Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, and Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End

This book is just brilliant. It explains in detail how to grab the reader's attention and not let it go ie how to create conflict, tension, curiosity... how to avoid predicabilty and cliche and much much more It's written in a very readable style and gives examples to illustrate all the great tips and advice. An excellent book for any type of writer. Offers lots lots of advice and techniques not covered in many of the other how-to-write books on the market. Well worth the money. I bought the Kindle edition for my PC as it was much cheaper but I took so many notes while reading it that I began to wish I'd bought the paper version so I could highlight all the great advice and come back to it again and again.

This book was extremely informative and went into detail beyond any other book of this type I have bought or even read. I gave the five star rating because I wanted the readers to know just what a fantastic book it is and also due to the fast and courteous delivery.

Where to begin. Right off the bat, this book should be a ten star review- if only it were possible. I found this book by pure chance, and if I'm honest, I never knew what to expect. Being a self taught writer and having little to no English education from the get go, books like this, with their big fancey words and fundamental process's, have always terrified the life out of me- I just wing it. That being said, from page one, my muggle mind was at ease. The way in which the author has sculpted the pages, and made easy work of laying out it's helpful contents into, small digestable portions, for writers of all backgrounds to understand, is astonishing and utterly mind-blowing. A true talent. Thank you.

I really enjoyed this book and think it will be very useful. One great tip: Always describe something through its actions, rather than in a static way...

I’ve read most of the mainstream screenwriting books out there - this is the best without a doubt. It explains everything you need to write a successful script and it’s so rich in ideas and examples that it’s a treasure to have as a reference

I've read dozens of "how-to" books on writing and this is a new angle for me. The focus on screenwriting was as appropriate to writing novels. Emotional impact is crucial for engaging a reader and this book is an invaluable guide for a newbie like me. I learned a lot.

This book is brilliant for writers who already understand story structure and want to gain knowledge about writing for the audience's emotions. I haven't read through all of it yet, but the standard it holds your writing to is very high (which is great if you want to improve). Recommend, if you want that next level up. (It focuses on screenwriting, but it applys to novels just the same)

Ah, I'm not a screenwriter but a fiction writer and this book has helped me in many ways than one. I initially bought it on Kindle but now I'm off to get the hard copy to re-read and underline.

Même si les exemples utilisés relèvent tous du cinéma, je trouve que ce livre s'applique tout aussi bien à l'écriture de romans ou de nouvelles. C'est un véritable bijou dans la mesure où il ouvre les yeux sur ce qu'attend un lecteur ou un spectateur : il attend une aventure émotionnelle dont tous les détail sont donnés dans ce livre. J'ai trouvé ce livre brillant et extrêmement utile.

Great book - super practical! I’ve read several books about screenplays and storytelling, and so far this is the only one I’ve said I’ll come back to when writing new videos. Huge recommendation!

lettura d'obbligo per chi si interessa di raccontare storie. Soprattutto la prima parte, nella quale si introducono alcune caratteristiche più generali sul tema delle emozioni suscitate da trame e soprattutto dalla caratterizzazione dei personaggi, è utilissima per capire alcuni meccanismi psicologici ed emotivi di base nell'incontro tra storie e lettore / spettatore. La seconda parte, che entra più nel dettaglio e nei singoli esempi dei film, è un po' ripetitiva e quindi si dilunga forse troppo laddove avrebbe potuto essere un po' più sintetica. Comunque illuminante.

One of the best books I have ever studied. It has tips and techniques to improve your writing. Definitely not for beginners.

A great follow up to Karl Igelsias' previous book, "The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers". As a professional screenwriter for over 26 years, I can't recommend it more highly. The market is flooded with books on screenwriting offering us "secrets" to success, and formulaic solutions, as if screenwriting is a problem to be solved, not a gift to be shared. This new book gets right to the HEART of screenwriting: character and emotion. If you've ever sat through a movie not caring how it ended, it's because you didn't care about the fate of the characters -- you were not emotionally engaged in their story. "Writing for Emotional Impact: Advanced Dramatic Techniques to Attract, Engage, And Fascinate the Reader from Beginning to End" shows writers how to make their work strike all honest emotional chords, without manipulating the reader/audience with false sentiment or cheap tricks. Both scholarly and readable, it guides us to create original characters with the heart and soul to engage us in their lives and their journey through the story of the script YOU will write. Karl Iglesias' ideas are accessible, well expressed and backed up with examples from familiar, popular films. Pros and beginners will find this book information both fresh and inspiring. I did have one big problem with it: I could hardly wait to finish reading it so I could start putting the practical advice offered into practice! Write on!