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Openings: 5 Ways They Go Wrong
Openings are incredibly important. This was brought back to me recently as I was judging a contest. Those manuscripts that kept my interest for three pages were rare. Usually, they lost me by the middle of page two! Am I harsh? I don’t think so. Grab the Reader with Your Opening Lines Noah Lukeman has…
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How to Ruin Your Novel’s Opening with a Few Wrong Words
Choosing the right set of words–the diction of your novel–is crucial, especially in the opening pages of your novel. Novels are a context for making choices, and within that context, some words make sense and some don’t. A novel sets up a certain setting, time period, tone, mood and sensibilities and you must not violate…
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Should you Always Show-Don’t-Tell?
I recently had the privilege of listening to Sara Pennypacker, author of the Clementine series of early-chapter books. Her books are widely recognized as a forte in capturing the reader and drawing them in. The opening scene of Book 1 has Clementine, a third grade dynamo, sitting in the principal’s office and a frequent comment…
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Setting the Scene: Openings that Orient
How many times do I start a manuscript and think, “I am lost.”? Too many. One of the crucial goals of an opening scene is to orient the reader–quickly, efficiently. Telling details. The story opens in a certain location and the writer must choose the right details to evoke the story’s setting. By setting, I…
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Story Innocence
Innocent Openings for Novels “Stories should begin at a point of innocence.” When I read that recently, I had to stop and consider: where should you start a story? Point of Innocence: Don’t Foreshadow the End The main point of this quote is that you shouldn’t start with something like, “It was the worst day…
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Opening Chapters
When you write or revise a novel, you must pay careful attention to the first chapter. Opening Chapters of Novels MUST Accomplish These Goals Grab your readers attention. Something must grab the reader’s attention immediately. This can be an unusual use of language, a unique voice, a startling action, a bit of dialogue, an active…