Writing a Great Opening

Hello Fellow Writers!

Yesterday I got nothing done on my plotting fro "Snowed in With a Millionaire". I could give a million excuses (the upcoming full moon, PMS, fussy baby, etc) but what it boils down to is I just wasn't feeling it. Stupid, I know. I tried to write a short story to get my flow going but that ended up just being stale and boring. So I rented a romantic comedy ("Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. It hit the spot - it cheered me up.

I got some good feedback on Chapter 3 of "The Movie Star's Very Personal Assistant" from my writing class, so I want to work on that as well, but I have a feeling that is not going to happen just yet if I want to overcome my writer's block and just get going with "Snowed in With a Millionaire". By the way, I read somewhere that romance editors don't like actors, artists, or athletes as their heroes, so my book will probably never see the light of day, but whatever. At least I can get it in good shape.

I wanted to put some information I found in an article by Nina Munteanu about writing a great opening to a novel. You can read the whole thing at writing-novels.suite101.com.

Arouse, Delay, Reward

The writer arouses interest in the reader by providing enough detail to get the reader to ask questions. Now they want something. You tease them with the delay; that keeps them reading and turning the pages. It also gives them the chance to try to come up with the answers themselves. The reward comes in stages. Don’t answer all their questions at once. That’s what the book—the story—is for.

I had big plans for today but so far it has been all about running around - I took the baby to visit my hubby at work for lunch, and then I had a doctor's appointment, flu shot, etc so suddenly it is 5:30pm and I am just sitting down to write this blog, much less get started on my work.

I'm going to just bite the bullet and get to work, since tomorrow we're supposed to drive up to the country to visit family and I don't know if I'll be getting anything done at all.

Wish me luck and good luck to you too!

Yours Truly,
Shoshanna Evers

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0Sok8PEFB

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0SojyRASi

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0SojyRASi

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0SojyRASi

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0SojyRASi

Avoid starting your story at the beginning: instead, start mid-way, when something is already happening.

Quell the urge to put a lot of information about setting, character and situation: get things in motion first, then fill in slowly here and there. Let the details unfold with the story.

Read more: http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_hook_your_reader_in_a_novel#ixzz0SojyRASi