Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is more timely that ever.

The novel is set in the superstate Oceania in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public manipulation, dictated by a political system euphemistically named English Socialism under the control of a privileged Inner Party elite that persecutes all individualism and independent thinking as “thoughtcrimes”. The tyranny is epitomized by Big Brother, the quasi-divine Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality, but who may not even exist. Big Brother and the Party justify their oppressive rule in the name of a supposed greater good.

The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, is a member of the Outer Party who works for the Ministry of Truth, which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. His job is to rewrite past newspaper articles so that the historical record always supports the current party line. Smith is a diligent and skillful worker, but he secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion against Big Brother.

1984 presents a “negative utopia,” that is at once a startling and haunting vision of the world—so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of entire generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions—a legacy that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

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Grabbing Someone’s Attention: The Art of The Hook

When something grabs your attention, it is hard to divert your attention elsewhere. Sometimes, it is material that shocks us. Sometimes, it is because the theme or some specific information hits home with us in a very personal way. More often than not, grabbing someone’s attention has nothing to do with what you write – it is related to how you write it.

Some writers have the knack of making anything sound exciting and thrilling. This is because they have mastered the art of hooking people in to their writing. It seems like they know the kinds of phrasings that people respond to – and then they go out, write it down, and make it happen.

Engaging the Reader

The most important thing to do is to believe in what you write. Everyone can tell when someone is writing about something for which they don’t feel any passion. You can feign this passion by:

• Reading up on the topics and finding the most interesting, shocking things about this topic
• Speaking to other people and find out why it motivates them.

What is even more real, however, is by adding a personal touch.

Making yourself vulnerable as a writer is a key to being a successful writer. Dare to expose why you are personally invested in a topic and how it has affected you. Share your story – nobody else can tell it. Be flexible about sharing some details. You do not have to tell your life story in order to get people to listen – just share some information that is interesting and revolves around a certain topic.

For example, if you were writing about ice cream, make it personalized. Writing like a robot can make even ice cream sound unappetizing. Nobody really wants to read an article that begins with, “Ice cream tastes great. Many people like it.” Try something more personal: “The first time I took a delicious, creamy morsel of frozen, chocolately ice cream into my mouth, I smiled, and proceeded to eat the whole bowl.”

Tricks to Grab Attention

There are many tricks of the trade that never seem to get old. Try some out in your writing and see how your readers respond.

• Start with an alarming statistic. Many people become shocked by the facts and are interested to keep reading to learn more.
• Tell someone’s important story. Begin describing another person’s experience and expressing sympathy. Look at the following sentence: “She grew up learning how to speak English by watching movies that were smuggled into her country.”  It draws the reader in and gets them exciting to learn more about this individual and their experience.
• Perfect your writing style. Make sure that your first paragraphs are error-free – this will encourage people to keep reading what you write.

The best writing advice is to keep writing, keep revising and keep asking for comments on what you write. By getting feedback from readers you will learn how to engage your reader and get them to pay attention to your words.