Blogs

“I love you,” she gasped. “Really?” he queried. “Yes!” she exclaimed. “But-” he stammered. “No buts,” she interjected. Stop. This is bad writing. And it’s bad for a very specific reason: the dialogue tags are working too hard. The golden rule: “Said” is invisible. Everything else calls attention to itself. And in 95% of cases, you don’t want readers noticing your dialogue tags-you want them immersed in the conversation. What Are Dialogue Tags? Dialogue tags (also called “attributions”) identify who’s speaking: ...

Brain Series Current: The McGurk Effect Superfood for Your Brain All Posts Pareidolia Watch someone’s lips say “ga” while the audio plays “ba,” and your brain will hear “da”-a sound that doesn’t exist in either the visual or auditory input. ...

Deeply Personal Current: Nostalgia on a Plate Cats and Empathy All Posts Next Nostalgia on a Plate: Why We Crave Foods from Our Childhood My wife was chopping vegetables when she stopped, knife mid-air, and said: ...

Perfect turn-taking is a myth. Real conversations don’t work like written dialogue usually looks: A: "I went to the store." B: "What did you buy?" A: "Milk and bread." Real conversations are messier: A: "I went to the store and-" B: "Did you get the milk?" A: "I was about to-yeah, I got-" B: "Because last time you forgot and-" A: "I got it! I got the milk." Real speech includes: ...

Brain Series Current: Superfood for Your Brain Neurogenesis All Posts Next ...

Watch any great dialogue scene and you’ll notice something: characters almost never directly agree with each other. Even when they’re on the same side, even when they ultimately want the same thing, they resist, deflect, challenge, or qualify. This is called “The No Game”-and it’s one of the simplest, most powerful techniques for creating dynamic dialogue. What Is the “No” Game? The principle: Characters instinctively resist what other characters say, even in small ways. ...

Deeply Personal Current: Cats and Empathy Previous All Posts Nostalgia on a Plate Cats and Empathy: Do They Actually Know When You’re Sad? It was 2 AM when my wife woke me up, her voice tight with pain. ...

Brain Series Current: Neurogenesis Previous All Posts Superfood for Your Brain For most of the 20th century, neuroscience had a dogma: “You’re born with all the neurons you’ll ever have. Neurons don’t regenerate.” ...

The invisible algorithms running human interaction. Short reads on how people actually work. The Benjamin Franklin Effect Want someone to like you? Don’t do them a favor. Ask them to do YOU a favor. Counterintuitive. Proven. The story: Benjamin Franklin had a rival in the Pennsylvania legislature who disliked him. Franklin didn’t try to win him over with kindness. Instead, he asked to borrow a rare book from the man’s library. ...

Brain Series Current: Preventing Cognitive Decline 30s-40s Brain Training for Your 20s All Posts Neurogenesis You’re in your 30s or 40s. You’re at your career peak. You feel sharp, capable, effective. ...