Writing Information

Writers: Dr. Phil Goes Fishing with Oprah in His Tackle Box, Shouldn't You?

Dr. Phil's Life Strategies, #1 New York Times Bestseller catches us on page one. His bait? Oprah Winfrey.

A fisherman will spend hours throwing out into the lake one of the many trinkets he holds in his trusty tackle box "baiting" his catch-to-be. By trial and error, practice and perfection, the avid, alert fisherman builds strategy as to where his fish are hiding, when they eat, and what bait will draw his catch. Strategy produces success.

Dr. Phil? No different. A strategist. A master strategist from which we expect no less than expert strategy. And in his book, Life Strategies, we see this leader at work, both finding the fish and successfully baiting his catch-to-be. How, you ask?

Open this book and read. Page one, acknowledgments: Oprah, first sentence, third word, again in the second sentence and in the third. Introduction: Oprah, first sentence, second word, and a quick scan will give you almost thirty more. Chapter One: Oprah, twice in the first paragraph, once in the second paragraph, and fourth paragraph, Oprah, Oprah, Oprah. I'm drawn in and a bit curious. Who could be so lucky to have a hook like this one? It becomes a prosperous one as Dr. Phil "catches" enough to produce a best seller and an amazing career.

A "hook" is how you will draw your attention-deficit audience, and future fans, to continue reading your work.

Like the little fishes in the water, we need something to draw us. We swim around all day long ignoring the bits and pieces of rubbish floating around in front of our faces. But then, unexpected, we see a glimmer. It may be familiar or it may spark our curiosity. We swim over and nudge it here and there. If all else is going well--looks good, smells good, and holds our interest--we lunge at it. Set-the-hook success. Reel us in, cook us, sit back, and relax with your newfound fullness of a day well spent.

The first sentence in TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten reads, "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Our first thought may be, hmmm, familiar, I've thought about this too, or, unfamiliar, can't say I've ever wanted to kill anyone but, interesting, here's my chance to get into this head. "I thought about bringing a gun over there." Has one sentence set a glimmer through the muddied waters? Are you asking yourself, bring a gun where? Why? Has the sentence done it's job and propelled you to nudge the bait a little and read on?

"I thought about bringing a gun over there. Not just some little pistol. I had a statement to make. And a statement like this required one of those big shotguns..." Hmmm, one of those big shotguns? "One that would bring hell itself into the eyes of it's beholder." What? Why? What possibly could have brought on such horrid thoughts of revenge? These are the questions I hope you're asking because, like Dr. Phil and every other author out there competing for your time, I want to have at least tweaked your interest enough for you to lunge at my hook and read the book!

Tiffany Twist is the author of two books, TIFFANY TWISTED: exposed, unraveled, rewritten (June 2004 by Expert Publishing Inc.) and SOME DANCE: Hey Bartender, I'll take a decade of marriage on the rocks, a therapist straight up, and a fantasy guy with a twist (April 2005 by et al Publishing)

Tiffany has filmed for E! Television and Style Network's top rated "Diary of an Affair" to air in April and has currently been contacted by producers from both Oprah and Dr. Phil.

For more info and photos, visit http://www.tiffanytwist.com