Chrysta Bilton

Author of NORMAL FAMILY, out now from @littlebrown. Also mother of two & lesser half to @nickbilton.

[Nick Bilton @nickbilton]

It's the honor of my career to become the executive producer of 60 Minutes. I just shared the note below with the incredible staff and can't wait to get started.

[Jerry Thornton @jerrythornton]

This is going to stick with me forever

[The Hollywood Reporter @THR]

Dwayne Johnson, Author: Crown Publishing Nabs True-Life, Hawaii-Set Crime Book Co-Written with Nick Bilton (Exclusive) https://t.co/mh8yJcOl0u

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

So proud and excited for my incredibly talented, hardworking husband @nickbilton to be working with this amazing team🦈🩸

[Dwayne Johnson @TheRock]

Our Hawaiian crime saga now has a home at 20th Century & Disney.

I was a little boy growing up in Honolulu when this real life story was taking place and these real men - ruthlessly did what they had to do for respect, money, power but more importantly - for the reclamation of our Polynesian culture.

Working closely with Marty as his vision for our story begins to take focus, has been a gift to witness and absorb. I’m honored to work with this inspiring creative team, and even more blessed to call them my friends.

More to come.
Aloha

[Nick Bilton @nickbilton]

Some totally wild personal news... I'm writing a movie for Martin Scorsese (!) starring the brilliant Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Leo DiCarprio.

[Katherine Boyle @KTmBoyle]

I don’t think I’ve watched a video of these fires that has captured the meaning of home so completely.

Pray for these people. 💙

[Nick Bilton @nickbilton]

Get ready for BIGGEST HEIST EVER, a crazy, insane, bats**t story about Bitcoin Bonnie & Clyde, the couple behind the biggest financial seizure in U.S. history. It'll be on @netflix on December 6th.

[David Perell @david_perell]

Want to write thrilling stories? Nick Bilton has the playbook.

He's written for Netflix and The New York Times, and this episode is a tell-all class on how to create tension with hooks, cliffhangers, drama, and conflict.

Highlights below:

1. Evil characters only work if readers care about them.

2. The best way to make readers care about an evil character is to humanize them. You can do that by focusing on simple details like how they lose their keys. Or, you can write about their mother because every murderer has a mother who loves them.

3. You can't look down on your characters. You have to look out with them.

4. Rule for writing screenplays: Get into the scene as late as you can, and get out of it as early as you can.

5. Fiction stories have the opposite shape as non-fiction ones.

6. In fiction, the kicker comes at the beginning and the summary comes at the end. In non-fiction, the summary comes at the beginning and the kicker comes at the end.

7. How’d Nick learn to tell better stories? By reading murder mysteries.

8. If the story's good enough, the book will fly off the shelves. Look at the Twilight series. The books sold like crazy even though the writing stinks.

9. How do you write good cliffhangers? Show people a little bit of the future, but don't reveal everything.

10. Ask the question at the end of one chapter and answer it shortly after. The answer doesn't need to come right away, but you have to answer it soon.

11. There are two kinds of stories that work: Big ones about something small, and small ones about something big. Stories in the middle are usually terrible.

12. Nick once asked the legendary journalist David Carr for advice. The response: “Keep typing until it turns into writing.”

13. You can tell a good story without knowing everything that happened, but you do need to know enough to make the reader feel like they're there.

14. Writers often over-describe their scenes. You only need three details. For example, if you're at a campground, you might only need the sight of the pine needles on the ground, the smell of a nearby campfire, and the sound of crickets in the distance.

15. We admire characters more for trying than their successes (this is rule #1 in Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling).

That's just a little taste of what's in this episode with @nickbilton. You can watch the full thing below. If you'd rather watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple, and I've shared those links in the reply tweets.

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

@semaforben @nayeema @maxwelltani @alli_rodgers @ahaburchak So exciting!! 🎉👌

[BookPage @bookpage]

4 intriguing memoirs explore the nature of family secrets. @mohsinzaidi_ldn @LaSeletzky @chrystabilton @backbaybooks @VintageAnchor @AlgonquinBooks @counterpointLLC https://t.co/ExPhx7U3zE

[The Atlantic @TheAtlantic]

The expression "There are no words" acts as a perfect conversation killer, Colin Campbell writes.

"This empty phrase immediately ends any chance of a dialogue about loss and mourning. It encapsulates all that is wrong with how our society handles grief." https://t.co/YXVdQYzvgC

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

@BradStone @aishacounts @technology @sarahfrier @KurtWagner8 @alexbarinka Best hire ever ✨ congrats @aishacounts

[Kirkus Reviews @KirkusReviews]

It was a banner year for the Fully Booked podcast. 🎧 Host @MLabrise looks back at some favorite episodes, including conversations with @AntonHur, @namwalien, @jessaminechan, @chrystabilton, and others. https://t.co/KFBr2kmg8K #podcasts #authors #books

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

Thank you
@KirkusReviews ! So many incredible books on this list and honored to have Normal Family be a part of it. ✨🥂

[Kirkus Reviews @KirkusReviews]

🥂 Time to celebrate the 100 Best Nonfiction Books of 2022! https://t.co/laBNklCJJE #bestbooks2022 @wwnorton @fsgbooks @AkashicBooks @DandQ @BeaconPressBks @GraywolfPress @Milkweed_Books @Pegasus_Books @CeladonBooks @ABRAMSbooks @melvillehouse @PrincetonUPress @ScribnerBooks

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

@ruthmadievsky @TheAtlantic @J_Escoffery @kylelucia @NatalieGDiaz Thank you for including Normal Family in this beautiful piece @ruthmadievsky. Proud to be in such wonderful company.

[Ruth Madievsky @ruthmadievsky]

I wrote about books across several genres that capture the wild, messy, deeply individual nature of siblinghood for @TheAtlantic!

feat. @J_Escoffery @kylelucia @NatalieGDiaz @chrystabilton & more

https://t.co/Fhbyxiraxr

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

@TheBookMaven Beyond exciting. Huge congrats and can’t wait to read. 🤍

[Chrysta Bilton @chrystabilton]

Devastating and heartbreaking to read about all of the children experiencing homelessness in rural America. A must read from @Ms_SamShapiro.

[NYT Magazine @NYTmag]

Nowhere to shower. No internet for homework. No money for gas. Mothers sexually harassed by predatory landlords. For homeless students in rural America, help is scarce, and sometimes comes from only one source: schools, @Ms_SamShapiro reports. https://t.co/Hgh6MTF1Jf

[David Gelles @dgelles]

In a move with no precedent in the business world, Chouinard, along with his family, have forfeited all their shares in Patagonia, a company valued at about $3 billion, renouncing their status as one of the wealthiest families in the US. https://t.co/22q91WK2Hz

[Ruth Madievsky @ruthmadievsky]

nothing beats a balmy outdoor reading followed by a juicy q&a. so lovely to hear @chrystabilton in convo with @smdanler 💫