Your story’s first chapter is one of the most important pieces of your story. Not only does it provide the foundation for a solid storyform to come, it is also your first and only chance to pique readers’ curiosity and suck them in. For better or worse, the first chapter is also one of the […]
June 25, 2017 by 21 Comments Beginning Your BookHow to Ace the First Act in Your Sequel
Part 15 of The Do’s and Don’ts of Storytelling According to Marvel Sequels are special. On the one hand, they still must follow all the same basic rules of good storytelling. But on the other hand, they both simplify and complicate various aspeof that approach. While the burden of introducing important elements (characters, settings, conflicts) is […]
March 20, 2017 by 97 Comments Beginning Your Book8 1/2 Tips for How to Write Opening and Closing Lines Readers Will Love to Quote
When I’m scanning an Amazon preview to decide if a book is going to be worth my time, the first test is always the opening line. A sloppy, casual, or plain-Jane opening line instantly makes me suspect I’m looking at the work of an author who is an outright amateur or, at the best, someone […]
January 30, 2017 by 107 Comments Beginning Your BookHow to Find Exactly the Right Story Hook
What is your story hook? That can be one of the most frustrating questions for any author—for two reasons. Either you have no idea what your hook is, or you have no idea how to describe it. The good news is both of these scenarios are quite common. The bad news is they’re both deep doo-doo […]
March 31, 2016 by 68 Comments Beginning Your BookAre You Telling the Wrong Story?
Sometimes the story you start out writing is not the story you end up telling. The beginning and the ending are two different stories–and the inevitable result is that one of those is the wrong story. How can you tell when you’ve got two halves that don’t form a single whole? How can identify which […]
February 5, 2016 by 61 Comments Beginning Your BookHow to Take the Guesswork Out of What Scenes Belong in Your First Act
Writing the First Act in a story used to terrify me. It felt like walking a tightrope. Blindfolded. In the dark. But that was my own fault. It felt that way for the simple reason that, back then, I had only a vague, intuitive grasp on what I was trying to accomplish in this oh-so-important part […]
October 2, 2015 by 58 Comments Beginning Your Book2 Ways to Tell You’re Beginning Your Story Too Soon
This week’s video presents two important rules of thumb, one for making sure you’re not beginning your story too soon and another for making sure your first chapter is hooking readers. Video Transcript: The beginning is one of the trickiest terrains in any story. There’s just so much we have to juggle for that opening […]
June 17, 2015 by 32 Comments Beginning Your BookDeadly Story Openers: How to Fix a Boring Characteristic Moment
This week’s video points out the important duties of a good characteristic moment in your book’s first chapter—and how you can write one that both hooks readers and launches a great plot. Video Transcript: There’s a ton of stuff the beginning of your story has to do and do well, but I think it’s pretty […]
April 26, 2015 by 119 Comments Beginning Your BookFind Out if Your Prologue Is Destroying Your Story’s Subtext
You hear it all the time: prologues are evil. (And writers everywhere commence howling.) Now I’ll grant that “evil” is a slight exaggeration. We might call them “dangerous” instead, except that word is pretty ironic, since one of the chief reasons a prologue is so dangerous is because it allows authors to play it waaaaay yonder […]
March 4, 2015 by 62 Comments Beginning Your BookWhy Avalanches, Wolves, and Lightning Storms Aren’t a Good Way to Begin Your Book
This week’s video cautions against opening with a type of conflict that might initially seem a good idea—and shows you how to figure out the right way to begin your book. Video Transcript: Action. You’re supposed to begin your book with action, right? There has to be some sort of tension and conflict and stakes if […]
