Today on the show we have best-selling author and screenwriter Eileen Cook. She is a multi-published, award-winning author with her novels appearing in nine languages. Her books have been optioned for film and TV.
She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. She’s an instructor/mentor with The Creative Academy and Simon Fraser University Writer’s Studio Program where she loves helping other writers find their unique story to tell.
Her best-selling book Create Story Conflict: How to increase tension in your writing & keep readers turning pages is a must-read for screenwriters. Here’s a bit about the book:
Conflict is essential to story—regardless of genre. The friction between what a character wants and the lengths they will go to reach that goal is what pulls readers through your book. Great conflict is what leaves readers cheering (or crying) at the end of a story.
Using humor and her deep knowledge of human behavior, counselor and award-winning author Eileen Cook will guide you through the causes of conflict, the differences between internal and external conflict, and show you how conflict resolution techniques can be turned upside down to ramp up the tension in your book.
Filled with practical tips, examples, and prompts, this is a craft book you’ll keep on your shelf to use again and again.
Enjoy my conversation with Eileen Cook.