How Cloud Atlas hooks readers: Delivering the unexpected (video essay)
How author David Mitchell uses unexpected structure and unexpected language to hook readers in his novel Cloud Atlas. Plus, how the psychological concept of flow applies to great writing.
TRANSCRIPT (with extras): http://bit.ly/CloudAtlasEssay
UPDATES on Twitter: / hownovelstarts
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ADDITIONAL READING & VIEWING
Cloud Atlas synopsis: http://bit.ly/2Q8kBEt
David Mitchell’s website: http://www.davidmitchellbooks.com/
Cloud Atlas film: http://bit.ly/2A8HddT
Guardian article about David Mitchell and Cloud Atlas film adaptation https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
Flow definition http://bit.ly/2qUlwdq
Flow TED talk by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi • Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, the secret ...
“Game of Thrones” TV series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of...
“A Game of Thrones” novel synopsis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_...
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ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
What’s the best way to start a story? What makes readers, agents, and publishers take a chance on our book? What holds their attention? There’s plenty of advice out there on how to write a first chapter, but so much of it is generic. So I went looking for concrete examples in great books. On HOW THE NOVEL STARTS, I explore the opening chapters of popular novels, and figure out what writers can learn from them for their own work.
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/howthenovelstarts
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MUSIC ATTRIBUTIONS
“Plague” by Kai Engel
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai...
“Seeker” by Kai Engel
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai...
“daedalus” by Kai Engel
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai...
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IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS
Asia map in old book - Kiwihug
https://unsplash.com/photos/yZVBebc1GnE
Oceania (World Factbook)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Book, compass, travel and map - rawpixel
https://unsplash.com/photos/JuNA3IQMAjY
Book, library, bookshelf and shadow - Jason Wong
https://unsplash.com/photos/PBNbMX6jtBM
Subscribe button - AlfredoCreates
https://www.alfredocreates.com/youtub...
Blueprint background - Ian Barnard
http://www.ianbarnard.co.uk/free-blue...
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