A popular post from April 2008
by Heather Moore
In Jack Bickham’s The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (Chapter 6), he warns us not to BEGIN our book with a lengthy description.
When you start describing a pretty sunset, a dark, leafy forest, or a calm blue ocean, the action of the story stops. So you want to make sure that you don’t BEGIN your book with a lengthy description. When you begin a book, you want to start with dialog, action or thought (internal dialog).
Also, watch for cliché descriptions. There are isolated circumstances when lengthy descriptions work. But until you get published, you need to follow the rules and make yourself competitive against the thousands of other writers out there. In fact, in writers and publishing circles, according the Bickham, cliché descriptions have become a hallmark of poor fiction writing—a red flag that signals the “beginning writer”. i.e. “the rosy fingers of dawn”.
Why? Bickham notes: Fiction is movement. Description is static. In other words, to describe something in detail means that you have to . . . stop . . . describe it . . . then move onto the action again.
Ask yourself this question. When you are reading a book, what do YOU skim over? Have you ever “skimmed” over descriptions to get to “what is happening next”?
It's important to find a good balance with description. Of course, you still need description, but you don’t need a page describing the desert terrain, or even a paragraph. Description must be worked in carefully in small doses.
Description isn't just about describing sunsets, landscape, details of a house . . . Description can also include writing about every single thought and every single action a character has. The seasoned writer will describe a little (tell), and demonstrate a lot (show).
Over the past decade or two, readers have changed. Readers today want you to move your story forward, not stand around picking apart the scenery or discussing every little movement.
From Bickham's book (15), I've modified his speed tracker idea below. If your story is moving too slowly, look at the form of writing you are using most, and speed it up with a higher “mph.” Or if it’s moving too fast, you can slow it down.
10 mph: Exposition—slowest of all.
1. Straight log of factual information—biographical, forensic, sociological, etc.
25 mph: Description
1. Some is necessary, but monitor it carefully.
40 mph: Narrative
1. Characters are in the story “now” and their actions, etc are presented moment by moment with nothing left out.
2. Similar to a stage play and what most of your story should be in. Moves swiftly.
55 mph: Dialogue
1. Talking, very little action or interior thought
2. Can be very quick, like a tennis match, when the characters are talking in short bursts
70 mph: Dramatic Summary
1. Summarizing. i.e. by Bickham: “A car chase or argument that might require six pages of narrative might be condensed into a single light-speed paragraph.”
2. Moves the story forward in leaps and bound.
Our ultimate goal as a writer is to keep the story moving. Don't let the description slow you down!
Showing posts with label first chapter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first chapter. Show all posts
Monday, June 19, 2017
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Get to the Point
A popular post from January 2008
by Annette Lyon
Where should you start your story?
That's the magic question so many writers wrestle with. I'm one of them; I usually rewrite my first chapter a dozen times before it's right, and often it'll end up as a different scene altogether, starting at a different moment in the story.
Regardless of how difficult the beginning is to spot and capture in your writing, doing so is critical. A reader (or, more importantly, an agent or editor) won't give you the benefit of the doubt and keep reading to page 63 where it really gets good.
You must hook the reader immediately and give them a solid reason to keep going. You have to earn the reader going on to the second sentence, the next paragraph, the next page.
In my editing experience, the most common mistake with beginnings is that the writer tries to tell too much of the back story too soon, as if we just have to know right away what got John to this point in his life.
When this happens, the reader doesn't get to the actual story without wading through the history, perhaps in flashbacks or large sections of "info dump." (Big hint here: if you're beginning your story with a flashback, you're starting in the wrong place.)
Your beginning should open at a time of change for the main character. By the end of the first chapter, their life has to be turned upside down.
And most importantly, something must be happening. Never, ever, have your first chapter filled with a character sitting on a mountaintop (or in the car, or by the beach, or in bed) recalling past events or what they need to do about them.
