The Secret To Success

Ever wondered how writers become successful? C.B., author of the bestselling series Moonlight Quests, shares with Bruce what he believes is his true secret to success. 

B: So the second book in your Moonlight Quests series is getting released next month. How does it feel to see your series become a bestseller?

C.B.: Good.

B: Ha, man of few words I see. So let’s get straight to the point then. Do you have any advice to give to writers who want to be successful like you?

C.B.: Yep.

B: Would you mind sharing them?

C.B.: Sure. My advice for those writers is to end stories with a plot twist, a heartwarming ending, or both.

B: Can you elaborate?

C.B.: Well, for the plot twist, it doesn’t always have to come in the end. Sometimes you can put it in the middle. If you’re writing a long series, you’ll need a bunch of plot twists to keep the readers interested. Also, ending the book on a cliffhanger is a good way to get them to buy the next one.

As for the heartwarming ending, just write something sappy. Like have the main character retire with a family, or marry their love interest. Oh! And make sure the last sentence is really short and acts as a callback to an earlier line from the book. This will make people think it’s deep or thought provoking. 

B: You don’t have any other advice for aspiring writers?

C.B.: Nope, that’s pretty much it.

B: Huh. It’s just that most writers I interview say something like, “Read from a bunch of different genres.” Or “Always write, even if you don’t think it’s good.” Or “Finish everything you’re working on.”

C.B.: I guess those tips can help. But the most important thing to do is end it with a plot twist, something heartwarming, or both.

B: But what about symbolism, themes, or foreshadowing?

C.B.: None of that stuff really matters. Look at your average English class. If you’d ask them if they read the books and took notes, most would say they just went on SparkNotes or Wikipedia. People aren’t interested in analysis. 

When a new movie comes out, what do you see on Twitter? Do you see people talking about symbolism or themes? Or do you see people complain about how there were too many or too few White people in it? You can ignore all of that English stuff. Except foreshadowing. That’s good to draw in nerds online who make those fan theories and post them on YouTube and Reddit.

B: But what about characters and character development? Surely people care about that?

C.B.: Oh, I did forget about characters. Yeah, that’s pretty important.

B: Good, we’re getting somewhere. Do you have any tips on how people should write characters and their development?

C.B.: Well, for characters, my advice would be to give all your main characters a tragic backstory. As for development, make a bad guy a good guy, and make all the characters slowly get stronger. People really like that.

B: Does making your characters stronger really count as character development?

C.B.: I don’t really know, but fans eat that stuff up. People usually don’t like overpowered characters, but if you start them off weak and then make them overpowered a couple books later, they’re pretty cool with it. Makes them think it’s “earned” or something.

B: Okay, but what about giving all of them tragic backstories? Not all of your characters from Moonlight Quests have that. Like Jeremey.

C.B.: I’m planning to reveal his tragic backstory in book 3.

B: What about Sam? 

C.B.: Book 5.

B: Trish?

C.B.: Prequel novella that takes place between books 7 and 8.

B: William?

C.B.: Eh, I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with him. I’m either going to kill him off, or give him a spinoff series where you finally learn his tragic backstory.

B: Do you honestly believe that if people followed your advice, they would become as successful as you?

C.B.: What? Of course not. I’m just telling you stuff people generally like in stories.

B: If none of this helped you become a famous author, then what would you say was the true secret to your success?

C.B.: Luck. 

B: Just luck? There’s nothing more to it than that?

C.B.: Not really. Becoming a famous writer or becoming famous for anything is basically winning the lottery. There’s plenty of authors that are way more talented and hardworking than I am that’ll never get anything of theirs published. Think about all of those books that were shunned in their time, but considered classics in ours. It’s just blind luck. Even if Moby-Dick had plot twists or a heartwarming ending, I doubt it would’ve sold any better.

B: Does Moby-Dick not have plot twists or a heartwarming ending?

C.B.: I don’t know, I’ve never finished it.

B: So would you say it’s hopeless to try to become a famous writer? That someone shouldn't even attempt it?

C.B.: Look at it this way: how many people play musical instruments or sing? A lot, right? But how many of them are trying to become a famous rockstar? Some of them are, but plenty aren’t. The majority of people who play music or sing aren’t doing it to get a number-one single or a record deal.

B: I see. They don’t do it for fame, they do it because they truly love music. And you’re suggesting that people should write because they love the craft, and not for other reasons?

C.B.: Actually, I was going to say that musicians do what they do to get laid, but that works too.

B: ...Well, this has been a nice interview, but we’re down to our last question. What does C.B. actually stand for?

C.B.: Charlie Bruce. Charlie is my name, but Bruce was the name of my dad.

B: Your dad?

C.B.: Yeah. I don’t really even remember him though. My parents got separated when I was really young, and my mom got full custody, so I haven’t seen him since.

B: ...Son?

C.B.: Dad?

There were a million things that C.B. wanted to say to his father. He wanted to tell him about all those times he thought about him, all the birthdays he had missed, all of those important landmarks. How he sometimes blamed him, sometimes blamed his mother, and even occasionally blamed himself. But instead of saying any of these things, he silently hugged his father.

After all, he was a man of few words.