My “Movie Moments” Method

In Your Bestselling Book, my highly-acclaimed book authoring course for change makers like you, I teach a proprietary method for storytelling that I call the “Movie Moments” Method. 

This involves weaving vivid, engaging anecdotes from your own life experience, which you can think of like scenes from a movie, into your book, story or speech. 

These Movie Moments don't have to be about your life exclusively; they can draw on conversations with clients, customers, bosses, or even family and friends — as long as they serve your main message. They are hooks that draw your reader into the emotion of the book. 

In my TED talk, I tell the story of Toan Lam, who participated in the first cohort of Your Bestselling Book in Fall 2023. When Toan began the course, he thought he was writing a book about interior design. But a breakthrough during a simple free writing exercise reconnected him to a traumatic incident and his 12-year-old self – one of his “Movie Moments.” 

Toan ended up pivoting his book from interior design to how you can design a home and a workspace that reflect your true nature –  a book about designing your interior.

Writing Tip of the Week: Write a Movie Moment

Try the Movie Moments Method right now!

1. Think of your life as a movie. 
2. Identify a pivotal moment that you’d show on screen: That make-or-break opportunity to advance your career, the breakup that made you reevaluate your life goals, the time you had to rally your work team against all odds. This should be a moment that, in a movie, would drive the plot forward. 
3. Describe it, evoking powerful emotions as you do.
4. Be sure to impart to your readers the critical learnings from this Movie Moment. What conflict and resolution did it present? These stories hold the power to captivate your audience and inspire.

Quote of the Week

You can't change your past, but you can reframe it. Find the lesson in it. Find the opportunity in it. Pull the teachable moment out of it and share with others. You can't choose your history, but you can choose the story you tell about it.

• James Clear, bestselling author of Atomic Habits