Remember "show don't tell"? Do it here. Show your character in a difficult situation. Show your character reacting to it, struggling to decide what to do next.
When past information is critical to include, drop a tidbit here and there, just enough to keep the reader informed while the story keeps moving forward. Avoid writing more than a couple of sentences of back story at any point; when you do that, you stall the story, no matter how fascinating the history is. Let us discover the past a piece at a time.
The majority of manuscripts I see with the problem of opening overload eventually find their beginnings. I can often spot it two or three (or more) pages into the piece. Sometimes I'll star that spot and say, "Start here. This is the real beginning."
What about everything before it? Hit the delete button. Really. It's all what David Fryxell from Writer's Digest calls "throat clearing," where you're just warming up and finally you reach the point you've been trying to make all along.
Reread your work with an eye out for any "throat clearing." You might just find you've already written a brilliant opening . . . on page 4.
by Annette Lyon
Where should you start your story?
That's the magic question so many writers wrestle with. I'm one of them; I usually rewrite my first chapter a dozen times before it's right, and often it'll end up as a different scene altogether, starting at a different moment in the story.
Regardless of how difficult the beginning is to spot and capture in your writing, doing so is critical. A reader (or, more importantly, an agent or editor) won't give you the benefit of the doubt and keep reading to page 63 where it really gets good.
You must hook the reader immediately and give them a solid reason to keep going. You have to earn the reader going on to the second sentence, the next paragraph, the next page.
In my editing experience, the most common mistake with beginnings is that the writer tries to tell too much of the back story too soon, as if we just have to know right away what got John to this point in his life.
When this happens, the reader doesn't get to the actual story without wading through the history, perhaps in flashbacks or large sections of "info dump." (Big hint here: if you're beginning your story with a flashback, you're starting in the wrong place.)
Your beginning should open at a time of change for the main character. By the end of the first chapter, their life has to be turned upside down.
And most importantly, something must be happening. Never, ever, have your first chapter filled with a character sitting on a mountaintop (or in the car, or by the beach, or in bed) recalling past events or what they need to do about them.
Remember "show don't tell"? Do it here. Show your character in a difficult situation. Show your character reacting to it, struggling to decide what to do next.
When past information is critical to include, drop a tidbit here and there, just enough to keep the reader informed while the story keeps moving forward. Avoid writing more than a couple of sentences of back story at any point; when you do that, you stall the story, no matter how fascinating the history is. Let us discover the past a piece at a time.
The majority of manuscripts I see with the problem of opening overload eventually find their beginnings. I can often spot it two or three (or more) pages into the piece. Sometimes I'll star that spot and say, "Start here. This is the real beginning."
What about everything before it? Hit the delete button. Really. It's all what David Fryxell from Writer's Digest calls "throat clearing," where you're just warming up and finally you reach the point you've been trying to make all along.
Reread your work with an eye out for any "throat clearing." You might just find you've already written a brilliant opening . . . on page 4.
Friday, October 7, 2016
Getting Past the First Chapter
A popular post from March 2013
By Julie Wright
By Julie Wright
We all know that the first line of the book has to be awesome. It has to earn you the right to the second line which has to earn you the right to the first page, which has to earn you the right to the first chapter. The first chapter is the thing that paves the way for the rest of the book. Sometimes it's all anyone will ever see of your book.
But writing a first chapter is HARD. It takes time--which is the number one reason people never get past the first chapter. I tweeted this the other day: My best writing advice to new writers? Time is made not found. If you love it, you will do it. We always *make* time for what we love.
Don't tell me you're too busy. If you loved writing like I love writing, then you will MAKE the time. Heck, even if you only sorta liked writing a tenth of the way I love it, then you'd make the time.
