Showing posts with label first lines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first lines. Show all posts
Monday, December 6, 2021

Writing Lessons from A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A Good Beginning

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  This month I am reprinting a series that I originally posted in December 2015. This first one is from 12/7/2015. Writing Lessons from A ...
Monday, June 12, 2017

First Lines: Telling the Whole Story

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It’s time to give the plot away. Well, not completely. But some effective first lines do summarize the story. Here is the opening par...
Monday, June 5, 2017

First Lines: Raising Questions

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Pick up ten of your favorite books and read their opening paragraphs. What do they use to capture your attention? I’m guessing that most...
Monday, May 29, 2017

First Lines: Foreshadowing

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To foreshadow is to hint at what is to come. The hint can be either weak or strong, indirect or direct, veiled or obvious. Consider t...
Monday, May 22, 2017

First Lines: Introducing an Intriguing Character

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As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not captured by the first sentence in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick , but the following sentences s...
Monday, May 15, 2017

First Lines: Starting with a Bang

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I stared at the gun in my hand before transferring my gaze to the dead author on the floor. She deserved to die. It was the only way to...
Monday, May 8, 2017

First Lines: You Can't Please Everyone

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No first line will appeal to everyone. If that’s your aim as a writer, you will never stop fiddling and start submitting. So find somet...
Monday, May 1, 2017

First Lines: Dispelling the Myth

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It’s a commonly held belief that first lines sell books, but it’s a myth. First lines don’t sell books. Good writing sells books. ...