Author: Writing your first novel-Some things you should know

How Do I Write A Perfect Opening Line?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know7 Comments

first-linesSo how do I write the perfect opening line? I know it has to be great. I know it has to grab the reader and pique their interest from the get go, but I haven’t been able to locate a magic formula.

To be honest, I don’t think there is one. What I’ve observed, is great opening lines come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common. They get your attention or leave you wanting to know more.

Strategies for writing the perfect opening line:

Get an emotional response from your reader. Use strong words that elicit surprise, laughter, anger, shock….

  • “They say when trouble comes close ranks, and so the white people did.” Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea
  • “It was the day my grandmother exploded.” Iain Banks, The Crow Road

Leave the reader wanting to know more…

  • I have lived more than a thousand years. Ann Bashares, My Name is Memory
  • It was a bright day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen. George Orwell, 1984
  • Every summer Lin Kong returned to Goose Village to divorce his wife Shuyu.  Ha Jin, Waiting“
  • They shoot the white girls first.” Toni Morrison, Paradise

Establish a unique voice….

  • If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parent’s were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

Use the first sentence to tell us about the story….

  • It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
  • As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. Kafka, The Metamorphosis

Use a philosophical truth….

  • It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.
  • No comet blazed when I was born. Denis Healy, The Time of My Life

A dramatic statement….

  • You better never not tell nobody but God. Alice Walker, The Color Purple
  • Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

The next time you read a good book, check out the opening line. What makes it great? What about it caught your attention and made you want to read on? What was the strategy the author used to hook you?

-Jan R

 

 

 

 

How Do I Write A Perfect Opening Line?

How’s That Elevator Speech Coming?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , Leave a comment

63db621ddaa09ed3a5c852aae3758e7f722f_lI first wrote this article about 7 months ago. I attended a conference with my husband and found myself in an embarrassing and somewhat frustrating situation. I like to share information that I hope will help others, and prevent them from making some of the mistakes that I have. What was my mistake? I wasn’t prepared. The thought never crossed my mind that I would be expected to share what I was writing. I knew I would at some point, but the book wasn’t even ready to submit.

Attending the conference was a great get away for me, and a chance to focus on my novel without the distractions of home. Needless to say, I was enjoying myself and making some significant progress.

My husband and I were invited to join some of his peers for supper the evening before we were scheduled to leave. I sat quietly, surrounded by men talking shop. I figured all I had to do was smile and display exemplary dining skills-boy was I wrong.

About half way through the meal, one of the men looked over at me and said, “Your husband told us what you do during the day while he is at the conference. We would love to hear a little more about your book. What’s it about?”

Well, I froze, my mind went totally blank, and it was all I could do to control my suddenly out of whack emotions, as I turned to face this man who had the audacity to ask me such a question.

I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t have an Elevator Speech. I didn’t think I needed one. I felt foolish and was caught totally off guard. You never know when you’ll come across someone who’ll ask you what your book is about. I’ll be prepared the next time.

Some things to keep in mind :

  • Remember when you are crafting your speech, you are talking to another human being.
  • You only have 30-60 seconds. Don’t try to tell them the entire story.
  • Content is as important as delivery. It doesn’t matter if it’s well delivered if it’s boring and uninspiring. Make them want to hear more!
  • If you are attending a conference, you don’t want to accost agents/editors-wait for an invite or an appropriate opening. They know why you are there. Introduce yourself. Engage in small talk, they will usually ask.
  •  Practice, practice, practice. You don’t want to memorize every word and sound like a robot or like you’re reading a teleprompter, but you do want your Elevator Speech to flow and be cohesive. You want it to sound natural.
  • Always be prepared and show passion.

If you haven’t prepared your speech, you need to start working on it. It’s just a matter of time. Somebody is going to ask.

-Jan R

How’s That Elevator Speech Coming?

Don’t Give Up!!!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , Leave a comment

34aaed633d9b47ae116fef8987ff47b6--fitnessmotivation-never-give-upI love this quote. It applies to all aspects of life. I am an aspiring author, and remind myself often that the key to success is to not give up.

