  What a romantic and delicious conundrum!)

Have a book or movie title that would be better with bacon?  The yard panda would love to hear it!  Please leave a comment in the comment box.