But it's still HARD. After all what if you write it all down and it's lame, lame, lame? Fear is another reason people don't write. In Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, he talks of Hitler's talent as an artist, then made the claim that it was easier for Hitler to start WWII than it was for him to face a blank canvas. That line stayed with me. Am I driving my own artistic life off course in order to avoid the blank page? I'm not saying fear of failure isn't real. I'm not saying that the blank page isn't terrifying. Of course it is. But it's also exciting, filled with possibility and adventure. The blank page can be anything you want. Embrace the page and write. So what if it's lame? I maintain my firm belief that a lame page is easier to fix than a blank page.
So where do you start?
I start with the character.
Then I put the character in a situation that feels interesting to me. I have them act on that situation and speak to those people populating that situation.
You might be a setting starter.
You might be a plot starter.
You might be a late starter and need to turn the engine over and over and over until it finally engages (which means you'll have to delete the first few pages, but so what? They helped you get the engine going).
There is no right or wrong place to start. The point is to start at a place that is interesting to YOU. In my latest novel, Capes and Curls, the story opens with Red killing a rabbit in front of her sister who hates the killing even though they're starving. I opened showing the differences between the sisters, the sacrifices each were willing to take for the other. I wanted to show that even with all their differences, they stood together in all things. Did I know I wanted to show all that with my beginning? Absolutely not. I started there because it was interesting to me. Admittedly, I had a couple of other false starts before I got to the scene with the girls and the rabbit, but those were the cranking-the-engine pages and were all deleted.
The first chapter is do vital because it sets the tone and mood of the whole book. Should the reader be afraid? Should they be cautious? Should they want to laugh? All of that is revealed in the beginning of every book, so you should know ahead of time whet kind of book you're writing. Is it romance? And if it is romance, is it funny, tragic, steamy? You need to know going in so that your tone stays consistent. You don't want to start out with a deep, soulful, naval-gazing talk about the weather when you want the book to be an action-packed, hard core science fiction novel.
So have an idea of what you want to write, forget fear, make the time, and sit your butt in a chair. You might have to rewrite but that's okay. Why? Because it's easier to fix lame than blank.
But writing a first chapter is HARD. It takes time--which is the number one reason people never get past the first chapter. I tweeted this the other day: My best writing advice to new writers? Time is made not found. If you love it, you will do it. We always *make* time for what we love.
Don't tell me you're too busy. If you loved writing like I love writing, then you will MAKE the time. Heck, even if you only sorta liked writing a tenth of the way I love it, then you'd make the time.
But it's still HARD. After all what if you write it all down and it's lame, lame, lame? Fear is another reason people don't write. In Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, he talks of Hitler's talent as an artist, then made the claim that it was easier for Hitler to start WWII than it was for him to face a blank canvas. That line stayed with me. Am I driving my own artistic life off course in order to avoid the blank page? I'm not saying fear of failure isn't real. I'm not saying that the blank page isn't terrifying. Of course it is. But it's also exciting, filled with possibility and adventure. The blank page can be anything you want. Embrace the page and write. So what if it's lame? I maintain my firm belief that a lame page is easier to fix than a blank page.
So where do you start?
I start with the character.
Then I put the character in a situation that feels interesting to me. I have them act on that situation and speak to those people populating that situation.
You might be a setting starter.
You might be a plot starter.
You might be a late starter and need to turn the engine over and over and over until it finally engages (which means you'll have to delete the first few pages, but so what? They helped you get the engine going).
There is no right or wrong place to start. The point is to start at a place that is interesting to YOU. In my latest novel, Capes and Curls, the story opens with Red killing a rabbit in front of her sister who hates the killing even though they're starving. I opened showing the differences between the sisters, the sacrifices each were willing to take for the other. I wanted to show that even with all their differences, they stood together in all things. Did I know I wanted to show all that with my beginning? Absolutely not. I started there because it was interesting to me. Admittedly, I had a couple of other false starts before I got to the scene with the girls and the rabbit, but those were the cranking-the-engine pages and were all deleted.