Since my adventure began over five years ago, I have read numerous stories from well known authors about their journey to becoming published. I put so much time and effort into my craft, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged and wonder what I was doing wrong. It encouraged me to know that I was not alone but in great company.

The one common theme in all of their stories was perseverance. The agent that worked with me on my book, always ended her critiques with don’t give up.

If you have a high quality, marketable piece of work, persevere, and you will eventually find an agent and get published.

Kathryn Stockett wrote The Help over a five year period of time, then had three and a half years worth of rejections. 60 in all. It was agent 61 who took her on. The book spent 100 weeks on the best seller list. Not sure if you are familiar with her novel, but you probably have heard of the movie based on this book. Now I would call that perseverance.

Other notable Authors who suffered rejection but persevered:

  • Richard Adam’s Watership Down- 17 rejections
  • Frank Herbert’s   Dune –   20+ rejections
  • JK Rowlings’  Harry Potter –  12+ rejections
  • Nicholas Sparks’  The Notebook- 24 rejections.

ee09f5759b0ea96ba6e01b6f41b29667I hope you are getting the picture. You can’t give up on your dreams. Revise, edit, do what you have to do to make your story great, but don’t give up.

Hope this offered a little encouragement.  I know how disheartening it can be to send your baby out and have it rejected. Don’t take it personal and don’t quit.

-Jan R

Don’t Give Up!!!

195 Powerful Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , , , 10 Comments

Powerful verbs list image 1I wish I could take credit for this blog but it was written by Jerry Jenkins. He is probably my favorite blogger and one of my favorite authors. You can find him at jerryjenkins.com

He did give permission to share this blog with any writer who needed to read it. He wanted to get the word out. So I thought about you, my followers.

Do you ever wonder why a grammatically correct sentence you’ve written just lies there like a dead fish?

I sure have.

Your sentence might even be full of those adjectives and adverbs your teachers and loved ones so admired in your writing when you were a kid.

But still the sentence doesn’t work.

Something simple I learned from The Elements of Style years ago changed the way I write and added verve to my prose. The authors of that little bible of style said: “Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs.”

Even Mark Twain was quoted, regarding adjectives: “When in doubt, strike it out.”

That’s not to say there’s no place for adjectives. I used three in the title and first paragraph of this post alone.

The point is that good writing is more about well-chosen nouns and powerful verbs than it is about adjectives and adverbs, regardless of what you were told as a kid.

There’s no quicker win for you and your manuscript than ferreting out and eliminating flabby verbs and replacing them with vibrant ones.

How To Know Which Verbs Need Replacing

Your first hint is your own discomfort with a sentence. Odds are it features a snooze-inducing verb.

As you hone your ferocious self-editing skills, train yourself to exploit opportunities to replace a weak verb for a strong one.

At the end of this post I suggest a list of 195 powerful verbs you can experiment with to replace tired ones.

What constitutes a tired verb? Here’s what to look for:

3 Types of Verbs to Beware of in Your Prose

1. State-of-being verbs

These are passive as opposed to powerful:

  • Is
  • Am
  • Are
  • Was
  • Were
  • Be
  • Being
  • Been
  • Have
  • Has
  • Had
  • Do
  • Does
  • Did
  • Shall
  • Will
  • Should
  • Would
  • May
  • Might
  • Must
  • Can
  • Could

Am I saying these should never appear in your writing? Of course not. You’ll find them in this piece. But when a sentence lies limp, you can bet it contains at least one of these. Determining when a state-of-being verb is the culprit creates a problem—and finding a better, more powerful verb to replace it—is what makes us writers. [Note how I replaced the state-of-being verbs in this paragraph.]

Resist the urge to consult a thesaurus for the most exotic verb you can find. I consult such references only for the normal word that carries power but refuses to come to mind.

I would suggest even that you consult my list of powerful verbs only after you have exhausted all efforts to come up with one on your own. You want Make your prose any your own creation, not yours plus Roget or Webster or Jenkins. [See how easy they are to spot and fix?]

Examples

Impotent: The man was walking on the platform.

Powerful: The man strode along the platform.

 

Impotent: Jim is a lover of country living.

Powerful: Jim treasures country living.

