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Opening Lines of Bestsellers: Which would you buy?
Opening Lines: I’ve written before about the importance of opening lines and 12 options for opening a story or novel. Which of these would make you read the next line? If you had to choose JUST BY READING THE OPENING LINES, which book would you buy? Opening Lines A. Barry Fairbrother did not want to […]
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Starting a New chapter: Defeating the Blank Page
Your novel is progressing nicely and you finish a chapter. But then, the next chapter is calling and you procrastinate, you read blogs, you do laundry, you AVOID. How can you get started on that next chapter? Sensory details. I like to imagine where my character is in the next chapter, then close my eyes, […]
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Conflict Begins on Page One
I’ve written a couple starts on my new novel and been dissatisfied with every one. Why? Because they lacked tension. The first chapter must start the conflict of the story, must include enough detail, enough characterization, enough conflict to hook a reader. My early drafts were an exploration of the characters (a boy, his mom […]
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Openings: And the Winner Is. . .
Thanks to everyone who read and commented on yesterday’s post on story openings, in which I gave you twelve options from a WIP from which to choose. First, the informal survey hit some hotspots for some writers: “I would throw the ‘it was’ line in a lake with a stone tied around it. Sorry, I’m […]
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3 Christmas Season Projects for Writers
Writing during the Christmas holidays can be difficult. There’s too much to do, too much living to do! Here are some simple low-stress projects to keep you going. Just have fun with these! Show-Don’t-Tell with Sensory Go sit at a mall, beside a seasonal skating rink, at a holiday concert. Notice the sensory details of […]
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Orient Your Readers
Sometimes when I read the opening of a manuscript, I’m totally confused. Trying too hard to grab the reader. These openings start with something startling. OK. Nothing wrong with that, except