The first chapter is do vital because it sets the tone and mood of the whole book. Should the reader be afraid? Should they be cautious? Should they want to laugh? All of that is revealed in the beginning of every book, so you should know ahead of time whet kind of book you're writing. Is it romance? And if it is romance, is it funny, tragic, steamy? You need to know going in so that your tone stays consistent. You don't want to start out with a deep, soulful, naval-gazing talk about the weather when you want the book to be an action-packed, hard core science fiction novel.
So have an idea of what you want to write, forget fear, make the time, and sit your butt in a chair. You might have to rewrite but that's okay. Why? Because it's easier to fix lame than blank.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Getting Past the First Chapter
A popular post from April 2015
I had a conversation with someone the other day who said he wanted to write a book about his life (he's had some amazing experiences), but of course he has the challenge of finding the time to write. Sound familiar, anyone? It's hard to carve out that time. It takes sacrifice, and it reminded me of Julie's post from March 2013.
Hope you'll find some inspiration :-)
(originally posted March 2013)
GETTING PAST THE FIRST CHAPTER:
By Julie Wright
But writing a first chapter is HARD. It takes time--which is the number one reason people never get past the first chapter. I tweeted this the other day: My best writing advice to new writers? Time is made not found. If you love it, you will do it. We always *make* time for what we love.
Don't tell me you're too busy. If you loved writing like I love writing, then you will MAKE the time. Heck, even if you only sorta liked writing a tenth of the way I love it, then you'd make the time.
But it's still HARD. After all what if you write it all down and it's lame, lame, lame? Fear is another reason people don't write. In Steven Pressfield's The War of Art, he talks of Hitler's talent as an artist, then made the claim that it was easier for Hitler to start WWII than it was for him to face a blank canvas. That line stayed with me. Am I driving my own artistic life off course in order to avoid the blank page? I'm not saying fear of failure isn't real. I'm not saying that the blank page isn't terrifying. Of course it is. But it's also exciting, filled with possibility and adventure. The blank page can be anything you want. Embrace the page and write. So what if it's lame? I maintain my firm belief that a lame page is easier to fix than a blank page.
So where do you start?
I start with the character.
Then I put the character in a situation that feels interesting to me. I have them act on that situation and speak to those people populating that situation.
You might be a setting starter.
You might be a plot starter.
You might be a late starter and need to turn the engine over and over and over until it finally engages (which means you'll have to delete the first few pages, but so what? They helped you get the engine going).
There is no right or wrong place to start. The point is to start at a place that is interesting to YOU. In my latest novel, Capes and Curls, the story opens with Red killing a rabbit in front of her sister who hates the killing even though they're starving. I opened showing the differences between the sisters, the sacrifices each were willing to take for the other. I wanted to show that even with all their differences, they stood together in all things. Did I know I wanted to show all that with my beginning? Absolutely not. I started there because it was interesting to me. Admittedly, I had a couple of other false starts before I got to the scene with the girls and the rabbit, but those were the cranking-the-engine pages and were all deleted.
The first chapter is do vital because it sets the tone and mood of the whole book. Should the reader be afraid? Should they be cautious? Should they want to laugh? All of that is revealed in the beginning of every book, so you should know ahead of time whet kind of book you're writing. Is it romance? And if it is romance, is it funny, tragic, steamy? You need to know going in so that your tone stays consistent. You don't want to start out with a deep, soulful, navel-gazing talk about the weather when you want the book to be an action-packed, hard core science fiction novel.
So have an idea of what you want to write, forget fear, make the time, and sit your butt in a chair. You might have to rewrite but that's okay. Why? Because it's easier to fix lame than blank
Thursday, November 29, 2007
The First Page: Kleenex & Chocolate
By Heather Moore
Can you tell if you like a book from the very first page? What makes you continue reading to the second page?
Readers are different from agents and editors. Most readers will give a writer a fairly decent chance to pull them in. In fact, I can remember several books that I’ve recently read that didn’t fully pull me in until 50-100 pages. But I kept reading because someone had recommended the book to me. So I gave it a chance.
But what about an agent?