 

Impotent: There are three things that make me feel the way I do…

Powerful: Three things convince me…

 

2. Verbs that rely on adverbs

Powerful verbs are strong enough to stand alone.

Examples

The fox ran quickly dashed through the forest.

She menacingly looked glared at her rival.

He secretly listened eavesdropped while they discussed their plans.

 

3. Verbs with -ing suffixes

Examples

Before: He was walking…

After: He walked…

 

Before: She was loving the idea of…

After: She loved the idea of…

 

Before: The family was starting to gather…

After: The family started to gather…

The List of 195 Powerful Verbs

  • Advance
  • Advise
  • Alter
  • Amend
  • Amplify
  • Attack
  • Balloon
  • Bash
  • Batter
  • Beam
  • Beef
  • Blab
  • Blast
  • Bolt
  • Boost
  • Brief
  • Burst
  • Bus
  • Bust
  • Capture
  • Catch
  • Charge
  • Chap
  • Chip
  • Clasp
  • Climb
  • Clutch
  • Collide
  • Command
  • Crackle
  • Crash
  • Crush
  • Dash
  • Demolish
  • Depart
  • Deposit
  • Detect
  • Deviate
  • Devour
  • Direct
  • Discern
  • Discover
  • Drain
  • Drip
  • Drop
  • Eavesdrop
  • Engulf
  • Enlarge
  • Ensnare
  • Erase
  • Escort
  • Expand
  • Explode
  • Explore
  • Expose
  • Extend
  • Extract
  • Eyeball
  • Fish
  • Frown
  • Gaze
  • Glare
  • Glisten
  • Glitter
  • Gobble
  • Govern
  • Grasp
  • Grip
  • Groan
  • Growl
  • Guide
  • Hail
  • Heighten
  • Hurry
  • Ignite
  • Illuminate
  • Inspect
  • Instruct
  • Intensify
  • Intertwine
  • Impart
  • Journey
  • Lash
  • Lead
  • Leap
  • Locate
  • Magnify
  • Moan
  • Modify
  • Multiply
  • Mushroom
  • Mystify
  • Notice
  • Notify
  • Obtain
  • Oppress
  • Order
  • Paint
  • Park
  • Peck
  • Peek
  • Peer
  • Perceive
  • Picture
  • Pilot
  • Pinpoint
  • Place
  • Plant
  • Plop
  • Poison
  • Pop
  • Position
  • Power
  • Prickle
  • Probe
  • Prune
  • Realize
  • Recite
  • Recoil
  • Refashion
  • Refine
  • Remove
  • Report
  • Retreat
  • Reveal
  • Revolutionize
  • Revolve
  • Rip
  • Rise
  • Ruin
  • Rush
  • Rust
  • Scan
  • Scrape
  • Scratch
  • Scrawl
  • Seize
  • Serve
  • Shatter
  • Shepherd
  • Shimmer
  • Shine
  • Shock
  • Shrivel
  • Sizzle
  • Skip
  • Slash
  • Slide
  • Slip
  • Slurp
  • Smash
  • Snag
  • Snarl
  • Snowball
  • Soar
  • Sparkle
  • Sport
  • Stare
  • Steal
  • Steer
  • Storm
  • Strain
  • Stretch
  • Strip
  • Stroll
  • Struggle
  • Stumble
  • Supercharge
  • Supersize
  • Surge
  • Survey
  • Swell
  • Swipe
  • Swoon
  • Tail
  • Tattle
  • Transfigure
  • Transform
  • Travel
  • Treat
  • Trim
  • Uncover
  • Unearth
  • Untangle
  • Unveil
  • Usher
  • Veil
  • Weave
  • Wind
  • Withdraw
  • Wreck
  • Wrench
  • Wrest
  • Wrestle
  • Wring

Of course there are many more. Jerry Jenkins just provided a list of examples to get you thinking 🙂

-Jan R

195 Powerful Verbs That’ll Spice Up Your Writing

Antagonists Are People Too (Usually)

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 3 Comments

untitledI have spent the last month looking at the characters in my novel. How do they relate? Are they effectively carrying out the roles intended for them? Are they unique and easily identified, or do they all present the same?

