Sally was waiting for me as I walked into the coffee shop. The fallen leaves chased me inside and Kathy handed me a spicy pumpkin latte, with whip and a layer of caramel. I sat down at the table and couldn’t help note the frown on Sally’s face. “What?” “It’s just boring.” Her hand rested on a stack of printed manuscript papers. “I mean, the story is good…in my head. But it seems to lack…well, let’s put it this way; my husband fell asleep somewhere between page 87 and 103.” “Oh my,” I said, sipping the latte. Just the right balance of whipped crème sweetness and pumpkin pie spice. “So, what do you think is the problem?” “He says I have a great story, with great storyworld and fun dialogue and even […]
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Quick Skills: Tips on Creating that First line
How you hook your reader on the first page? I love this quote by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won the 1992 Nobel Prize for Literature for 100 years of Solitude. “One of the most difficult things is the first paragraph…in the first paragraph, you solve most of the problems with your book. The theme is defined, the style, the tone. At least in my case, the paragraph is a kind of sample of what the rest of the book is going to be.” By the way, that book sold over 10 million copies. The hook paragraph, your first paragraph just might be the most important paragraph you write in your entire story. Yesterday, I talked about four ways to begin your story. Today, I’m going to share with you my […]
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Conversations: Crafting the first sentence hook!
“I’m sorry Sally, I don’t have much time today. I’m on my way to the airport.” I unwound the scarf from my neck and slid into the chair. “But I did want to talk to you quickly about Hooks and First Lines.” I pulled out the printed email she sent me. “I have your new draft here. You did such a great job of pulling me into the story and deleting all but the essential backstory. Now I want you to take a look at that first sentence. “See, most authors don’t start their stories out in the right place, and even when they do, they struggle to get that first line. I often write the first line last, after the book is written just because by then I know […]
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Thanks to everyone who posted their hooks on the site. Very brave and stellar. We loved them all!! We truly did. It was so hard to pick. The winner is… “I felt nothing as I sighted my M-4 rifle on a distant point and maintained position, despite getting sandblasted by a putrid desert wind.” Anastasia B. Congratulations. You are the winner of the gift certificate. We loved how you set the stage for your character. We were right there, we knew time and place. Putrid desert wind is a lovely line. You raised the stakes with this line, “But a fierce evil lurked in every corner and culvert, whispering that if I couldn’t defeat it, I would be forced to join it.” Now the reader is curious, wanting to know […]
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