They don’t give you a chance if the first page doesn’t pull them in. This may seem like an almost impossible feat. But if you go around your house and gather your favorite books, then read the first page—ask yourself what compels you to keep reading.
Recently I finished a manuscript. I emailed the prologue to Josi, since she had included an excellent prologue in one of her books. She read it and promptly said that I needed to drop the first three pages. Not that the writing wasn’t good, or the story, but she wanted to be drawn in from the first page.
The competition is crazy out there. Write your novel. Then get someone who will be exceptionally honest to read it. Finally, get out the chocolate and Kleenex and start editing.
Can you tell if you like a book from the very first page? What makes you continue reading to the second page?
Readers are different from agents and editors. Most readers will give a writer a fairly decent chance to pull them in. In fact, I can remember several books that I’ve recently read that didn’t fully pull me in until 50-100 pages. But I kept reading because someone had recommended the book to me. So I gave it a chance.
But what about an agent?
They don’t give you a chance if the first page doesn’t pull them in. This may seem like an almost impossible feat. But if you go around your house and gather your favorite books, then read the first page—ask yourself what compels you to keep reading.
Recently I finished a manuscript. I emailed the prologue to Josi, since she had included an excellent prologue in one of her books. She read it and promptly said that I needed to drop the first three pages. Not that the writing wasn’t good, or the story, but she wanted to be drawn in from the first page.
The competition is crazy out there. Write your novel. Then get someone who will be exceptionally honest to read it. Finally, get out the chocolate and Kleenex and start editing.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Introducing Our New Critique Forum: MONDAY MANIA
The editors at Precision Editing Group are pleased to announce our new on-line critique forum.
And you won't even have to go anywhere. Right here, on our Writing on the Wall blog, we'll post YOUR queries or first page of your book [about 350 words]. You'll receive same-day feedback on your query or first page from our editors AND readers.
How it will work:
1. Each Monday, hereby called MONDAY MANIA, we'll post 1-3 queries and/or first pages on the blog. As a reader, you'll be able to read the queries and post your own comments. Please keep your comments constructive and in good taste. We want to set ourselves apart from other blogs and stay helpful and professional. Our editors will also be reading the submissions and posting comments as well.
2. Email your query or first page to: editor@precisioneditinggroup.com If we receive it by the Friday before, we'll post your submission the following Monday by 12:00 noon, MST. You are welcome to request that your post be shown anonymously. Please remove any highly-personal information.
3. You can email us your submissions any time. If there is a backlog, it may take longer to be listed on the Monday Mania blog. Keep checking each Monday for your submission. Meanwhile, feel free to comment on queries and first pages submitted by other writers.
We hope this will prove to be a constructive way to earn immediate feedback from two of the most challenging writing processes. When you submit to an agent or publisher, your query and your first page has only seconds to capture attention. We want your submissions to rise above the slush pile.
And you won't even have to go anywhere. Right here, on our Writing on the Wall blog, we'll post YOUR queries or first page of your book [about 350 words]. You'll receive same-day feedback on your query or first page from our editors AND readers.
How it will work:
1. Each Monday, hereby called MONDAY MANIA, we'll post 1-3 queries and/or first pages on the blog. As a reader, you'll be able to read the queries and post your own comments. Please keep your comments constructive and in good taste. We want to set ourselves apart from other blogs and stay helpful and professional. Our editors will also be reading the submissions and posting comments as well.
2. Email your query or first page to: editor@precisioneditinggroup.com If we receive it by the Friday before, we'll post your submission the following Monday by 12:00 noon, MST. You are welcome to request that your post be shown anonymously. Please remove any highly-personal information.
3. You can email us your submissions any time. If there is a backlog, it may take longer to be listed on the Monday Mania blog. Keep checking each Monday for your submission. Meanwhile, feel free to comment on queries and first pages submitted by other writers.