My main focus for this particular blog is antagonists. I have two in my novel. One is amnesia, and the other is a young woman determined to marry the man of her dreams, even if he belongs to someone else. She uses his amnesia to her advantage, manipulating and deceiving him.

When you are creating an antagonists, you must remember they are people too. Help your reader to empathize with them and understand why they act like they do. Even bad people have weaknesses and can show love towards others. They are more than just a device to move your plot in a certain direction. Flesh them out!

Get into your antagonists head. Help people to see things from his/her point of view if possible. I write in third person omniscient, which allows me to get into the head of any character I choose, as long as I limit myself to one per scene. If this doesn’t work for you, have your point of view characters mull over and try to understand the antagonists point of view. You don’t want him/her to be seen as pure evil.

Many professionals recommended that you not use abstractions, such as corporations, disease, or war as your antagonists. They are unrelatable.

If you do feel the need to use an abstraction, it’s recommended that you put a human face to it.  Instead of organized religion, you may consider a resentful pastor seeking revenge. Instead of corporate greed, you may consider a Bernie Madoff type. One of my antagonists is a medical condition that a second antagonist exploits to get what she wants.

You want your antagonists to be strong, smart, and capable. At least as much so as your protagonist. This serves to give the story balance and maintain interest.  It also helps to increase tension and suspense. You know the antagonist is capable of defeating the protagonist. The story could go in many different directions.

There is a lot of information on the internet about perfecting your antagonist. Hope this post provided a couple nuggets and got you thinking 🙂

-Jan R

Antagonists Are People Too (Usually)

Rethinking That Open Door Policy

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , Leave a comment

ejemplos-de-como-responder-a-una-entrevista-de-trabajoI know it sounds good. When I was in the business world, I prided myself on having an open door. If you had a problem, you could come on in, and we would knock ideas around until we came up with a solution.

I’m not against open door policies. I’m just against always open door policies. This was something that I learned the hard way, and I had to rethink my philosophy.

When you are constantly available, you are constantly distracted. There’s just no way around it. The minute I would get going on a report or auditing contractors, someone would walk through my door or give me a call. I lost time and focus.

There is such a thing as too much accessibility. While I am talking about work, this is a truth that transcends every aspect of life.

You don’t have unlimited time or focus. There are only so many pieces of the pie. You have to prioritize your time by decreasing unnecessary distractions.

  • Put a do not disturb sign on your door
  • Turn off your cell phone
  • Unplug your office phone
  • Shut down your email
  • Kill your social apps

Giving everyone access to you, actually reduces accessibility for the people who need you most. You can’t meet your deadlines, or give your family the time they deserve.

Something to think about 🙂

-Jan R

 

 

 

Rethinking That Open Door Policy

Put Your Smart Phone Down!

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 2 Comments

time-management-tips-eliminate-distractionsI’m sitting on my couch attempting to crank out my Thursday morning blog. I look down and notice that I have 6 new emails in queue. I should probably turn that alert off. I of course have to find out who they are from, and if I need to respond.

Once I complete that task, I see an alert on my wordpress page. I have activity. Well I have to stop what I’m doing and click on the bell.  I like  it when there’s activity on my page. That means I caught someone’s attention and hopefully offered useful information.

I should probably check my Facebook page while I’m at it. I may have messages or a post that needs a response.

It’s 8:00am. I’ve managed to blow an hour with nothing to show for it. Why is it we feel we have to stop whatever we are doing and respond immediately, when we receive an email, tweet, request, or post from all of the other different sites we are affiliated with?

The majority of those posts aren’t even important, they are just mindless banter. Every email and post I looked at this morning could have waited.

Collectively, we send over 200 million emails per minute. Can you believe that?  Just because someone contacts you, doesn’t mean you have to stop what you are doing and reciprocate. You have to prioritize.

Computers and phones that keep you informed of every little contact that takes place in your world is great. I love the idea of being easily accessible, if I’m needed. But these tools are not always helpful. They are also a highway for constant interruptions.

Not only do they steal your time, but they impede your creativity by interrupting the flow of ideas. You get a great idea and then the phone rings or dings if it’s a text, or if you’re like me, your phone is set up for alerts. I get them throughout the day. My phone doesn’t make a sound, but the screen lights up and my eyes and attention are called away. That one minute is all it takes to lose that idea and totally disrupt the flow.

