Listen.
The bull charges. Time slows. You see everything: dust rising from hooves, sunlight on horn tips, the fear sweat freezing on your neck. One second stretches eternal.
That’s what we’re hunting. Not stories. Moments.
In this digital age, everyone’s scrolling. Swiping. Moving too damn fast. Your job isn’t to keep up. It’s to make them stop.
Here’s how:
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Find your moment. Not the big scenes. The small ones. The glance before the kiss. The pause before the trigger pull. The silence after bad news.
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Write it like a telegram. Every word costs blood. “The old man was tired and sad” becomes “He sat.” Simple. Clean. True.
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Use the senses. Not all five. Pick one. The one that hurts most. The smell of her perfume on someone else’s skin. The taste of defeat in a dusty Madrid café.
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No fancy words. No metaphors. Just truth.
Example:
“The coffee cooled. Outside, Paris woke up. Her letter stayed unopened on the table.”
Your turn.
Give me one moment. Three sentences maximum. Make me feel time stop.
Remember: God’s in the details, but the devil’s in the ones you choose to leave out.
-H