We hope this will prove to be a constructive way to earn immediate feedback from two of the most challenging writing processes. When you submit to an agent or publisher, your query and your first page has only seconds to capture attention. We want your submissions to rise above the slush pile.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Back Story: Take it or Leave it
by Heather Moore
How much back story should you give when you introduce a character? Does the reader need to know your heroine’s date of birth, list of allergies, and favorite teacher in third grade? ONLY if it’s essential to the story. In my critique group we call this info dump. Novelists who are just getting their feet wet often make the common mistake of characterizing by writing back story—lots of it. Your reader really doesn’t need to know whether a character prefers one aspirin or two. This is not characterization.
There’s plenty of time to catch the reader up with the essentials, so don’t do it on the first page, or in the first chapter.
Recently I attended the URWA conference in Salt Lake City. Two agents attended.
Their pet peeves on submissions were:
1. Too much back story
2. Too much internalization
3. Lack of place
4. Adverbs in dialog tags
5. Over written 1st page—too much description
6. Actions not consistent with characters
7. Villain who is not motivated, but insane
At the same conference, Karen Robards, author of multiple NY Times Bestsellers, said this about chapter one:
1. Start your book at the moment where something major happens
2. No background in first page
3. No scenic description
4. You can put some back story in the middle of the first chapter: make it short and vivid
5. End your chapters with a cliffhanger—no conclusion, or you are giving the reader a reason to put the book down.
Take another look at your first chapter. See if you have overdone the back story. Hook the reader then drop in nuggets of back story along the way, but only what is necessary.
How much back story should you give when you introduce a character? Does the reader need to know your heroine’s date of birth, list of allergies, and favorite teacher in third grade? ONLY if it’s essential to the story. In my critique group we call this info dump. Novelists who are just getting their feet wet often make the common mistake of characterizing by writing back story—lots of it. Your reader really doesn’t need to know whether a character prefers one aspirin or two. This is not characterization.
There’s plenty of time to catch the reader up with the essentials, so don’t do it on the first page, or in the first chapter.
Recently I attended the URWA conference in Salt Lake City. Two agents attended.
Their pet peeves on submissions were:
1. Too much back story
2. Too much internalization
3. Lack of place
4. Adverbs in dialog tags
5. Over written 1st page—too much description
6. Actions not consistent with characters
7. Villain who is not motivated, but insane
At the same conference, Karen Robards, author of multiple NY Times Bestsellers, said this about chapter one:
1. Start your book at the moment where something major happens
2. No background in first page
3. No scenic description
4. You can put some back story in the middle of the first chapter: make it short and vivid
5. End your chapters with a cliffhanger—no conclusion, or you are giving the reader a reason to put the book down.
Take another look at your first chapter. See if you have overdone the back story. Hook the reader then drop in nuggets of back story along the way, but only what is necessary.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Hooks Aren't Just For Fishing
By Heather Moore
Have you been tempted to send an agent or publisher your third chapter—because that's where your story gets really good? If there isn’t a Hook on page one of your book, the agent has no reason to read page two.
But a Hook isn’t just a one-time event. There should be essentially three Hooks in your book and four if you count your query.
1. Hook—1st sentence/page
2. Hook—why you read the next chapter
3. Hook—why you are reading to the end of the book
4. Hook—in query letter, why the agent will start reading your sample chapters
Hook One:
Read these opening Hooks:
Unsung Lullaby by Josi Kilpack
Maddie took a sip of lemonade while looking at the circle of women surrounding her. They talked and laughed, enjoying the chance to get out of their homes, away from their families, and to bask in the company of women for the evening—even if it was just a baby shower.
Maddie was not one of them.
*Do you want to know why Maddie isn’t “one of them”? I do. What sets her apart from the others? What trial is she facing or what fear is she trying to overcome?
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
Ruth remembered drowning.
“That’s impossible,” Aunt Amanda said. “It must have been a dream.”
But Ruth maintained that she had drowned, insisted on it for years, even after she should have known better.