So what’s the solution? It’s simple really.

Block off a designated amount of uninterrupted time.

Put the phone away. Turn off the alerts and focus on what you have to accomplish for the day.

Implement a daily communication schedule.

  • in the morning
  • before lunch
  • after lunch
  • at the end of the day

I do try to follow this advice, but today is not starting out as planned. I guess we all have those days 🙂

-Jan R

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Put Your Smart Phone Down!

So You Got Rejected-Join The Club

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, 3 Comments

untitledSo you received the dreaded rejection letter.  Well it was bound to happen.  You are in great company, and I wasn’t talking about me.  If you are a writer, then rejection will be a part of your everyday life.  Author David Eddings said, “If you don’t have callouses on your soul, writing isn’t for you. Take up knitting instead.” Funny but true.

When you get your rejection letter and odds are you will, treating it as an insult and allowing it to bring out the worst in you will stall your dream of becoming an Author.

Those who are successful as novelists recover and learn from their rejection letters. They use them as motivation to become better writers. They recognize that rejection hurts, but see it as part of the process. They also take action.

  • Wallow then write – Give yourself thirty minutes or so to  get the rejection out of your system, then get back to the keyboard.
  • Learn from the critique – Attempt to understand what you did wrong and correct your mistakes.
  • Try to understand where the publisher is coming from and why your novel didn’t work.
  • Remember publishing is a business, and publishers are in the market to make money. It’s not personal.

I received rejection letters from four different agencies. I hated the ones that said, “Thank you, but this isn’t what we are looking for.”  What do you do with that?  Fortunately one saw something in my manuscript, and while she said it wasn’t ready for publishing, she offered suggestions to make it better. As a matter of fact, that particular agent has offered me advice on three separate occasions. That’s why I started this blog. She told me I needed to build a solid platform.

I took all of her suggestions to heart. I researched, took classes to make me a better writer, and I started this blog to begin building a platform. If you’re not sure what that is, I have written about it in previous blogs, and you can google ‘building your platform’ for more information.  I recommend reading some of Michael Hyatt’s stuff. The man is very knowledgeable on the subject and easy to follow.

Most importantly, Don’t Give Up!

-Jan R

So You Got Rejected-Join The Club

Is Your Prose Too Beautiful?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , , 10 Comments

untitledI ran into this question while doing some research this past week, and it made me stop and think. Is my prose to beautiful? In my case, I would say no. I never grasped that concept. I have to admit I’ve tried.

The most famous rule in the bible of writing hints, The Elements of Style, is “Omit Needless Words.” This should be the hallmark of every writer.

Some authors believe good language should be showy. However, using unnecessary words in an effort to be literary or write more beautifully, is a common error first-time authors make.

George Simenon, a Belgian author, once pointed to a sentence and said: “That’s a beautiful sentence, cut it.”

He explained: “When you come across such a gorgeous sentence in a paragraph, it stands out and disrupts the even tone of your narrative. It’s as if you’ve paved a road and had a rose bush spurt up in the center. It’s beautiful, but it doesn’t belong there and it impedes the flow of the narrative.”

This overuse of description can also bog down a narrative and make it more difficult for a reader to quickly grasp the meaning.

Jerry Jenkins calls it written-ese. It’s a special language we use when we forget to Just Say It.

He provided the following example from a beginners work he was editing.

“The firedrop from the pommel of Tambre’s sword shot past the shimmering silver mist of her involuntary dispersal.”

Now that was a pretty sentence, but you can’t tell me it didn’t slow you down and make you think about what the author was actually trying to say. If you are like me, you had to read it several times. That’s written-ese.

I’m not saying you can’t use description. Description is good and helps your reader visualize characters, settings and much more. But it should be used sparingly. It should add to and enhance your sentence, not distract and overtake it.

Trying to impress others with your words is not the way to go. Be natural, be yourself, and it would probably help if you closed the thesaurus as well 🙂

-Jan R

 

 

 

 

Is Your Prose Too Beautiful?