This was originally published on Write Anything, October 23, 2008.
Welcome back to Write Anything NaNoWriMo workshop week!
*taps monitor* Are you awake? Are you daydreaming? I hope you’re daydreaming about your NaNoWriMo project because guess what?
We start in less than 48 hours!!!
No worries, right? *gulp*
If you’re just tuning in (welcome!), we’ve been talking about various aspects of beginning a novel-length story this week. We’ve covered finding ideas, setting, character, point of view, and plot.
Today, we’ll cover constructing scenes – from start to finish – and tomorrow, I turn the floor over to you and you get to share what sort of progress you’ve made thus far and offer any NaNoWriMo advice.
Let’s get started …
Again, I will be referencing Plot & Structure – Techniques and exercises for crafting a plot that grips readers from start to finish by James Scott Bell because in my opinion, this is one of the best books about plot on the market. If you haven’t checked it out, seriously, dude, look at it. It’s good.
Most readers judge whether they will A. continue reading the story, or B. like the story within the first ten pages of reading the story.
So tease your readers, make them want to stick around and read the rest of your story with a killer beginning.
THE BEGINNING of your novel actually performs several tasks:
1. Get the reader hooked.
2. Establish a bond between the reader and the Lead character.
3. Present the story world – tell us something about the setting, the time, and the immediate context.
4. Establish the general tone of the novel. Is this to be a sweeping epic, or a zany farce? Action packed or dwelling more on character change? Fast moving or leisurely paced?
5. Compel the reader to move on to the middle. Just why should the reader care to continue?
6. Introduce the opposition. Who or what wants to stop the Lead from obtaining his/her goal/objective?
First impressions are everything when it comes to tempting people to read your novel. Blow your first impression and you’ll have twice the work to get readers’ attention.
Bell suggests the following to grab readers:
Opening Lines:
Start your opening lines with the character’s name (Bell suggests looking at some of Koontz’s work – he’s the master of killer opening lines. I agree). In addition to introducing the reader to your character right off the bat, make something happen to that character, “and not just something ominous or dangerous. An interruption of normal life.”
Give your readers motion, of something that is about to happen or has happened. If you do this, it’s likely your reader will want to stick a