This is a gift for my community. It’s a topic unknown to many, but very important when we pitch our novel to an agent. A strong high-concept premise strengthens your chances of landing an agent and, subsequently, a publisher. In my classroom, inside Creative Writing Basic, you’ll find a clear breakdown of what “high-concept” really means, why agents look for it, and how to shape your idea so it works in a single sentence. At the end of the article, you’ll find a ready-to-use ChatGPT prompt to turn your story into a strong high-concept pitch. If you read it, please leave a comment with your high-concept premise. Also, not every story has a high-concept premise by default, so this is a challenge you might want to take on. 🙂 https://www.skool.com/marcello-iori-7056/classroom/b302f4fe?md=d6a6e730f03f4a4580b04663e53e3a18

Thanks, @Stacey Brooks, for your daily blessing. Yes, I personally need it. I’m glad to see you all writing your pieces from time to time. I’m reading you all. Just dropping a message to say I hope you all have a great evening, and I’ll see you in the comment section or in DM. If not, see you next week, when I’ll be sharing with all of you some juicy topics about books, writing, jobs, and any personal stories we want to share. Chat soon 🙂 M

Hugs are more powerful than many people realize. Something as simple as a warm embrace can affect both your body and your mind. Hugs can calm you down, help you feel supported, reduce feelings of loneliness, and even create measurable changes in stress hormones inside the body. That is one reason hugs can feel so comforting during difficult seasons of life. Hugs Help Reduce Stress One of the biggest benefits of hugs is their ability to lower stress. When you hug someone you trust, your body often releases oxytocin, sometimes called the "cuddle hormone." Oxytocin helps promote feelings of safety, trust, calmness, and connection. At the same time, hugs may help lower cortisol, which is one of the body's main stress hormones. Studies have found that receiving hugs can reduce cortisol responses after stressful situations, helping the body recover more quickly. Hugs Can Improve Mood Hugs may also help increase dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, which are chemicals linked to happiness, pleasure, and emotional well-being. That is one reason a hug can sometimes help when someone feels anxious, sad, lonely, or emotionally overwhelmed. Physical affection may help reduce feelings of depression, anxiety, and emotional distress. Hugs Help People Feel Safe and Connected A hug is not just physical. It can also communicate love, comfort, reassurance, empathy, and support without saying a single word. Many people feel calmer after being hugged because hugs can strengthen emotional connection and reduce feelings of loneliness. Touch is often described as a "social safety signal" because it reminds people they are not alone. This can be especially important during stressful times, grief, fear, or emotional pain. Hugs May Help Your Heart and Immune System Research suggests hugs may support heart health by lowering blood pressure and heart rate during stressful situations. Some studies also suggest hugs may help strengthen the immune system because they reduce stress, and chronic stress can weaken the body's natural defenses.

"Why do some books keep us awake at night, while others quietly send us to sleep?" Part of the answer may lie in something called the Zeigarnik effect. It is a psychological principle that suggests we remember unfinished things more strongly than finished ones. What remains unresolved stays in the mind. What closes too neatly often disappears. For writers, this matters more than it may seem. A story becomes difficult to put down when it keeps a living thread of tension in the reader’s mind. Not cheap tricks. Not noise. But a real sense that something is still open, still moving, still waiting to happen. This can occur at different levels of a novel. It may be an event we know is coming. It may be a chapter that ends with a quiet unease instead of a full stop. It may be a detail, a fear, a secret, or an object that seems small at first but holds the promise of future meaning. In other words, readers keep turning pages not only because they want answers, but because the story has taught them to feel the weight of what is still unfinished. That is where suspense often begins. And perhaps that is one of the hidden arts of storytelling: knowing how to leave the right door open. Have you ever read a novel that kept pulling you forward in this way? What exactly made it impossible to leave? The video below explains the idea beautifully. Source via this LINK if you want to know more

This Skool community is growing, not so much in numbers, but in engagement, and that’s fantastic. As you can see, I’m making a few changes, some of them suggested by the community itself. Brilliant. So, we now have 4 boards. One can be used only by me, where I’ll write daily topics or updates like this one. One is called Introduce Yourself, where you can introduce yourself or share a piece of news you want to put out there. One is called Questions and Answers, if you’re looking for guidance, help, or advice. And one is the Writing Board, where you can share excerpts of what you’re writing or have already written. You can also share ideas for things you want to create or are planning to build. All of this, of course, with honesty and the utmost respect. If you have any questions about these 4 boards, I’ll reply here. 😄