A Letter to all the Writers Using the Format of a Letter to Someone/Something as a Story Hook
Please Stop, So Played Out
Dear writers using the format of a letter to someone/something as a story hook,
We need to talk. First I am sorry this message has to come in the form of a letter and not in person. It was simply not possible to locate every writer using the format of a letter to someone/something as a story hook to deliver it face to face. A quick scan of several "popular" web publishing platforms suggests that hundreds of these stories formatted as letters are written and published each week. This particular writing trick has been around since age immemorial and is so played out. Please, please stop using it. It is almost as cliché and overused as the article title in the form of a question which I have also suggested should see a major reduction in usage or even total elimination. The title of that article was itself written in the form of a question, much like the this piece which is written in the form of the very thing it is denouncing. That is referred to in the writing business as irony or satire or parody or one of those things. Not really sure exactly which, but definitely one of those, and most definitely awesome, smart, and funny, just like the author of this article, me. I am not saying that using the format of a letter to someone/something as a story hook is always a bad idea, but I am saying it is lazy, and way, way overused. While writing a story in the format of a letter to someone/something and/or with a title in the form of a question are both superior to writing a story in the form of a cooking recipe. they are all still lazy and way, way overused. If you do not have any better ideas for the format of your story below are some suggestions you might try, beyond the obvious of just writing it in the form of a story. Of course, don't forget that it needs to be at least six hundred words or obviously, it won't be any good and not worth publishing, but that goes without saying. How about any one or more of the following story forms you might try that are not in the form of letters to someone/something or with a title in the form of a question:
You could write your story in the form of:
A court summons
A speeding ticket
A movie poster
A movie trailer
A television or movie show dialogue
A dialogue/debate between famous philosophers/actors/politicians/scientists
A Dr. Seuss Limerick
A poem
A song
A famous book or book chapter
A religious ceremony or holy scripture
A discussion/debate between two sentient animals/aliens
Shampoo/conditioner usage instructions
Prescription medication dosage instructions
Prescription medication warnings
An old timey square dance lyric
A journal entry from a person living on a planet identical to earth in every way except for on that planet the sporting goods chain Dick's is known as Rick's
An obituary
A peace treaty
Etc., etc. etc.
As you can see there are a near infinite number of ways you can write a story with a hook that is not an article in the form of a letter to someone/something or with a title in the form of a question. But, let me remind you one more time, it needs to be at least 600 words long or obviously it will suck and will not be fit for publishing. Hopefully,, everybody reading this already knows that knows that though. I mean it is the first thing you learn in writing school. Gheesh.
Sincerely,
A writer who never, ever writes articles with titles in the form of questions or in the form of letters to someone/something as story hooks.
lol!
About the Creator
Everyday Junglist
Practicing mage of the natural sciences (Ph.D. micro/mol bio), Thought middle manager, Everyday Junglist, Boulderer, Cat lover, No tie shoelace user, Humorist, Argan oil aficionado. Occasional LinkedIn & Facebook user
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