*This piques my interest immediately. People die when they drown. That’s what it means. So how is Ruth different? And how can she remember drowning and still be alive?
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
My mother did not tell me they were coming. Afterwards she said she did not want me to appear nervous. I was surprised, for I thought she knew me well. Strangers would think I was calm. I did not cry as a baby. Only my mother would note the tightness along my jaw, the widening of my already wide eyes.
*Something terrible is happening to the character. She refuses to cry, but we know she is afraid. I want to find out what’s going on.
Hook Two:
Does your first chapter end in a tidy bow? Or does it end in the middle of a scene—just when your character hears footsteps in the basement, or the good-looking man she was attracted to minutes before pulls out a gun?
End your chapter/s in the middle of a scene. Do not give the agent a reason to put your manuscript down.
Hook Three:
There needs to be a main Hook that carries through the entire book. If you are writing a mystery, the main hook is finding out “who dunnit”. If you are writing a romance, the main hook is how the hero and heroine finally resolve their differences and come together.
Hook Four:
Recently Fangs Fur & Fey—Urban Fantasy Novelists held a Hook contest. The writers were asked to introduce their book in 300 words or less. Over 200 hooks were submitted for judging. You can read them all on-line: http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey/
Your query must contain a hook that introduces your book to the agent while at the same time captivates her interest. Most agents don’t have time to read your query and sample chapters. If she isn't impressed with the query, don't count on her reading your chapters.
Have you been tempted to send an agent or publisher your third chapter—because that's where your story gets really good? If there isn’t a Hook on page one of your book, the agent has no reason to read page two.
But a Hook isn’t just a one-time event. There should be essentially three Hooks in your book and four if you count your query.
1. Hook—1st sentence/page
2. Hook—why you read the next chapter
3. Hook—why you are reading to the end of the book
4. Hook—in query letter, why the agent will start reading your sample chapters
Hook One:
Read these opening Hooks:
Unsung Lullaby by Josi Kilpack
Maddie took a sip of lemonade while looking at the circle of women surrounding her. They talked and laughed, enjoying the chance to get out of their homes, away from their families, and to bask in the company of women for the evening—even if it was just a baby shower.
Maddie was not one of them.
*Do you want to know why Maddie isn’t “one of them”? I do. What sets her apart from the others? What trial is she facing or what fear is she trying to overcome?
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
Ruth remembered drowning.
“That’s impossible,” Aunt Amanda said. “It must have been a dream.”
But Ruth maintained that she had drowned, insisted on it for years, even after she should have known better.
*This piques my interest immediately. People die when they drown. That’s what it means. So how is Ruth different? And how can she remember drowning and still be alive?
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
My mother did not tell me they were coming. Afterwards she said she did not want me to appear nervous. I was surprised, for I thought she knew me well. Strangers would think I was calm. I did not cry as a baby. Only my mother would note the tightness along my jaw, the widening of my already wide eyes.
*Something terrible is happening to the character. She refuses to cry, but we know she is afraid. I want to find out what’s going on.
Hook Two:
Does your first chapter end in a tidy bow? Or does it end in the middle of a scene—just when your character hears footsteps in the basement, or the good-looking man she was attracted to minutes before pulls out a gun?
End your chapter/s in the middle of a scene. Do not give the agent a reason to put your manuscript down.
Hook Three:
There needs to be a main Hook that carries through the entire book. If you are writing a mystery, the main hook is finding out “who dunnit”. If you are writing a romance, the main hook is how the hero and heroine finally resolve their differences and come together.
Hook Four:
Recently Fangs Fur & Fey—Urban Fantasy Novelists held a Hook contest. The writers were asked to introduce their book in 300 words or less. Over 200 hooks were submitted for judging. You can read them all on-line: http://community.livejournal.com/fangs_fur_fey/
Your query must contain a hook that introduces your book to the agent while at the same time captivates her interest. Most agents don’t have time to read your query and sample chapters. If she isn't impressed with the query, don't count on her reading your chapters.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Your First Chapter
By Heather Moore
Are you stuck on that first chapter? Even when you’ve finished your first draft, do you keep coming back to it, rewriting, editing, then rewriting again? First pages and first chapters are what an agent or editor will read first. If they aren’t drawn in by the first few lines or paragraphs, you’ve given them a reason to set your submission aside.
