The Purpose Of A Snippet, And Why A Good Writer, Should Be A Better Reader
The Literary World Is Multifaceted
The purpose of a snippet is not just to attract attention, but to fascinate it as well. This type of appeal will leave the reader wondering what comes next, and it’s this level of curiosity that leads to the sale of a book. A snippet is similar to a movie trailer, one of the best parts of the whole. A scene that will make the rest of the story appear as if it’s worthy of checking out. I say “appear” because in some cases, the scene may be the best thing the whole has going, and that's not good. The snippet should be a representation of a classic piece of literature, which will be read time and again. Below is a snippet pertaining to one of the four main characters from my second self-published book, It Was Destined…Urban Legend. I hope that it compliments this piece.
If your talent afforded you an opportunity to earn millions of dollars, would you ignore said opportunity? The average person would say no, but there’s nothing average about 25-year-old Jonathan “Easy” Royalty Senior.
Jonathan was committed to becoming the best point guard he could be, and thanks to his relentless dedication to his cause, he would eventually exceed his greatest expectations. He became so good, that every NBA scout desperately desired to acquire his services. But instead of being excited about such attention, he ignored it, as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.
You see, Jonathan’s journey was never about ending up in the NBA. In fact, outside of talking about a few players, he admired time and again, the NBA wasn’t even a thought on his mind. His mission was bigger than the NBA, it was even bigger than himself.
To discover what drove Jonathan to do what he did, you’ll have to read the rest of his story. But I will tell you this much, he epitomizes selflessness.
Now, this isn’t a snippet from my book, but one about a character within the said book. Remember, the intent is not only to draw attention to the work but have the reader desire to know more, as well. Who doesn’t like solving a good mystery, a snippet takes us to a certain point and leaves us there, with a strong need to know more. And just in case the snippet wasn’t enough, I added to the mystery with, “But I will tell you this much, he epitomizes selflessness.” Now, if that doesn’t pique curiosity, I don’t know what else will.
What makes for a great writer, is one who’s a better reader. Reading allows a writer to discover what they like, which could possibly be what other readers like as well. To gain control of our attention for hours on end, what we read has to have us on a non-stop emotional roller coaster. One minute we’re laughing and crying, while the next we’re cheering and cursing.
Not only does reading encourage, enlighten, and entertain but it also allows us to see how the writer thinks as well. Not saying that we should look to copy someone else’s style, but to get a feel for the mind the content derived from.
As writers, we should want the readers to fall in love with our words. We should want them to be so caught up in the story, that they’ll feel as if it was written especially for them. So, in other words, we should always write with a reader's heart. Write as if the content was being written for us to read. Write what it is we love to read. Write with a passion we hope to instill in every reader.
“May our words always inspire others, and may we always be inspired by the words of others.”
The photo in the snippet section is from my book, It Was Destined…Urban Legend. The photo above is of three of my favorite books and my personalized leather journal, which is where all my plans are written out.