Consider these solutions:
1. Perhaps your first chapter isn’t the first chapter. Maybe your story really begins somewhere in chapter 2 or 3. Have someone read through the first 50 pages of your manuscript and ask them to tell you where they think your book really begins.
2. You may have overwritten the first chapter. Have you tried to cram too many details, unnecessary back story, or become lopsided with too much internal dialogue? If you continue writing the rest of the story, then come back to the first chapter after a few weeks or months, and you’ll have a fresh perspective.
3. Does your first chapter have a hook in the first sentences/paragraph? Start in the middle of a scene—right where the character’s life is about to change. If you start with external dialogue (what the character says) or internal dialogue (what the character is thinking), it needs to be unique, compelling, even surprising. Internal dialogue is usually considered stronger than external.
4. Visit a bookstore or library. Select ten books by well-known authors. Read the first page of each book. Out of the ten, which first page makes you want to continue reading? And why? Put yourself in an agent or editor’s place. They go through the same process.
5. Don’t be afraid to cut and rewrite. Some authors save multiple versions of chapters or scenes they’ve either cut or significantly rewritten. That way, you aren’t grieving the loss of throwing something away you spent a lot of time and thought on. Read the first chapter, then open a blank document. Start writing the beginning again, taking a different angle. Maybe instead of external dialogue you start with action. Maybe instead of description, you start with internal dialogue.
Finally, realize that the first chapter sets the precedent for the entire book. If you find yourself saying, “But it gets really good on page 45,” you need to take a second look. And remember if you are writing non-fiction, the introduction needs to have a compelling hook, as well as the first pages of chapter one. No pressure. Just make sure it's perfect :)
Are you stuck on that first chapter? Even when you’ve finished your first draft, do you keep coming back to it, rewriting, editing, then rewriting again? First pages and first chapters are what an agent or editor will read first. If they aren’t drawn in by the first few lines or paragraphs, you’ve given them a reason to set your submission aside.
Consider these solutions:
1. Perhaps your first chapter isn’t the first chapter. Maybe your story really begins somewhere in chapter 2 or 3. Have someone read through the first 50 pages of your manuscript and ask them to tell you where they think your book really begins.
2. You may have overwritten the first chapter. Have you tried to cram too many details, unnecessary back story, or become lopsided with too much internal dialogue? If you continue writing the rest of the story, then come back to the first chapter after a few weeks or months, and you’ll have a fresh perspective.
3. Does your first chapter have a hook in the first sentences/paragraph? Start in the middle of a scene—right where the character’s life is about to change. If you start with external dialogue (what the character says) or internal dialogue (what the character is thinking), it needs to be unique, compelling, even surprising. Internal dialogue is usually considered stronger than external.
4. Visit a bookstore or library. Select ten books by well-known authors. Read the first page of each book. Out of the ten, which first page makes you want to continue reading? And why? Put yourself in an agent or editor’s place. They go through the same process.
5. Don’t be afraid to cut and rewrite. Some authors save multiple versions of chapters or scenes they’ve either cut or significantly rewritten. That way, you aren’t grieving the loss of throwing something away you spent a lot of time and thought on. Read the first chapter, then open a blank document. Start writing the beginning again, taking a different angle. Maybe instead of external dialogue you start with action. Maybe instead of description, you start with internal dialogue.
Finally, realize that the first chapter sets the precedent for the entire book. If you find yourself saying, “But it gets really good on page 45,” you need to take a second look. And remember if you are writing non-fiction, the introduction needs to have a compelling hook, as well as the first pages of chapter one. No pressure. Just make sure it's perfect :)
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